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Eligibility and Approval

Australia Awards Scholarships are offered in two main categories: ‘Public Sector Category’ and  ‘Open Category’.

Public applicants are from government organisations, state universities and state owned enterprises and must be approved by training or foreign cooperation bureaus (BKLN) of their local or central agencies.   Public applicants from government agencies outside Jakarta may apply directly to the Australia Awards Scholarships program office with the approval of their relevant Kakanwil or Kadinas and approval from Bupati or Governor (or representative) where necessary. Calon Pegawai Negeri Sipil (CPNS) are not eligible to apply.

Open applicants are from private organisations, private universities and also include recent university graduates. No government approval is required and applications are to be submitted directly to the Australia Awards office. A letter of support from the applicant’s home agency, institution or private university may be included with the application. Public servants (pegawai negeri) cannot apply as ‘open applicants’.

Targeted and Non-Targeted Category

Australia Awards Scholarships are awarded as ‘Targeted’ or ‘Non-Targeted’.  Up to 70% of Australia Awards Scholarships are Targeted; available for nominated staff from Government of Indonesia Key Agencies, Targeted Sectors and from AusAID Geographic Focus Areas[3].

Targeted Category exists for candidates who are identified by their organisations in consultation with the ADS Program.  Candidates may be from Government of Indonesia Key Agencies[1] or from organisations linked with AusAID activities[2].  Candidates within the Targeted Category must be identified by their home organization and must not apply to the ADS Program independently of their employer.

Targeted Category candidates are employed by organisations which are identified by the Government of Indonesia and Government of Australia (through AusAID) as being strategically aligned with the Development priorities of the Government of Indonesia.   Candidates within this category may also be employed by government organizations, state owned enterprises, non-government organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs) and key state and private higher education institutions which service the training needs of these organizations.

At least 30% of Australia Awards Scholarships are Non-Targeted available for public servants and non-public servants outside the AusAID Geographic Focus Areas.

General Requirements

  • be an Indonesian citizen and be residing in and applying for the scholarship from Indonesia
  • not be married or engaged to a person who is eligible to hold Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent resident status, at any stage of the application, selection, mobilisation processes or while on-scholarship in Australia
  • satisfy Australian Government requirements for international student entry to Australia (health, character etc)
  • not be applying for a visa to live in Australia
  • not be applying for another long-term Australia Award unless they have resided outside Australia for twice the length of the total time that they were in Australia (for example, a previous Australia Awards Scholarship recipient in Australia for four years will not be eligible to apply for another Australia Awards Scholarship until they have resided outside Australia or back in Indonesia for eight years)
  • have satisfied any specific criteria established by Indonesia or government of Indonesia
  • not be current serving military personnel
  • be able to satisfy all requirements of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for an AusAID student visa  and
  • be able to satisfy the admission requirements of the Australian university at which the Scholarship is to be undertaken.

Specifically, candidates must:

  • be applying for courses that fall within the areas of  priority (see “Choosing a Course of Study” below)
  • at the application closing date, be not older than 42 years of age
  • have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.9 on a scale of maximum 4.0 (2.75 for applicants from AusAID Geographic Focus Areas) and an English language proficiency of at least 5.0 in IELTS (500 in paper-based TOEFL or 61 in internet based TOEFL - IBT). The IELTS or TOEFL result must be current (no earlier than 2012).  No other English language test will be accepted (specifically the result from a TOEFL Prediction Test is not accepted). Contact details of the English language test centre must be provided for verification of test results.
  • have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.75 for recipients with a disability as declared on the AUSTRALIA AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS application form.
  • apply for a degree at a level higher than their current highest qualification:
    • already hold an undergraduate degree, if applying for a Masters
    • already have a Masters, if applying for a Doctorate
  • if applying for a Doctorate, applicants will be restricted to staff of universities, higher education institutions, research institutes, key policy makers and targeted candidates in other agencies associated with AusAID activities
  • it is highly desirable for Doctorate applicants to have a letter of support from an Australian university for their proposed field of study
  • answer all relevant questions on the application form
  • be willing and available to undertake full-time (Monday  - Friday 0800-1600) English for Academic Purposes (EAP) training in Indonesia prior to studying in Australia, if offered a scholarship

 

[1] Organisations strategically alligned with the AIP Country Strategy 2008-13 and which have been approved by the Program Coordination Committee
[2] These organisations are classified as being within the Targeted ‘Sector’
[3] AusAID Geographic Focus Areas are Aceh, NTB, NTT, West Papua and Papua