To be eligible to apply for the Australia Awards Scholarships, you must:

• be a Vietnamese citizen residing in and applying for the scholarship from Vietnam;
• not be a citizen of Australia, hold permanent residency in Australia or be applying for a visa to live in Australia permanently;
• not be married to or engaged to/or be de facto of a person who holds, or is eligible to hold, Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency, at any time during the application, selection or mobilisation phases;
• not be a current serving military personnel;
• not have previously received a long-term Australia Award unless you have resided outside of Australia for twice the length of the total time that you were in Australia (for example, a previous awardee who has been on an Australia Awards scholarship in Australia for four years will not be eligible to apply for another Australia Awards scholarship until they have resided outside Australia for eight years);
• not hold convictions or currently under investigation of criminal activities including those relating to Child Protection and sexual exploitation, abuse or harassment;
• have completed a formal (‘chính quy’) undergraduate degree.
• commit to return to work in Vietnam for at least two years after you finish your course in Australia;
• have at least 24 months’ relevant full-time work experience in Vietnam as of 30 April 2025, except for rural disadvantaged applicants who are required to have at least 12 months’ full-time work experience or people with disabilities who are required to have at least 12 months’ full-time work experience/24 months’ part-time work experience;
• not be applying for a scholarship for a course of study at an academic level lesser than you have already achieved (for example, applying for a Master’s scholarship when you already hold a PhD);
• not be applying for another degree at the same level (for example: if you already have a Master’s degree, you cannot apply for a second Master’s degree even in a different subject area, and if you do your application will be made ineligible), except disadvantaged applicants applying for a different field of study;
• have a valid IELTS Academic certificate or TOEFL IBT or PTE Academic equivalents where required, with test dates on or after 1 January 2024. Valid certificates must be submitted with the online application by the application closing date.
• declare all previous study undertaken (including its status) irrespective of whether it is complete, incomplete or ongoing, or undertaken within Vietnam or another country. Candidates who have commenced but not completed Master level study will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Special eligibility provisions apply to Disadvantaged Applicants in Vietnam, in addition to these general eligibility criteria.

Vietnam-specific eligibility criteria

To be eligible for Australia Awards Scholarships, you must belong to one of the following Applicant Groups and meet the relevant requirements. 

*IELTS Academic, TOEFL IBT or PTE Academic certificates are valid if dated on or after 1 January 2024.

Disadvantaged Applicants
The below provisions apply for persons with disability and disadvantaged rural applicants from all Applicant Groups. For further details, refer to Equity support for applicants.