Maternal and Child Health Nursing Scholarship

The MCH Nursing scholarship provides funding of up to $7,500 for:

• Full-time students over one year
• Part-time students over two years

The number and value of scholarships offered will be determined based on the number of eligible applicants that have accepted either a full fee paying or commonwealth supported place (CSP). Bursaries of up to $5,000 are also available for eligible students.

Note: The Maternal and Child Health Nursing Scholarship is regarded as taxable income if a recipient is undertaking their study at a part-time enrolment rate. We recommend that you obtain taxation advice from an accountant or the Australian Tax Office regarding scholarships.

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
• have accepted a place, and/or be enrolled at RMIT University in the Graduate Diploma in Child and Family Health Nursing (GD159) in semester 1 2023
• be currently registered as a Division 1 Registered Nurse (without restrictions) with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
• be currently registered as a Midwife (without restrictions) with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

You are ineligible to apply if you:

• have previously received a MCH Nursing Scholarship from the Department of Education and Training (DET) or Department of Health and Health Services (DHHS).

It is important that the MCH Nursing workforce reflects the composition of the Victorian community. The DHHS strongly encourages applications from eligible people of any gender identity, age, religion, ethnicity, language, socio-economic background, sexual orientation and disability.

Prioritisation of scholarships and eligibility for bursaries for 2023 will include the following criteria:

• applicants from rural and remote regions
• applicants from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
• applicants who identify as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage
• applicants from communities affected by natural disaster (excluding COVID-19) in the last two years
• applicants residing in areas projected to have high workforce demand for MCH services
• applicants with demonstrated financial need, such as applicants in receipt of a Government tested low-income benefit or who hold a Health Care Card

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

Supporting documentation

Depending on your circumstances, you will need to provide different types of evidence and material to support your scholarship application.

You will need to provide:

• A copy of your Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) division 1 nursing and midwife registrations (downloaded from your online AHPRA portal).

Please visit Supporting Your Application for more information.

Application questions

It is expected that the online application will take approximately thirty minutes to complete. You will need to include a statement of no more than 500 words that details why you have decided to undertake further study to become a Maternal and Child Health nurse. You should demonstrate your intention to seek employment within the Victorian MCH Service following completion of post graduate MCH studies.

Include relevant professional experience in your statement such as:

• Experience in antenatal support for vulnerable families, parenting, home visits and breastfeeding support
• Experience working with diverse families, women or children, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and/or from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, and rural and remote Victorian experience
• Experience in specific areas of women’s health and/or children’s health and development

Find out more about applying for scholarships.

Applications for 2023 are now closed.

It is anticipated that this scholarship will next be offered for Semester 1, 2024, with applications opening September 2023.

Applications for 2023 are now closed.

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

Responsibilities of scholarship recipients:

• Scholarship recipients can take up to one year’s leave of absence after one semester of study and retain their scholarship funds.
• Scholarship recipients are not able to change courses and retain the scholarship funds. Recipients of the scholarship must retain enrolment in their postgraduate degree for the duration of the scholarship.
• Scholarship recipients maintain sole responsibility in self-assessing his or her tax position and will seek tax advice in relation to the scholarship agreement and the receipt of the scholarship.
• Scholarship recipients must maintain satisfactory academic performance which will be reviewed at the completion of each semester. If a student does not maintain satisfactory academic performance, their scholarship may be revoked, or payments suspended. For more information about academic progress including the definition of satisfactory academic progress, visit https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/studentessentials/assessment-and-exams/academic-progress.
• Scholarship funding will be paid as installments to students via EFT transfer each semester following census date. If a student is not enrolled, withdraws or does not complete the course, the remaining unpaid scholarship funds will not be transferred to the student.
• Scholarship recipients will not be eligible to receive any other fully funded scholarship from the Commonwealth, State or Territory government body while in receipt of this scholarship. 

As part of the selection process, application data will be shared with La Trobe University, Federation University and the Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services. By agreeing to the declaration in the application form, you agree for this data to be shared for the purpose of scholarship selection and awarding.

Scholarship recipients consent to the following:

• RMIT University providing the Department with any such information as the Department may require in order to determine if the scholarship recipient is compliant with their obligations under the Agreement, limited to information as relevant to the scholarship such as ensuring satisfaction of eligibility criteria, academic progress and results (non-inclusive of personally identifiable information and contact information).
• Being contacted by the University on behalf of the Department as a scholarship recipient via their email address for a period of up to five (5) years after the Term for the purposes of providing information to the Department regarding the Recipients experiences as a student, employment and experiences in the field of maternal and child health nursing.
• Scholarship recipients may be requested to attend joint promotional events or participate in promotional activities in keeping with the spirit of the scholarship as reasonably requested between the Department and RMIT University.

This scholarship is funded by the Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Quotes from past recipients:

"The scholarship has had a significant impact on my level of financial stress. Those completing this course are often women with children, who are already at risk of lower income due to increased child rearing responsibilities and lower pay scales. Taking time off work for study can worsen this impact, and the scholarship helps to balance the financial burden while transitioning to an area of increased nursing demand. This year I have used the money to assist with the cost of childcare while I attend University. I have been so grateful for this assistance."

"I am thankful for your support and being able to complete my Maternal Child Health nursing studies amidst the year of pandemic, restrictions, and lock-downs. It was very stressful for me at the beginning of the program. Being a recipient of this scholarship brought me a relief.

As a mature age student who was juggling family, community support volunteering, MCH Part Time studies at RMIT University and working night duty in a busy Women and Children Unit, the MCH Nursing Scholarship made a difference for me in the following ways:

• Provision of opportunity for more time off work to focus on my studies.
• Ability to complete my Post Graduate Diploma studies in Child and Family Health Nursing debt-free.
• It served as an important financial support allowing me to obtain the additional knowledge and education necessary to earn this qualification and achieve my career goal.
• It also helped me to achieve my dream of returning to University to gain the additional knowledge I needed to assist and support women, children and the entire family with wellbeing and health promotion service.

I was able to buy a laptop, books including other school necessities and above all, paid the balance of my tuition fees. Thank you to the Department of Health and Human Services and RMIT University for providing the scholarship. I am so proud to be one of the beneficiaries."

Find out how to contact the Coursework Scholarships Office.