How to Apply for Australia Awards 2028

Before you start

Do not open the OASIS portal on day one and start filling things in. That is how people end up scrambling at the last minute, uploading the wrong documents and writing a weak Development Impact statement because they ran out of time. The form itself is not complicated, but the preparation behind it takes weeks, sometimes months. Sort these out first.

1. 1
   Confirm you are actually eligible

   It sounds obvious, but many applications are rejected on basic eligibility. Check your country, citizenship, study level and work experience. Not sure? Read the eligibility page first.

2. 2
   Check your country's deadline and priority areas

   There is no single global deadline. In the 2027 round most countries ran 1 February to 30 April 2026, with some exceptions; the 2028 round is expected around 1 February to 30 April 2027. Your country also has priority development areas, and if your study does not align with one, your chances drop sharply. See the deadline page or your country's Australia Awards page.

3. 3
   Research courses that align with your country's priorities

   You nominate up to three university courses. You do not need an offer letter, but you should know the courses well, and their content must connect directly to the priority area you are applying under. The panel will check. Pick the course that makes the strongest case for your development impact, not just the highest-ranked university.

4. 4
   Prepare your documents in advance

   Transcripts, degree certificates, employer references, referee details, English test scores. Certified copies and translations take time, and some documents need notarising. Start at least six weeks before the deadline. Full checklist on the documents page.

5. 5
   Contact potential supervisors for research degrees

   For a PhD or Master's by Research, a supervisor who has already agreed to work with you makes a difference. Email faculty whose research fits your proposal, with your CV and a short research summary. Not everyone replies, so start early and contact several.

6. 6
   Take IELTS, TOEFL or PTE if you have not already

   Some countries want a score with your application; others let you test after shortlisting. Booking and getting results takes four to six weeks, so do not leave it late. The Australia Awards minimum is IELTS Academic 6.5 with no band below 6.0 (or TOEFL iBT 84 on the old scale, 4.5 on the new scale / PTE Academic 58), and some courses require more. Your result must still be valid on 1 January 2028 for a 2028 start.

The OASIS portal

OASIS, the Online Australia Awards Scholarships Information System, is where you create your application, upload documents, enter referee details and submit. The address is oasis.dfat.gov.au. Here is what the official instructions do not make clear enough.

It only opens during your country's window

You cannot use OASIS year-round. It opens for your country during that country's application period. Outside the window you either will not see the form or cannot create a new account. Check your country's dates before deciding the portal is broken.

Browser compatibility matters

Use Google Chrome. Applicants have reported fields not saving, dropdowns not loading and uploads failing on Safari and older Firefox versions. It is a government system; do not expect it to work perfectly everywhere.

There is no auto-save

OASIS does not auto-save. If your session times out (after roughly 30 minutes of inactivity) or your internet drops, anything typed since your last manual save is gone. Click Save at the bottom of each section often. Better still, write your essay answers in a separate document first and paste them in.

File upload limits

Each document has a size limit of roughly 5 MB. High-resolution scans of certificates and transcripts often exceed it, so compress PDFs with a tool like iLovePDF or Adobe Acrobat without making text unreadable. Keep file names simple: no special characters, long names or spaces.

Character limits on essay fields

The essay fields, especially the Development Impact statement, have character limits, including spaces, not word limits. Check the character count if you draft elsewhere. Text over the limit is cut off silently; you get no error.

Referee emails go to spam

When you enter your referees' email addresses, OASIS emails them automatically from a DFAT address asking them to submit a reference online. These emails often land in spam, especially on Gmail, Yahoo or university systems with aggressive filtering. Warn your referees beforehand and ask them to check spam. If a reference is missing at the deadline, your application is incomplete.

Step-by-step application process

The Australia Awards application is not a one-click submission. It is an eight-stage process stretching over 12 to 18 months.

1. 1
   Check eligibility and identify priority areas

   Visit your country's Australia Awards page. Confirm citizenship, residency, age, work experience and qualifications, then read the priority development areas. Your study must fall within one of them, or the application will score poorly however strong your academic record.

2. 2
   Select up to three university courses

   You do NOT need an offer or admission at this stage; you are listing preferences, and the programme handles placement if you are selected. Choose courses whose curriculum directly supports your Development Impact statement. Do not just pick the University of Melbourne because it ranks highest; pick what best fits the story of how your study will benefit your country.

3. 3
   Complete the OASIS application form

   Personal details, employment history, academic background, course preferences, Development Impact statement and referee information, plus all supporting documents. Complete every field: incomplete applications are not reviewed. Once submitted you cannot edit, so double-check before you click submit.

4. 4
   Review and shortlisting

   In-country panels review eligible applications. They typically include representatives of the Australian embassy or high commission, DFAT officers, and sometimes local government or academic representatives. They score academic merit, professional experience, the Development Impact statement and alignment with country priorities. Only shortlisted candidates move on. You are notified either way, but it can take several months.

5. 5
   Interview for shortlisted candidates

   Formats vary: in person at the embassy or virtual. The panel asks about your motivation, development goals, understanding of the return-home obligation, and how your study connects to your country's needs. It is a formal assessment, so prepare like a job interview. See the interview page.

6. 6
   Medical examination and English testing

   Candidates who pass the interview have a medical with a panel-approved physician and must meet the English requirement if they have not yet. For some countries IELTS is required upfront; for others it comes at this stage. If your score is within half an IELTS point of the requirement, the scholarship can fund up to six months of pre-course English training.

7. 7
   University placement managed by the programme

   Unlike most scholarships, Australia Awards works the other way round: the programme manages placement using your preferences and the universities' capacity. You may get your first choice, or your second or third, or be offered an alternative course that better fits your profile. You do not control this step, which is why choosing courses strategically at stage 2 matters so much.

8. Pre-departure briefing and Introductory Academic Program

   Before leaving you attend a compulsory pre-departure briefing at home, held at least a month before departure, on what to expect, cultural adjustment, money management and your obligations as a scholar. In Australia, every scholar does the compulsory 4–6 week Introductory Academic Program covering academic English, Australian academic culture and orientation to your city. Classes usually begin in February, with the IAP in January or February.

Country-specific variations

This is where a lot of applicants get tripped up. Australia Awards is one programme in name, but it runs differently from country to country. What applies to a Bangladeshi applicant may not apply to someone from Papua New Guinea or Mozambique.

Deadlines are country-specific

There is no single global deadline. In the 2027 round almost every country on DFAT's dates table shared the 1 February to 30 April 2026 window, but Palau ran 30 March to 30 June 2026, and earlier rounds have had other exceptions. If someone on a forum says "the deadline is April 30", that is their country's deadline, not necessarily yours. Always check your country's page. Known dates are on the deadline page.

Some countries pre-select through local managing contractors

In several countries DFAT uses local managing contractors to handle the first phase: information sessions, collecting applications, initial screening and sometimes first-round interviews. In some countries you submit directly through OASIS; in others you go through the contractor first and they submit for you. Check whether your country uses one.

Indonesia has its own pre-selection

Indonesia is a special case. Indonesian candidates go through a national pre-selection process before being put forward for Australia Awards, so they effectively face two selections, a national one and then the Australian one. The timeline is longer and the national stage may require extra documents other countries do not.

Priority areas differ by country

Each country's aid relationship with Australia defines its priority sectors. For Pacific Islands it might be climate resilience and governance; for Southeast Asia, trade, infrastructure or public health; for African countries, agriculture or extractive industries. An excellent application in a non-priority area ranks below a good one in a priority area.

Interview format varies

Some countries interview in person at the embassy or high commission; others by video. Some use panels of three or four; others a single interviewer. Questions are broadly similar, but formality and length differ. Candidates in capital cities usually interview in person; those in remote areas may get a virtual option.

English test timing varies

Some countries require a valid IELTS, TOEFL or PTE score with the initial application; others only after shortlisting or interview. That matters because tests cost money and time. Check your country's rules before spending around A$400 on a test you might not need yet.

The Development Impact statement

This is the single most important part of your application. Get everything else right but write a weak Development Impact statement and you will not be selected. Panels weigh it more heavily than your GPA, work experience or English score.

It asks how your study in Australia will contribute to your home country's development. That sounds simple, but most applicants write generic, aspirational statements instead of concrete, specific plans.

Name specific organisations, sectors or projects

Do not write "I will contribute to the education sector in my country." Write "I will return to the Ministry of Education's Curriculum Development Unit, where I currently work, and apply the learning design frameworks from this Master's to revise the secondary school science curriculum, which has not been updated since 2011." The panel wants a real plan, not a vague intention.

Show you are already working toward these goals

The strongest applications come from people already doing the work who need the qualification to do it better or at a higher level. If you are a public health officer, show how your daily work connects to the Master of Public Health you want. If you led a community project, describe its outcomes. The best evidence you will follow through is a track record.

Avoid these generic statements

• "I want to help my country develop."
• "I am passionate about making a difference."
• "This scholarship will give me the skills I need to succeed."
• "I will use my knowledge to benefit society."

These mean nothing to the panel; every applicant writes something like them. Winning applications are specific: specific organisations, roles, problems and plans.

The panel wants realistic plans

Do not promise to single-handedly transform your country's health system. Panel members are experienced development professionals who know what one person can achieve after a two-year Master's. Promise something specific, achievable and tied to your current role or sector. A realistic small-scale plan beats a grand vision of national transformation.

Applying for the RTP (Research Training Program)

The Research Training Program is a completely different process: no OASIS, no central application. You apply directly to the Australian university you want to attend.

1. 1
   Identify and contact a supervisor first

   Not optional for research degrees. Find academics whose published work matches your interests and email a concise pitch: who you are, what you want to research, and why their expertise matters. Expect silence from many; a specific email that shows you have read their work stands out.

2. 2
   Prepare a research proposal

   Most universities want 1,500 to 3,000 words covering your research question, methodology, expected contribution and a brief literature review. Your potential supervisor can help refine it. A proposal showing original thinking and feasibility is the core of your application.

3. 3
   Apply through the university's own system

   Each university has its own portal, deadlines and document rules. Some admit research students on a rolling basis; others run fixed rounds, typically closing around August for a February start or March for a July start. The university decides both admission and the RTP award from its government block grant; DFAT is not involved.

Destination Australia: you cannot apply

Destination Australia, which paid up to A$15,000 a year at regional campuses, is closed to new students. The government announced in the 2024–25 Budget that there would be no further funding rounds from 1 July 2024, and only existing recipients are still supported (Department of Education).

If a website still invites you to apply, it is out of date. For regional study, apply to the university and check its own international scholarships instead.

Common application errors

The same mistakes come up year after year. Some are administrative, some strategic, all avoidable.

• Submitting on the last day. The servers get overwhelmed. Submit two to three days early; if the server crashes at 11:58 pm, your application is gone.
• Not warning referees. They get automated OASIS emails; if they do not expect them, they ignore them or they sit in spam, and your application is incomplete.
• A vague Development Impact statement. Generic statements about "helping my country" do not score. Tie specific plans to specific organisations and roles.
• Choosing courses on ranking alone. The panel cares about fit between course content and your development goals. A well-aligned course at a mid-ranked university beats a poor fit at a Group of Eight institution.
• Oversized or corrupt files. Keep documents under 5 MB with simple names, and test that PDFs open. A file the panel cannot open is the same as no file.
• Applying in a non-priority area. If your field is not on your country's priority list, you start at a disadvantage. Check before choosing your course.

See the full list of common mistakes, then check the required documents before you open OASIS. Missing even one can disqualify your application.