Round 3 applications will open on Monday 17 November 2025 for individuals who are intending to commence an accredited teaching degree in the first semester or study period of 2026. The eligibility requirements on this page apply to all rounds of the Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships Program.
On this page:
Are you eligible
To apply for a Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship, you must be living in Australia, and be:
- an Australian citizen
- a permanent resident
- a holder of a permanent humanitarian visa, or
- a New Zealand citizen.
Additionally, you must:
- be commencing an Australian accredited teaching degree
- be starting your degree in the first semester or first study period of the year you apply for a scholarship (Round 1 – 2024 (closed), Round 2 – 2025 (closed), Round 3 – 2026, Round 4 – 2027, Round 5 – 2028)
- study full-time for the duration of your scholarship funding (determined by the length of your degree)
- be willing to commit to teach in a government school or government-run early learning setting in Australia after you graduate.
You cannot apply for a scholarship if you:
- want to study part-time at any stage of your degree
- want to begin your degree mid-year or intend to defer the start of your teaching degree
- are enrolling in a degree that is not an accredited teaching degree
- are currently partway through an accredited teaching degree
- are living or intending to study overseas
- have completed any units towards, and withdrawn from, an accredited teaching degree within 2 years of applying for a scholarship
- have already completed an accredited teaching degree.
You do not have to be enrolled in an accredited teaching degree before you apply for a scholarship. However, if you receive a Conditional Offer, you will be asked to provide official evidence of your full-time enrolment in an accredited teaching degree.
You can also see if you are eligible to apply for a scholarship in Round 3 by using the Eligibility Checker tool.
Applying
Applications for Round 3 will open on Monday 17 November 2025. Information about the documents that are required in an application can be found below.
Prospective undergraduate applicants
You will need to provide one of the following documents:
- an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) statement (estimated/adjusted ATARs are not accepted)
- an International Baccalaureate (IB) result
- the Tertiary Entrance (TE) score (Tasmania only)
- a pre-ATAR statement (e.g. a Queensland Overall Position (OP), Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER), Universities Admission Index (UAI), Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank (ENTER)
- a Skills for Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) statement (formerly known as the (Special Tertiary Admissions Test)
- a Vocational Education and Training (VET) competency transcript (e.g. diploma results)
- an academic transcript for a completed degree that includes an overall Grade Point Average (GPA) or Weighted Average Mark (WAM)
- an academic transcript from an international school or education institution that includes an overall score/grade
If you have an academic transcript for a completed degree that does not contain an overall GPA or WAM, we encourage you to contact the higher education provider that awarded your degree to ask for an official document that includes one of these grades, before you apply.
If you cannot provide an academic transcript that contains an overall GPA or WAM, you must provide an academic transcript that contains numeric or lettered grades so that an overall score can be calculated on your behalf.
Prospective postgraduate applicants
You will need to provide one of the following documents:
- an academic transcript from your most recently completed Bachelor, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, or Masters degree that includes an overall Grade Point Average (GPA) or Weighted Average Mark (WAM)
- an official academic transcript from an international higher education institution that includes an overall score/grade
If you have an academic transcript that does not contain an overall GPA or WAM, we encourage you to contact the higher education provider that awarded your qualification to ask for an official document that includes one of these grades, before you apply.
If you cannot provide an academic transcript that contains an overall GPA or WAM, you must provide an academic transcript that contains numeric or lettered grades so that an overall score can be calculated on your behalf.
Target cohorts
The Program aims to attract high-achieving candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds to the teaching profession. To achieve this, priority will be given to applicants who identify as belonging to one or more of the following cohorts:
- high-achieving students with an ATAR of 80 or more or equivalent (undergraduate applicants only)
- mid-career professionals
- First Nations peoples
- people from a rural, regional or remote area
- people with disability
- people from a low socio-economic background
- people for whom English is an additional language or dialect
Scholarships will be awarded based on prior academic achievement with priority given to applicants who have identified as belonging to one or more of the target cohorts until all funding is exhausted.
Applicants are responsible for determining which target cohort/s they identify with.
You can still apply for a scholarship if you do not identify with a target cohort.
Application process
Application stage
To be considered eligible for a Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship, an applicant must complete an online scholarship application form and provide all requested supporting academic evidence.
Academic evidence submitted must include:
- the applicant’s full legal name (or prior legal name, if applicable)
- official branding that clearly identifies the issuer/education provider
- date the qualification or results were awarded or conferred
- an overall academic result or a list of completed units with numeric or lettered grades
- all pages of the qualification/award and be a complete record.
Eligibility checks may commence prior to the closing date of an application round.
Eligibility and assessment stage
In this stage applications will undergo eligibility checks to make sure they meet the eligibility requirements.
If an application is incomplete or an applicant provides incorrect academic evidence, it will be deemed ineligible and will not be assessed.
If an application meets the eligibility requirements, prior academic evidence will be assessed.
If the number of eligible applications exceeds the amount of funds available, then eligible applications will be ranked based on the applicant’s level of academic achievement and whether the applicant is in one or more of the target cohorts.
Note: Eligible applicants are not guaranteed a scholarship.
Applicants will be advised via email of the outcome of their application following the assessment process. The assessment process may take some time, so please be patient.
Conditional Offer stage
If an application is assessed as successful, an applicant may receive a Conditional Offer.
To accept a Conditional Offer, an applicant must provide the following evidence:
Proof of full-time enrolment for the full academic year
- an academic statement, or letter of enrolment, from a higher education provider confirming the applicant’s commencement date and full-time study load, as determined by the higher education provider.
The official academic evidence must contain the applicants full legal name (as stated on their citizenship evidence or name change evidence), name of higher education provider, name of accredited teaching degree, equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) or confirm full-time enrolment, commencement date, and expected completion date.
Proof of Citizenship
- a copy of an Australian or New Zealand birth certificate; or
- a copy of an Australian or New Zealand passport*; or
- a copy of an Australian Citizenship Certificate; or
- a copy of VEVO/Visa documents
Additionally, an applicant may be required to provide the following document if they have previously had a different legal name:
- a copy of a change of name certificate
- a copy of a marriage certificate
New Zealand citizens living in Australia will also be required to provide proof of Australian residency.
*Please note expired passports are not accepted as proof of citizenship
A Conditional Offer may be withdrawn if an applicant does not provide the correct evidence set out above.
Scholarship Agreement stage
If an applicant provides all the required evidence and accepts their Conditional Offer, they will be given a formal offer and Scholarship Agreement. The Scholarship Agreement is a legal contract between an individual and the Australian Government.
A sample Scholarship Agreement is on the Resources page.
The Scholarship Agreement will include:
- The maximum scholarship amount to be paid and the payment schedule.
- The timeframe over which it is to be paid, reflecting program type (i.e. undergraduate or postgraduate)
- The scholarship requirements, including the Commitment to Teach obligation
- Recipient reporting obligations
- Arrangements for repayment of scholarship funding (if applicable)
If an individual does not adhere to the legal requirements set out in their Scholarship Agreement, their scholarship may be withdrawn, and they may be required to repay any scholarship funding they receive.