Application process information
Please read the information on this page regarding the scholarship application process.
How to Apply
APPLICATIONS WILL OPEN ON 13 JANUARY 2025 FOR AWARDS TO BE MADE IN JUNE 2025
​
All applicants must apply online at https://www.grantinterface.com.au/Home/Logon?urlkey-australiacf
​
If you have any technical difficulties with the application process, please contact grants@communityfoundation.org.au or (03) 9412 0413.
​
HOW TO APPLY:
-
You must first register for the Australian Communities Foundation Grant Portal. If you already have an account through Australian Communities Foundation, please use your existing username and password. Make sure to note your username and password.
-
When you login, click Apply on the top of your Dashboard.
-
You will see the form called Eligibility - 2024 Graduate Women Victoria Scholarship application. Click the Start Eligibility Quiz button in the lower right corner.
-
Important: You can only fill in the Eligibility Quiz once. If you believe you have made a mistake, please contact grants@communityfoundation.org.au or (03) 9412 0412.
-
Once you have completed the eligibility form, you will be taken to the appropriate application form.
-
You can return to your application by using the same login once you are registered. Click the Home button to see your active applications.
-
You will not be able to submit your application until you have completed all the required steps, including uploading documents.
-
Once submitted, an application cannot be changed.
-
Two or three days after submitting, check with your referees that they have received the email requesting a reference for you.
​
Applications must be submitted online by midnight on 31 March. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
Supporting documentations
The items which must be uploaded with your application are described in the information provided for each category of scholarship. In general, you should expect to have the following documents ready:
-
Proof of enrolment
-
Your university will supply you with a document showing receipt of fees and specific details of units and course. Note that a copy of your student card or letter of offer is not sufficient evidence of enrolment.​
-
-
Academic transcript
-
Scanned pdf copies of transcripts in English of all completed or partially completed studies at university anywhere in the world or - where applicable - transcripts from other tertiary studies or secondary school results.​
-
Include academic results in current course (if applicable).
-
A scanned pdf copy of an Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS) is also acceptable.
-
-
Evidence of disadvantage (please see below)​​
​
Note that hard copy documents should be scanned and saved in pdf format ready for uploading.​ Photographs of documents are not suitable for uploading as they are usually not sufficiently legible.
Evidence of disadvantage
As disadvantage is a major criterion for the awards, it is compulsory to provide evidence in the form of scanned pdf copies of original documents to support your claim of disadvantage. We understand that this may be of a sensitive nature, but you can be assured that it will be treated as strictly confidential under our privacy policy (see the Scholarships page). Personal names of other persons in a document - for instance, perpetrators, children, witnesses - may be redacted if you wish.
Suitable evidence might include:
-
legal documents in the case of domestic violence or injury resulting from accident or work event,
-
medical receipts for appointments with specialist, GP, psychologist; a letter from a treating health specialist if the disadvantage relates to physical or mental health,
-
documents supporting claims of financial difficulty, such as bank statements, disability pension, correspondence with Centrelink.
Referee reports
You will be asked to provide the names, positions and email addresses of two referees who have agreed to be a referee for your application.
-
Two academic references are required for PhD applicants and desirable in general.
-
If, however, you have recently returned to study after an interval, one academic reference and one (designated as Other) from someone who can speak to qualities such as your reliability, work ethos and capacity to organise will be accepted - suitable referees might be an employer, an ex-teacher, someone familiar with your work as a volunteer. A friend is not normally a suitable referee.
-
For the Marilyn Godley Undergraduate Scholarship, one reference must be from a member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and one from an academic teacher. You may wish to contact the Aboriginal Liaison Office or equivalent at your university.
​
Before submitting your application, please provide each referee with the GWV Information for Referees. If your referee is familiar with your disadvantage and you would like it referred to in the reference, please let them know when you request the reference. University privacy regulations may prevent them from passing on such material to a third party without explicit permission.
​
When you have completed and submitted your application, referees will be emailed a request with a link to upload a confidential reference. University firewalls sometimes prevent delivery of this message, or it may go to a Spam or Junk folder. Three days after submission, please check with your referee that the request has been received (remember to ask them to check their spam folder). If not, they should contact grants@communityfoundation.org.au
Awarding the scholarships
Applications are assessed by panels of academic examiners who recommend the winners on the basis of academic achievement and potential, balanced against the disadvantages experienced.
​
Successful applicants will be advised by late May. Other applicants will received an email to their university email address by early June regarding notification of application outcome.
​
Graduate Women Victoria reserves the right not to make any of the awards advertised on this website. It is anticipated, however, that all scholarships and bursaries advertised will be awarded unless exceptional circumstances apply.
​
All decisions are final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.
​
Each winner will be presented with a certificate at a ceremony held on Scholarship Day, normally on a Saturday in early June. It is a requirement of accepting an award that winners attend and make a brief presentation about their studies and careers. The audience includes family members, donors, and representatives of the universities where winners study. Payment of the award will be made directly to each winner's bank account via the Australian Communities Foundation.