Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HDR Scholarship

The University is seeking Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars wanting to carry out research in areas of research priority for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Research projects should be interdisciplinary in nature, and work across areas such as rural medicine, health, psychology, education, social work, public policy, law, criminology and sociology.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scholarship applications are accepted all year round.

Scholarship Information

The Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend Scholarship provides a living allowance for high-quality research higher degree students. They are awarded on academic merit and research experience and/or potential. The RTP also includes a tuition fee off-set for all domestic Research Masters or PhD students. Please refer to the website for further information about the tuition fee off-set.

Selection of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scholarships are based on the following:

  • Identify as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person. When applying you must provide a certified Confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity (COA) under the common seal of a community organisation or statutory declaration please refer to the Confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Identity Policy
  • Significant research experience undertaken in a community or professional capacity.
  • Must not be receiving another source of income that is greater than 75 per cent of that student’s RTP Stipend rate from another source that is to support that student’s general living costs while undertaking their course of study. Income unrelated to the student’s course of study or income received for the student’s course of study but not for the purposes of supporting general living costs is not to be considered.
  • Must not be receiving an equivalent award or scholarship from the Commonwealth designed to offset HDR tuition fees.
  • Must be  accepted into an accredited HDR course of study at an Australian HEP.

Maximum Duration:

Three years and six months full-time for a doctoral degree, two years for a research Master's degree. The duration of an RTP stipend scholarship cannot be extended.

2025 Stipend Information:

AU$43,564 (2025) per annum tax-free for full-time students, paid in fortnightly instalments.

AU$21,782 (2025) per annum, taxable, for part-time students, paid in fortnightly instalments.

In addition, candidates will be eligible to apply to Graduate Research School for an additional $7,000.00 per year for cultural supervision and/or mentoring funds.

Exemption Request for Online/Part-Time Study:

UNE administered stipend scholarships are normally offered subject to enrolment as a full-time, on campus student for the duration of candidature. If you would like to apply for a scholarship but are unable to enrol as a full-time or on-campus student, you must apply for an exemption request. Please complete the Exemption Request Form and submit it with your scholarship application. The request will be reviewed by the Graduate Research Scholarships Committee alongside your scholarship application. Circumstances for consideration may include but are not limited to caring responsibilities, illness, disability, employment, industry engagement or required location of the research. Applicants must clearly demonstrate their willingness and capacity to establish effective supervisory support through access to regional study centres, regular visits to UNE or similar.

Referee Reports

All applicants must provide two referee reports. The University will not request reports on your behalf. Referees must be qualified to speak with knowledge and experience about the applicant regarding:

  • academic achievement and/or ethic during the qualification that is of most relevance
    to this application;
  • research capacity and/or research achievement; and
  • if applicable, employment experience/training of most relevance to this application.

Your referee should not have a close personal relationship with you (e.g. family member). Please refer to the conflicts of interest policy if you require any further information. Applicants must provide contact details of referees in the candidature application form.

Applicants must request their referees to submit their written reports directly to the University using the Referee's Report Form.

How to apply:

  • For new candidates - If you are a new candidate who does not have an offer of admission and is not currently enrolled in Higher Degree Research (HDR), you must apply through the online application portal. After you complete the Expression of Interest, if you meet all the requirements, you will be sent an invitation to apply for candidature which will include the link to the application portal where you can complete both your candidature and scholarship application. Please note, the Expression of Interest form may take up to 3 weeks to process so please plan your application timeline accordingly.
  • For candidates who are currently enrolled or have an offer of admission - If you are currently enrolled in HDR or have a valid offer of admission and would like to apply for a scholarship, please complete this form. The scholarship application can be submitted online via the future students for those who are not enrolled or via askUNE for those who are currently enrolled in their candidature.

Further Information:

Please contact the Graduate Research School for further information.

Further information about these scholarships can be found on the UNE HDR Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship Policy and in the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2017.