Applications for the third round of the public sector undergraduate (entry to practice) scholarship program are now open. They will remain so until 4pm on Wednesday 11 September 2024.
This will be the final application round of the Andrews/Allan Government’s $270 million Making It Free to Study Nursing and Midwifery plan, announced in 2022. The plan is designed to help over 10,000 domestic nursing and midwifery undergraduates – whether fresh out of high school or mature age students – to overcome financial barriers during their course.
Students who commenced their studies in 2023 but missed out on Round 1 or Round 2, or who were unsuccessful in either round but believe they meet the eligibility criteria, may also apply for Round 3.
What is the scholarship?
The scholarships are for new domestic students enrolling in a Commonwealth-supported entry-level nursing or midwifery course in Victoria in 2023 and 2024, offering funding to eligible recipients of up to $9000 to assist with covering their three-year course costs. These students may then be eligible to receive a further $7,500 if committed to working in a Victorian public health service for two years following graduation.
The total value of the scholarships, for a student who completes a minimum two years post-graduation in the public sector, is $16,500.
The initiative also includes:
- scholarships for postgraduate nurses to complete studies in specialty areas such as intensive care, emergency, paediatrics and cancer care – worth an average of $10,000
- $11,000 scholarships for enrolled nurses to become registered nurses, covering course costs and boosting the number of registered nurses
- $12,000 scholarships to support training and employment of 100 new nurse practitioners in both acute and community settings
- more than $20 million to provide more support to the growing numbers of graduates and postgraduates as they transition to working in our hospitals – ensuring they have access to the clinical educators, preceptors and study time they need.
For student nurses and midwives who graduated in 2022, 2023 and 2024, a sign-on bonus of $5,000 is also available if they commit to working in the public hospital system for two years. So far, more than 5600 graduate nurses and midwives have received the first half of their bonus and more than 3600 new graduate nurses and midwives have chosen to start their careers this year in the state’s public health system.
ANMF course fee grants
In addition to financial supports offered by the government, ANMF (Vic Branch) members continue to have access to ANMF financial grants to support them in completing specialist post-registration or post-graduate nursing or midwifery education.
Applications are now being accepted for course-fee grants for semesters 1 and 2 of 2024 and for the semester 2 study undertaken in 2023. (This ensures that students don’t miss out if they were completing studies while we changed our application dates to align more closely with university intake dates).
You are eligible to apply if you have been an ANMF (Vic Branch) member for at least two years – including as a student (including Diploma) or RUSON/M member – and you continue to be a member throughout your course.
Applications close 11.59pm Friday 16 August 2024.
