Destination Australia Scholarship 2025/2026 Apply Now!

The Destination Australia scholarship is a rare opportunity, especially for international students; that’s why I urge and encourage you to start applying now before it closes for this 2025/2026 session.

It is a Destination Australia Scholarship that covers so many fees that you can think of, but before applying, make sure that you check out the eligibility criteria and courses offered.

Everything you need to know about the Destination Australia scholarship 2025/2026 will be provided below to guide and put you through your application process.

About The Scholarship

Destination Australia funds eligible tertiary education providers to offer scholarships to domestic and international students to study and live in regional Australia.

The Destination Australia scholarship is designed to support students in undertaking their university degrees in regional Australia.

This scholarship from Destination Australia – an Australian Government initiative – is designed to encourage students to study in regional Australia.

Studying in a regional area means you’ll become part of a strong community, enjoy a lower cost of living, and benefit from personalised support and hands-on learning. You’ll enjoy a vibrant lifestyle minus the hustle and bustle.

The Destination Australia Program:

1. Supports regional and remote Australian tertiary education providers by promoting activities that contribute to growth and sustainability
2. Offers students from Australia and overseas the opportunity to undertake high-quality education, training and research and to experience life in regional and remote Australia
3. Ensures regions share in the social, cultural and economic benefits that international students bring.
4. The Destination Australia Program defines a regional location as any area outside of Major Cities of Australia, in line with the Australian Bureau of Statistics

Destination Australia Program 2025/2026

The 2025/2026 round of the program offers scholarship funding of up to $15,000 per student, per year, for approximately 480 domestic and international students commencing their studies in 2025/2026.

Additional objectives for 2025/2026 include:

1. Helping to fix areas of skills shortages and fill future skills needs by prioritising domestic and international students studying courses that are aligned with the Australian Government’s National Skills Priority List
2. Providing scholarships for domestic students from underrepresented groups to enable them to access tertiary education in regional Australia.

Available Destination Australia Scholarship

The Australian Government invites applications through a targeted competitive process to deliver services under the International Education Support Outcome – Destination Australia Program 2025/2026 (Round 4) 

The grant opportunity provides grants to Australian tertiary education providers in regional areas to provide scholarships to domestic and international students, promote those scholarships for students, and promote tertiary education in regional Australia.

It helps achieve the International Education Support Outcome by facilitating study in regional Australia for international and domestic students.

For Round 4, preference will be given to applications supporting domestic students and international students studying courses aligned with the Australian Government’s National Skills Priority List.

Domestic scholarships will be prioritised for students from underrepresented groups, such as low socioeconomic status (low-SES), those who are first in family to tertiary study, those living with a disability and First Nations people.

The objectives of the grant opportunity are to:

1. Support higher education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers in regional Australia to provide scholarships to domestic and international students to study in regional Australia
2. facilitate domestic and international students completing an Australian qualification at a higher education or VET provider in regional Australia
3. help fix areas of skills shortages and fill future skills needs by prioritising domestic and international students studying courses that are aligned with the Australian Government’s National Skills Priority List
4. provide scholarships for domestic students from underrepresented groups to enable them to access tertiary education in regional Australia.

Eligibility:

You are eligible to apply for this grant opportunity if you can demonstrate that you meet all of the following criteria.

• You are a registered Australian tertiary education provider
• If you intend to provide scholarships to international students – you are currently registered on the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS)
• our campus location at which scholarship students will study is entirely or in part in a regional area.

Grant Activity Timeframe:

Expected timing for this grant opportunity:

1. Application period–Open: 11 October 2025/2026
2. Close: 9:00 pm AEDT on 31 October 2025/2026
3. Assessment of applications–November 2025/2026
4. Approval of outcomes of the selection process–January 2025/2026
5. Notification to unsuccessful applicants–January 2025/2026
6. Negotiations and award of grant agreements–February 2025/2026
7. Earliest start date of grant activity–Late-February 2025/2026
8. End date of grant activity–If successful, if stated in your grant agreement.

Destination Australia Scholarship Requirements

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must be:

• An Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen, a permanent Australian resident, a student with an Australian permanent visa or an International Student Visa.
• A commencing student in a course with a published full-time duration of one year.
• Enrolled as a full-time student
• Enrolled at Lismore or Coffs Harbour campus
• International Students are also required to maintain a student visa for the duration of the scholarship to ensure protection under the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000.

Instructions for Application Submission:

To apply, you must:

• Complete the online application form.
• Provide all the information requested
• address all eligibility criteria and assessment criteria
• include all necessary attachments
• submit your application to the Community Grants Hub by 9:00 pm AEDT on 31 October 2025/2026.

The grant application period for the 2025/2026 academic year of the Destination Australia Program is now open via Community Grants Hub. Applications must be submitted by 9.00 pm on 31 October 2025/2026 (AEDT).

A webinar will be held for eligible tertiary education providers on Monday, 24 October 2025/2026 at 2.00 pm (AEDT).

This webinar will provide information on the program as well as how to apply for the grant opportunity. The webinar is not intended for students who wish to apply for a scholarship.

For more information on the webinar, please email destinationaustralia@education.gov.au.

Apply Now