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The Department of Health offered scholarships as part of the Making It Free to Study Nursing and Midwifery initiative to train and upskill the next generation of registered nurses and midwives.
This included scholarships for Victorian and eligible border community residents to complete an undergraduate (entry-to-practice) nursing or midwifery qualification, such as a bachelor's degree. These scholarships will provide financial support for the duration of their studies to become registered nurses or midwives.
Eligible domestic students will receive up to $16,500 in funding. This includes an incentive to spend at least 2 years working in the Victorian public health system.
Note: The term undergraduate (entry-to-practice) means undergraduate, graduate entry or professional entry degrees which lead to general registration as a registered nurse or a midwife. This may include double degrees and Master of Nursing programs but excludes transition degrees (for example, courses that enable enrolled nurses to transition from 'diploma to degree' to become registered as a registered nurse and international conversion programs).
Overview
These scholarships aim to:
- reduce financial obstacles associated with undertaking entry-to-practice nursing and/or midwifery studies, including the costs associated with clinical placement
- build the Victorian nursing and midwifery workforce of the future by attracting Victorians to study nursing and/or midwifery entry-to-practice courses
- attract newly graduated registered nurses and midwives to undertake careers within Victorian Public Health Services and retain those graduates by rewarding retention.
Scholarships for eligible recipients include the following:
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Up to a maximum of $9,000 while undertaking study. This includes $3,000 per annum over a maximum of 3 years. For example:
- if enrolled in a 3 or 4 year degree program, you may be eligible to be paid up to $9,000
- if enrolled in a 2 year entry-to-practice program of study (such as graduate-entry courses) you may be eligible to be paid up to $6,000.
The university component scholarship amount received may be impacted for students who have received credits for prior learning and/or whose studies have been accelerated.
When applying for these scholarships, students were asked to acknowledge they will make reasonable efforts to complete their entry-to-practice degree. They were also asked to commit to undertake employment as a registered nurse or midwife within a Victorian Public Health Service following study completion.
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An additional $7,500 if you are employed at a Victorian Public Health Service as a registered nurse and/or midwife and meet the following requirements:
- you have been a recipient of the full university component of the scholarship for your program of study
- you are employed as a registered nurse and/or midwife at a Victorian Public Health Service within 12 months of study completion or by 30 June 2029, whichever is earliest
- you remain employed as a registered nurse or midwife in a Victorian Public Health Service for at least 2 years and have maintained an average of 0.6 FTE hours across the 2 years, from the date of employment.
A Victorian Public Health Service refers to a public health service listed in Schedule 1 – 5 (inclusive) in the Health Services Act 1988.
The total maximum scholarship value (if eligible for both components) is $16,500. An eligible student/Victorian Public Health Service employee can only receive one scholarship.
Please note that a recipient cannot receive both the Sign-on Bonus and Health Service Component of this scholarship. You can only be a recipient of one of these schemes. If a recipient of the university component of the scholarship chooses to receive the Sign-on Bonus following employment they will not be eligible to receive the health service component of this scholarship and vice versa.
Scholarships will be administered annually, with payments made in December each year. Payments may be delayed, where remediation is required.
Eligibility
For information on the eligibility criteria and how this is assessed, see the funding guidelines on the Victorian Government's Undergraduate (Entry-To-Practice) Nursing and Midwifery Scholarship page. This also outlines the scholarship terms and conditions.
More information for recipients
For more information about the program, see the frequently asked on the vic.gov.au website or email nams@grants.vic.gov.au.
Reviewed 09 December 2024