Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships deliver on Action 2 under the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to help attract high quality candidates into the teaching profession and to help address teacher workforce shortages.
Applications for Round One are now closed.
If you are interested in future rounds, you can register your interest.
Register your interest nowRound One applications
Round One applications for the first semester/study period for 2024 have now closed. Round Two applications are expected to open in late 2024/early 2025.
If you have applied, please be patient while applications are assessed. The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) will not provide individual application status updates to applicants.
Applicants will be advised of the outcome of their scholarship application by email, once the assessment process has been finalised.
About Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships
Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships support new undergraduate and postgraduate teaching students to meet the costs of their study in exchange for teaching in government schools or government-run early learning settings for a period of time after graduating from their degree.
Scholarships of up to $40,000 per student are available for full-time undergraduate initial teacher education (ITE) students ($10,000 per year for a four-year qualification) and up to $20,000 for full-time postgraduate ITE students ($10,000 per year for a two‑year- qualification).
Applications are strongly encouraged from school leavers and career changers who meet the eligibility criteria and who are high-achieving students (with an ATAR of 80 or above or equivalent academic result), First Nations peoples, people for whom English is an additional language or dialect, people with disability, people from regional, rural or remote locations, mid-career professionals or people from low socio-economic backgrounds, who aspire to a rewarding career in teaching.
Scholarships will be available over five rounds from 2024 to 2028 with up to 1,000 scholarships per year to be offered. Please note, the 2024 scholarship application process has now closed. Applications for 2025 will open later 2024/early 2025.
Information about the Scholarships, who can apply and how to apply is provided below. Prospective applicants should read the following resources on this site to determine eligibility:
Who can apply?
To apply you must be a person living in Australia who is:
- an Australian citizen
- a permanent resident
- a holder of a permanent humanitarian visa; or
- a New Zealand citizen living in Australia.
You can only apply for a scholarship in Round Two if you will be studying full-time and commencing an accredited ITE program in the first semester or study period of 2025.
In return for your scholarship, you must also be willing to commit to teaching for up to four years (undergraduate) and up to two years (postgraduate) in a government school or government-run early learning setting.
Applications are strongly encouraged from school leavers and career changers who meet the eligibility criteria and who are high-achieving students (with an ATAR of 80 or above or equivalent academic result), First Nations peoples, people for whom English is an additional language or dialect, people with disability, mid-career professionals, people from regional, rural or remote locations or people from low socio-economic backgrounds, who aspire to a rewarding career in teaching.
How to apply
Once the Round Two applications open in late 2024/early 2025 you must submit your application through the online application form before the closing date. No late applications will be accepted.
Scholarships will be offered to eligible teaching students (with a focus on supporting target cohorts) who are commencing a full-time undergraduate or full-time postgraduate ITE program.
Commitment to teach obligation
If you are successful in gaining a Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship you will be required to sign a Scholarship Agreement with the department.
The Agreement will outline your obligation to teach in a government school or government-run early learning setting for a time equivalent to the length of your teaching degree.
This means teaching for up to four years full-time equivalent for those scholarship recipients who have completed an undergraduate degree and up to two years full-time equivalent for scholarship recipients who completed a postgraduate degree.
You can teach in any, or in more than one, government school or government-run early learning setting in any location, to meet your commitment to teach obligation.
Education departments in each state and territory provide information about how to seek employment in their schools and early learning settings. The department does not find or place scholarship recipients in schools.
Other teaching scholarships and support
If you apply for a Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship you can apply for other scholarships or incentive programs. However, you must check that there are no restrictions on you applying for, or accepting, more than one scholarship or program and that you are able to meet the requirements of all programs.
To find out more information on state and territory financial support or scholarships visit state and territory education department websites.
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Contact us
If, after reading the information on this website and the Resources page, you still have questions, you can contact the Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships team at TeachingScholarships@education.gov.au
Please note, if you contact the Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships team during the application assessment period, there may be a delay in responding to your correspondence.