Research Training Program (RTP) - Frequently Asked Questions for university administrators

This page provides information for eligible higher education providers (HEPs) that administer Research Training Program (RTP) scholarships awarded to higher degree by research (HDR) students under the Commonwealth Scholarships Guidelines (Research) 2017 (Guidelines).

On this page:

RTP eligibility and applications

To be eligible for an RTP scholarship, a student must be a domestic or overseas student enrolled in an accredited HDR course of study at an eligible Australian HEP.

See paragraph 1.5 of the Guidelines for further information

Yes. Students who have previously undertaken a HDR are eligible to apply for an RTP scholarship regardless of their previous enrolment circumstances. However, HEPs have discretion to use their selection processes to prioritise specific cohorts of students, for example, students with first class honours, First Nations students, students with industry experience, or students undertaking a HDR for the first time.

Per subparagraph 1.6.45(2) of the Guidelines, HEPs must include information regarding their selection processes for RTP scholarships in their RTP scholarship policy, which must be readily and publicly available.

Any student that meets the eligibility criteria specified in the Guidelines can apply for an RTP scholarship, however, HEPs have discretion to apply selection criteria, including to prioritise specific cohorts of students, including, students undertaking a HDR for the first time.

HEPs must include information regarding their application, selection and offer processes for RTP scholarships in their RTP scholarship policy, which must be readily and publicly available. Any selection processes must be consistent with this RTP scholarship policy, as well as the fairness requirements in Subdivision 19-D of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

These matters are at the discretion of each HEP as there are no specific part-time based restrictions in the Guidelines.

HEPs must identify their application, selection and offer processes and policies, as well as their policies relating to changes in the nature of a student's enrolment, including changing from full-time to part-time and part-time to full-time, in their RTP scholarship policy A HEP’s RTP scholarship policy must be made in accordance with the Guidelines and readily and publicly available. Any selection processes must be consistent with the HEP’s RTP scholarship policy, as well as the fairness requirements in Subdivision 19-D of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

The Guidelines do not prevent an RTP supported student from studying offshore at an eligible Australian HEP, provided the arrangement is approved by the HEP.

RTP scholarship types

Each HEP has the discretion to offer one or more of the following types of support to an RTP scholarship recipient:

  • Fees offset – this requires a HEP to fully offset tuition fees applicable for a student
  • Stipend – to assist students with their living costs while undertaking an HDR
  • Allowances – to assist students with ancillary costs of an HDR. Examples include relocation costs to undertake a HDR, HDR thesis printing and academic publication costs, or health cover costs for recipients and their dependents.

See paragraph 1.6.1 of the Guidelines for further information.

HEPs are responsible for the administration of RTP scholarships, including determining the amount required to remove a student’s liability for tuition fees through an RTP fees offset. As such, the ‘amount’ of an RTP fees offset is at the discretion of the individual HEP.

As per paragraph 1.6.35 of the Guidelines, HEPs are required to inform students of the estimated value of each type of RTP scholarship support awarded in their RTP offer letter.

An RTP recipient awarded an RTP fees offset cannot be charged a tuition fee for the period they are receiving the RTP fees offset scholarship. As specified in sub-paragraph 1.6.25 of the Guidelines, if a HEP awards a student an RTP fees offset, the HEP is required to fully offset the liability of the student receiving the RTP fees offset to pay tuition fees.

HEPs have the discretion to award an RTP allowance for any ancillary costs related to a student's HDR. While the Guidelines provide a list of examples of RTP allowances, this list is not exhaustive.

RTP offer letters to students must contain the scholarship amount funded by the Australian Government. Scholarship funding from other sources may be included in the same letter. However, as per paragraph 1.6.35 of the Guidelines, it is important that the estimated RTP component is clearly identified. For example, the letter might include that the student has been awarded funding comprising $34,000 RTP stipend scholarship funding, RTP fees offset funding at the rate determined by the HEP and an additional $10,000 from the HEP or an industry partner per year.

HEPs must offer each student awarded an RTP stipend a stipend rate at least equal to the base full-time RTP stipend rate and no more than the maximum full-time RTP stipend rate as advised by the department by 1 October of the preceding year.

The stipend rates advised by the department apply to all RTP stipend payments made in the relevant grant year, in accordance with paragraph 1.6.10 of the Guidelines.

Periods of support and transfers

For each RTP scholarship awarded, the following minimum and maximum periods of support apply:

DegreeStudent loadMinimum period of supportMaximum period of support
Reseach doctorateFull-time3 years4 years
Research doctoratePart-time6 years8 years
Research mastersFull-time-2 years
Research mastersPart-time-4 years

A student's maximum period of RTP scholarship support is calculated from the student's HDR course commencement date, regardless of whether if it occurred at a previous HEP, or if the student was supported through the RTP from the commencement of their HDR.

As per subparagraph 1.6.15(1) of the Guidelines, a student's period of support is not increased for periods of paid recreation leave or sick leave approved by a HEP.

A student’s RTP scholarship period of support will be increased by the length of any periods of additional sick leave, maternity leave or parental leave approved by their HEP.

Periods of support are not extended by a suspension of study or leave of absence. A student’s RTP scholarship may instead be paused.

For a student to be eligible to transfer their RTP scholarship to another HEP, the student must be currently in receipt of an RTP scholarship or be in an approved period of suspension or on approved leave. If a student has withdrawn from their HDR, they are not eligible to transfer their RTP scholarship.

The decision to grant approval for the transfer of an RTP student, and the process by which this is managed, is at the discretion of the relevant HEPs. There is no transfer of RTP funding between HEPs, so the new HEP must have sufficient RTP funds available to support the incoming student.

See subparagraph 1.6.45(8)(b) of the Guidelines for further information.

HEPs are required to seek information from the originating HEP on the student's HDR course commencement date and their course progression. As RTP funding is not transferred between institutions, HEPs should also ensure that sufficient funds are available to support the transferring student's RTP scholarship. HEPs are required to outline all policies and procedures relating to transfers in their RTP scholarship policy. HEPs must confirm scholarship details in writing to the student.

These matters are at the discretion of each HEP. However, HEPs are required to outline all policies and procedures relating to course changes or transfers in their RTP scholarship policy, which must be readily and publicly available.

See subparagraph 1.6.45(8) of the Guidelines for further information.

For information on reporting requirements, see questions 24 and 25.

Guidelines requirements and entitlements

Leave arrangements for RTP stipend recipients studying on a part-time basis are determined by HEPs in accordance with paragraph 1.6.15 of the Guidelines.

As per subparagraph 1.6.15(4) of the Guidelines, paid leave may also be provided to a student who has adopted a child, subject to the usual practice of the HEP. Similarly, subparagraph 1.6.15(5) of the Guidelines states that a period of paid leave may be granted to supporting partners, again subject to the usual practice of the HEP.

Paragraph 1.6.45 of the Guidelines requires that each HEP publish an RTP scholarship policy and sets out what must be included in this policy. The aim of this requirement is to create a single reference point to access all information on RTP scholarships.

The department expects that there may be occasional overlap with a HEP’s other scholarship policies. In these situations, it is sufficient to provide direct links to these existing policies in the RTP scholarship policy rather than duplicating the material. HEPs are encouraged to be specific when directing to other policies, including describing exactly what information is included in the other document and where it is located.

A HEP’s RTP scholarship policy must be readily and publicly available, for example, on the HEP’s public facing website, and not have access restricted by a password or login.

Refer to paragraph 1.6.45 of the Guidelines for more information.

Paragraph 1.6.55 of the Guidelines sets out the requirement for HEPs to ensure the Commonwealth's contribution is acknowledged when, at any time during or after completion of a HDR, the recipient of an RTP scholarship, their supervisor or any other party, publishes or produces material, such as journal articles or book chapters, which relate to the research project carried out by the RTP scholarship recipient.

This acknowledgement must include mention of the student's support through an ’Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.’

An example acknowledgement statement would be, ’This research was supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship doi.org/10.82133/C42F-K220.’

Students may acknowledge the support of the Commonwealth through the RTP by including the RTP’s digital object identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.82133/C42F-K220 in their ORCID profile.

In accordance with the Guidelines, RTP Scholarships include RTP Fees Offset, RTP Stipends and RTP Allowances provided to a HDR student through the RTP.

HEPs and HDR students are not prevented from also using other relevant persistent identifiers, including DOIs.

Reporting requirements

To ensure that HEPs comply with the requirement of a maximum of 10% of RTP funding spent on overseas students (subparagraph 1.6.30 of the Guidelines), the department requires annual expenditure reporting as described in the Financial Statement Guidelines for HEPs for the relevant reporting year.

The information reported for a HDR student through the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) should reflect their current enrolment status, acknowledging relevant reporting deadlines.

A student’s HDR completion can only be reported once, and there is no splitting or reporting of a percentage of a completion when reporting a HDR completion for a student who has transferred from another HEP. Only one HEP should report the completion through the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI).

A student’s HDR completion can only be reported once, and there is no splitting or reporting of a percentage of a completion when reporting joint HDR completions, so only one HEP should report the completion through the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI).

In deciding which HEP reports the completion for a joint HDR, HEPs should work with their counterparts to determine which HEP should report the completion code and which HEP should report the code indicating the course was completed at another provider. The department recommends using Element 599 value 06 ‘transfer to complete a related course’.

All verified HDR student completions reported by eligible Australian HEPs through TCSI are included for the purposes of calculating annual RTP funding allocations.

The Guidelines define a research doctorate as:

  • a Level 10 doctoral degree (research) or doctoral degree (professional) qualification as described in the Australian Qualifications Framework;

while a HDR is defined as:

  • a research doctorate course for which at least two-thirds of the student load for the course is required as research work.

Professional doctorates that consist of less than two-thirds research are not included for the purposes of calculating RTP funding and should be reported through Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) Element 310 as code 12 (Doctorate by coursework).

Professional doctorates that comprise at least two-thirds research are included in the verified HDR completions data used to calculate RTP funding and should be reported through Element 310 as code 02 (Doctorate by research).

The definition of research can be found in the Guidelines.

Other

For these purposes, the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) definition of a completion is used. As per TCSI, a course completion is the successful completion of all academic requirements of a course which includes any required attendance, assignments, examinations, assessments, dissertations, practical experience and work experience in the industry.

The RTP stipend is paid for educational purposes. Under section 51-10 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, scholarships paid to full-time students for educational purposes, such as RTP stipends, are treated as exempt income.

Part-time RTP stipends are taxable.

For further information refer to the ATO’s scholarship payments page or contact the ATO.

The terminology HEPs should use is ‘Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship’.