Journal Accommodation Support Scholarship

All leases are for 26 to 52 weeks and include part of the summer vacation period. If you wish to return home during this period, you would still be liable to pay rent until the end of your lease agreement.

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

• be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a permanent humanitarian visa holder
• be from an interstate or rural/regional area and moving/moved to Melbourne to study at RMIT
• be enrolling full time in semester 2 2025 in a certificate IV, diploma, undergraduate degree or postgraduate by coursework program at RMIT
• not already be committed to a student accommodation provider under a lease agreement in 2025
• be able to demonstrate circumstance/s which impact your ability to study such as:
  • receiving a government tested low income benefit or having a Centrelink Health Care Card
  • living with a disability, long-term medical condition or identify as neurodiverse
  • experiencing personal/family/social difficulties
  • have previously/are currently living in foster/kinship care or are a ward of the state
  • be from an under-represented background such as
    • Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
    • were born overseas, are from a non-English background and recently migrated to Australia
    • current or former refugee
    • completed secondary school at a School Network Access Program school
• have not previously completed a program at the same level of study or higher

If you are a certificate IV or diploma student, you must:

• have a government-subsidised place
• not be enrolling in an apprenticeship or traineeship program

Preference will be given to students commencing a program at RMIT for the first time.

It is preferred that you apply direct to RMIT for this scholarship.

Direct to RMIT applications

The online application form will be made available here when applications open.

VTAC applications

Apply online through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) website (www.vtac.edu.au).

Supporting documentation

Depending on your circumstances, you will need to provide different types of evidence and material to support your scholarship application. Applications without supporting documents will not be considered.

Please visit Supporting Your Application for more information.

Find out more about applying for scholarships.

Applications are now closed. 

It is anticipated that this scholarship will next be offered for Semester 2, 2025 (to be confirmed), with applications opening May 2025.

Applications are now closed. 

View the Coursework Scholarships Office’s terms and conditions (PDF, 698KB).

Bond: Successful recipients will be required to pay 2 weeks advance rent to secure their booking and a bond equal to 4 weeks rent in line with the requirements of the Rental Tenancies Act (Vic.) 1997 and sign a residential tenancy agreement with Journal. They will also be required to cover additional costs in the same manner as other Journal residents, such as food, phone and laundry.

If you are paying rent and want to cancel your lease agreement, you are required to continue paying all your rent charges until a new resident can be secured or the contract ends, whichever comes first.

Quotes from past recipients:

'This scholarship opened up the opportunity for me to experience life in a post-pandemic world, living independently and making new friends. Whilst I still go back to my family home to play netball, living in the city has allowed me to immerse myself in my studies, as I am so close to campus!' - 2022 recipient

'When I received a scholarship to live at Journal, I felt extremely excited to begin a new chapter of my life. I felt incredibly grateful and relieved that I did not have to decide whether I was going to put financial stress on my family by paying full price to live in Melbourne or travel from Ballarat to Brunswick everyday.' - 2021 recipient

Find out how to contact the Coursework Scholarships Office.