After the award

After Selection

You got the scholarship. Here is everything between that email and your first class in Australia, plus the rules that govern your life while you are there and after you leave.

ScholarshipUnion Editorial 11 min read Updated Oct 6, 2026

Between selection and departure

The selection notice feels like the finish line, but it is really the start of a new process. First you get a conditional offer. That is not your ticket to Australia: you have been selected in principle, subject to conditions not yet checked, such as medical fitness, English proficiency, university admission and visa eligibility. Only once you meet them all does the formal written offer arrive, and an award can still be withdrawn if you cannot meet the institution's admission requirements or the visa requirements.

Do not quit your job yet

Wait until you have the formal written offer in hand. Past scholars repeat this constantly for good reason. Conditional offers fall through, medicals flag issues, English requirements are not always met first time. People have resigned, told their families and started packing, only to see the process stall or reverse at the medical stage.

What you need to do before departure

1
Medical examination
With a panel-approved physician; thorough, including chest X-rays and blood work. Certain conditions can disqualify you. It is not a formality, and people do fail it. The programme pays the visa medical costs.
2
English language assessment
Even with an IELTS score already submitted, you may be assessed again to decide whether you need pre-course English training before your main course. This is separate from the admission requirement.
3
Student visa (subclass 500)
The programme helps with your application and pays visa processing costs, but you must still meet every immigration requirement: a valid passport, your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), proof of Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) and evidence of your scholarship. The programme coordinates with the Department of Home Affairs, but delays happen, so do not leave it to the last week.
4
Pre-departure briefing
Compulsory, held in your home country at least a month before you leave, usually at the Australian embassy or high commission. It covers what to expect, your obligations as a scholar, the code of conduct, and practical matters like banking, accommodation and health insurance. Skipping it is not an option.

Introductory Academic Program (IAP)

Every Australia Awards scholar starts with the Introductory Academic Program. It is compulsory, typically 4–6 weeks, and run by your host university when you arrive, before your degree begins. Failing to attend can cost you the scholarship. If your English needs work, you may also be given pre-course English training of up to six months, so you would arrive earlier still.

What the IAP covers

Academic English: writing essays, referencing properly, and following lectures in fast Australian English.
Critical thinking and academic conventions in Australia, which may differ from what you are used to.
Orientation to life in Australia: transport, banking, health services, cultural norms.
Meeting other scholars and building a support network before coursework pressure begins.

Scholars generally say the IAP was more useful than they expected. Even if your English is good, Australian academic culture has its quirks: plagiarism rules are enforced aggressively, and lecturers expect you to challenge ideas rather than just absorb them. The IAP helps you avoid being blindsided in your first semester.

Arriving in Australia

When you arrive, your institution pays the one-off A$5,000 establishment allowance, towards the cost of setting yourself up: a rental bond, household essentials, bedding, kitchenware, textbooks and whatever else you need. It sounds like a lot until a rental bond eats half of it.

Accommodation

Your institution arranges moderately priced, furnished initial accommodation for you unless you tell it in writing that you do not need it. Long-term housing is your responsibility. Most scholars share a house or flat with other students. University accommodation offices can help, but places fill fast. Start looking before you arrive (Facebook groups for your city and university are useful), but DFAT advises against signing a lease before you arrive and have seen the place.

Bank account

You need an Australian bank account for your living allowance. Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ and NAB are the big four, and some let you open an account online before arrival. Bring your passport and scholarship letter to the branch. Make this one of your first tasks.

Phone and SIM

Get a prepaid SIM at the airport or a supermarket. Telstra has the best coverage outside cities; Optus and Vodafone are cheaper. You need an Australian number for almost everything, from rental applications to two-factor authentication on university systems.

Health cover (OSHC)

Your scholarship pays for single Overseas Student Health Cover for your studies. It is not Medicare. It covers doctor visits, hospital stays and some prescriptions, but not dental or optical. Know what is included before you need it; details on the benefits page.

Cultural adjustment

Australia is casual in ways that can catch you off guard. Lecturers go by first names. Southern cities are nothing like the tropics. Food is global but expensive. Norms around directness, personal space and timekeeping differ from many scholars' home countries. Most people adjust within a few months, but homesickness is real and common. Your university offers free counselling. Use it if you need it; there is nothing weak about it.

Living costs by city

Where you study makes a big difference to how far your allowance stretches. The CLE is the same everywhere (about A$36,230 a year in 2026); the cost of living is not. Here is a realistic picture based on what scholars report spending, not the suspiciously low university marketing figures.

Sydney

$$$

The most expensive city. A one-bedroom apartment starts around A$2,000 a month and goes much higher near the CBD or eastern suburbs. Groceries, transport and eating out are all pricey. If you are placed here, plan to share; living alone on the allowance is unrealistic unless you also work part-time.

Melbourne

$$$

Similar to Sydney, with cheaper suburbs if you live further out. Public transport is better than Sydney's in some respects. A shared room in the inner suburbs runs A$800–1,200 a month. The large international student community makes housemates easy to find. Budget for tram and train fares; the city sprawls.

Brisbane

More affordable than Sydney and Melbourne and growing fast. Warm year-round, so heating bills are lower. A shared room near campus runs around A$600–900 a month. It has been getting pricier since the 2032 Olympics were announced, but is still better value than the southern capitals.

Adelaide

The city past scholars recommend most for value. A decent one-bedroom runs A$1,200–1,500 a month, and a share can be under A$600. Compact and bikeable, and the Central Market beats Sydney supermarket prices. If you want to actually save on the allowance, Adelaide is where scholars manage it.

Canberra

Moderate costs and a small-city feel in a government town. Not much nightlife, but the Australian National University is world-class. Rent sits between Adelaide and Sydney. Winters are genuinely cold, a shock for scholars from the tropics, so budget for warm clothes and heating.

Hobart / Tasmania

Affordable rent but limited supply, so finding a place can take time. Beautiful and quiet, good for focused study without big-city distractions. But it is cold, and part-time work is scarcer than on the mainland.

Perth

Moderate costs and a pleasant climate. Clean, safe, with good beaches, but isolated, so flights to other cities are expensive. Scholars who like a smaller, quieter community tend to enjoy it.

Budget tips from past scholars

Share accommodation. Living alone eats the allowance alive, especially in Sydney and Melbourne.
Cook at home. Eating out daily easily burns A$300–400 a month; cooking cuts that to under A$100.
Use student discounts on public transport, cinema tickets and at many retailers. Always ask.
Shop at Aldi or at markets near closing time. Coles and Woolworths are convenient but rarely cheapest.

Part-time work rules

On a student visa (subclass 500) you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and unlimited hours during scheduled university breaks. The limit is per fortnight, not per week: you could work 40 hours one week and 8 the next, as long as each fortnight stays within 48. If you are in a research Master's or doctorate, Home Affairs lets you work more than 48 hours a fortnight even during semester.

48 hours per fortnight during semester is a hard limit for coursework students. Breaching it puts your visa, and so your scholarship, at risk.
Unlimited hours during scheduled breaks. Many scholars use breaks to work more and save for the next term.
Scholarship conditions come first. The visa allows work, but your main obligation is satisfactory academic progress. If your grades slip because you work too much, the scholarship can be terminated.

Common jobs are tutoring (especially in subjects studied at home), retail, hospitality and campus roles like library or research assistant, which tend to fit around classes. Many scholars rely on part-time work to top up the allowance, particularly in expensive cities. For most it is a necessity, not a luxury.

Academic life

The scholarship comes with academic strings attached, and they are not gentle. You must maintain satisfactory academic progress throughout. Your university defines what that means, but generally it is passing all your units and progressing toward completion within the expected time.

Satisfactory progress is non-negotiable

Failing units, falling behind on your thesis or skipping classes can trigger a review. If the university reports unsatisfactory progress, your scholarship can be suspended or terminated. There is an appeals process, but it is not a guaranteed safety net.

Course changes need approval

You cannot freely switch programme, change field, or drop and add units. Significant changes need approval from both the university and DFAT. Minor unit substitutions may be simple, but moving from a Master of Public Health to an MBA, for example, is a major request that may be refused.

University transfers are very difficult

Transferring between Australian universities on scholarship is strongly discouraged and rarely approved. You were placed at a specific institution for a reason. If you have serious concerns, raise them with your university's scholarship liaison officer before attempting anything formal.

No extension without approval

The scholarship covers a fixed duration. If you fall behind, an extension is not automatic: you must apply, justify it and wait for approval. Extensions cost money, and the programme is not obliged to grant them.

The return-home obligation

This part causes the most grief, the most questions and the most regret when people do not take it seriously. As an Australia Awards scholar you are contractually required to leave Australia at the end of your scholarship and live in your home country for at least two years. The clock starts when you leave Australia, not when you graduate.

This is not a suggestion

The obligation is part of the contract you sign with the Commonwealth before departure, and Australian migration law backs it up. If you apply for a visa to stay in Australia longer term during your scholarship or within the two-year period, you may incur a debt to the Commonwealth for the total accrued cost of your scholarship (tens of thousands of dollars), and it can affect future Australian visas. This is not theoretical; it has happened to scholars who tried to stay.

Common questions about the obligation

Trips to other countries are fine: conferences, visiting family, holidays. The rule is about Australia: you must not apply for a visa to return there for two years, except a short visit of up to three months with support from the Australia Awards office in your country, and any time you spend in Australia can extend the two-year period.

Marriage to an Australian does not exempt you from the return obligation, which surprises people. You can marry whoever you want, but the two-year rule still applies. Your spouse can join you in your home country during that period, or you can manage the distance. Marriage is not a workaround to stay.

Safety exceptions are considered case by case. Under the June 2026 handbook, DFAT may not issue a debt where Home Affairs grants a visa because of war, significant civil unrest, natural disaster or a genuine fear of persecution at home. It is assessed individually and is not automatic.

No. Applying for a permanent visa directly conflicts with the return obligation you signed, and it can trigger a debt to the Commonwealth for the accrued cost of your scholarship; it can also lead to the award being terminated. Do not do this.

Absolutely. Once you have completed the two-year period, you are free to apply for any Australian visa, including skilled migration. Many former scholars do. The obligation is time-limited, not permanent.

The point of the obligation is that the skills you gain in Australia benefit your home country. The government funds this as development aid, not as a migration pathway. If moving to Australia permanently was your main motivation, this scholarship was never the right fit. Scholars who understood and accepted this from the start have a much smoother experience than those who spent their degree hunting for a loophole.

Extensions and changes

Life does not always follow your application. You may need more time, your research may shift, or the degree may not be quite right. The programme has processes for changes, but none are simple and none are guaranteed.

PhD extensions

Possible with strong justification, such as data collection delays, a change of supervisor or an approved expansion of scope. The request goes through your university and must be endorsed by your supervisor before the programme considers it. "I need more time" without a concrete reason is not enough, and extensions are neither guaranteed nor common.

Course changes

Need approval from DFAT and your university, and the new course must still fit the development priorities in your original application. Switching from engineering to law would be an extremely hard sell. Minor adjustments within the same field are simpler, but still formal.

Adding another degree

You cannot stack another degree onto your scholarship. To do a PhD after your Master's, you need a new scholarship or other funding. The scholarship covers one degree.

Master's to PhD switch

You cannot switch from a Master's to a PhD mid-scholarship; they are separate awards. If you decide during your Master's that you want a PhD, you must complete (or withdraw from) the Master's and apply for a PhD scholarship separately, from scratch.

Related: eligibility, benefits, common mistakes and the FAQ.