Equity Schemes and Scholarships

Equity schemes help compensate for educational disadvantage by making your application more competitive, and scholarships provide financial assistance to help with your studies. If you are eligible for Equity Schemes and Scholarships, this option will become available in your VTAC account after you have lodged a course application. You must submit your Equity Schemes and Scholarships application and provide any supporting evidence by the due date. Refer to VTAC dates for more information.

Equity schemes & Scholarships Eligibility Criteria

You are eligible to apply for equity schemes and scholarships if you hold one of the following:

  • Australian or New Zealand citizenship

  • A permanent Australian residency visa

  • An eligible temporary protection, safe haven, or humanitarian visa, or a bridging visa while applying for a humanitarian visa

Once you submit an equity schemes and scholarships application you will be considered for an adjustment according to the categories you apply for and any supporting documentation.

Additional Requirements

To apply for equity schemes and scholarships, you must have submitted a course application through VTAC.

International Year 12 Applicants

Most international Australian Year 12 applicants are not eligible to apply for equity schemes and scholarships. Instead, they are encouraged to contact institutions directly to explore other entry and access programs.

VTAC Equity Schemes

VTAC offers the Equity schemes & scholarships application that covers a range of access and equity programs provided by institutions. Applying through VTAC allows institutions to assess your full potential during the selection process by considering the circumstances or challenges you have faced and how they have impacted your studies.

How Equity Schemes Work

Equity schemes help compensate for educational disadvantage by making your application more competitive. This is done by increasing your selection rank for the courses you apply to. Adjustments made through your equity schemes application raise your selection rank above your ATAR, but they do not change your ATAR itself.

Institutional Participation

While most institutions participate in VTAC"s equity scheme, some run their own separate programs outside of the VTAC process. For more details, refer to Equity schemes categories and participating institutions.

Important Note: Equity schemes & scholarships information is only used for the purpose of your VTAC application, and can only benefit your outcome.

Equity Schemes and Scholarships:

Equity schemes help compensate for educational disadvantage by making your application more competitive, and scholarships provide financial assistance to help with your studies. Scholarships are not just for academic achievement, you may be eligible based on the same circumstances as an Equity Schemes application. If you are eligible for equity schemes and scholarships, this option will become available in your VTAC account after you have lodged and submitted a course application.

Detailed information for each category can be accessed through the links below:

Personal information and location is automatically considered, and you only need to select the additional categories relevant to your circumstances. You must submit your Equity Schemes and Scholarships application and provide all supporting evidence by the due date. Refer to VTAC dates for more information.

How to Apply:

  1. Navigate to the Equity Schemes and Scholarships Application page

    • Select Equity schemes & scholarships from the drop-down menu. This option will become available after you have submitted and paid for your course application.

  2. Complete the Equity Schemes and Scholarships Application form

    • Complete the details relevant to you under each of the categories. Remember that you do not need to submit complete information the first time you submit the form, and can make any edits until the closing date.

  3. Navigate to the Providing Evidence page to submit the required supporting documentation before the deadline

Important note:

Make sure you apply for equity schemes and scholarships and provide supporting evidence as early as possible to ensure you are properly considered for an adjustment, or any equity scholarships.

Automatic Consideration for Personal Information and Location

Applicants eligible for Equity Schemes & Scholarships are automatically considered under Personal Information and Location when submitting their course application. You do not need to submit the Equity Schemes & Scholarship application in order to be considered for the circumstances defined for this category. The information provided in your account will be used for assessment and no additional evidence is required.

To verify that you are opted into this category, visit the Manage Permissions page in your VTAC account.

Visit the Personal Information and Location category page for more information.

Financial Hardship Consideration

The following types of circumstances may be considered under this category. This list is not exhaustive but serves as a guide to the types of financial disadvantage that may be taken into account:

  • Receiving Centrelink benefits
  • Being a dependent of a parent or guardian who receives Centrelink benefits
  • Experiencing excessive financial obligations
  • Facing individual or family economic hardship
  • Living in individual or family poverty

If you believe you are eligible for this category, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Application details and any supporting documents must be submitted by the equity schemes and scholarships application deadline. Visit the VTAC dates page for the full list of key dates and deadlines.

How to Apply for Financial Hardship in Your Equity Schemes & Scholarships Application

  1. Log in to your VTAC account.
  2. Navigate to your Equity Schemes and Scholarships application (available once you have submitted a course application).
  3. Under the Financial Hardship section, click Yes to indicate you have been impacted by financial circumstances. 
  4. Once you have completed all of the required fields, click Submit to confirm your application details and navigate to the next page.
  5. Once all details are submitted, you will receive a confirmation of submission in your VTAC inbox.

Providing Evidence for Financial Hardship

After submitting your application, you may be required to provide supporting evidence. For advice on the evidence requirements for each category, visit Providing Evidence for equity schemes and scholarships page. For guidance on how to provide supporting evidence, visit the Providing Evidence page.

Disability or Medical Condition

This category applies to applicants who have faced educational disadvantage due to a learning, physical, sensory, psychiatric, or mental health condition, illness, or disability. The following list provides examples of the types of conditions that may be considered:

Eligible Conditions:

  • Neurodevelopmental disorder
  • Physical disability
  • Psychosocial disability
  • Acquired brain injury (ABI)
  • Neurological disability
  • Vision, hearing, or speech/language impairment
  • Major illness
  • Medical condition

If you believe you are eligible for this category, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Application details and any supporting documents must be submitted by the equity schemes and scholarships deadline. Visit the VTAC dates page for the full list of key dates and deadlines.

How to Apply for Living with a Disability or Medical Condition in Your Equity Schemes & Scholarship Application

  1. Log in to your VTAC account.
  2. Navigate to your Equity Schemes and Scholarships application (available once you have submitted a course application).
  3. Under the Living with a Disability or Medical Condition section, click Yes to indicate you have been impacted by these circumstances. 
  4. Once you have completed all of the required fields, click Submit to confirm your application details and navigate to the next page.
  5. Once all details are submitted, you will receive a confirmation of submission in your VTAC inbox.

Providing Evidence for Disability or Medical Condition

You are required to provide supporting evidence for Disability or Medical Condition circumstances. For advice on the evidence requirements for each category, visit Providing Evidence for equity schemes and scholarships page. For guidance on how to provide supporting evidence, visit the Providing Evidence page.

Difficult Family and Life Circumstances

This category applies to applicants whose educational potential has been negatively affected by family or other life circumstances. The circumstances considered under this category include, but are not limited to:

  • Refugee or asylum seeker status
  • Domestic, family, or sexual violence
  • Homelessness or formal out-of-home care
  • Natural disasters
  • Other significant challenges, such as:
    • Death or long-term illness of a family member
    • Disruptions to family or educational environment
    • Discrimination or bullying

If you have experienced difficult family or life circumstances that have impacted your education, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Application details and any supporting documents must be submitted by the equity schemes and scholarships deadline. Visit the VTAC dates page for the full list of key dates and deadlines.

How to Apply for Difficult Family and Life Circumstances in Your Equity Schemes Application & Scholarships Application

  1. Log in to your VTAC account.
  2. Navigate to your Equity Schemes and Scholarships application (available once you have submitted a course application).
  3. Under the Difficult Family and Life Circumstances section, click Yes to indicate you have been impacted by these circumstances. 
  4. Once you have completed all of the required fields, click Submit to confirm your application details and navigate to the next page.
  5. Once all details are submitted, you will receive a confirmation of submission in your VTAC inbox.

Providing Evidence for Difficult Family and Life Circumstances

After submitting your application, you may be required to provide supporting evidence. For advice on the evidence requirements for each category, visit Providing Evidence for equity schemes and scholarships page. For guidance on how to provide supporting evidence, visit the Providing Evidence page.

Statement of Support

A Statement of Support is a type of evidence required for a number of circumstances in the Equity Schemes & Scholarships application. This document helps verify your circumstances and ensures your application is properly assessed for adjustments.

The Statement of Support should contain:

  • Confirmation of your circumstances
  • The timeline of when they occurred and whether they are ongoing
  • A detailed description of how these circumstances have impacted your education
  • Contact details of the person providing the statement

Who Can Provide a Statement of Support?

The statement must be written by someone who meets the criteria of a responsible person. A responsible person must meet ALL of the following criteria:

  • over 21 years of age
  • aware of the circumstances you have claimed in your application
  • is not related to you by birth, marriage, de facto relationship, or any other personal relationship
  • does not live with you

Important Note: A Medical Practitioner is required to complete statements of support for the Living with a disability or medical condition category.

How to Submit a Statement of Support

  1. Click "Upload Document" on the Providing Evidence page
  2. Send an online statement of support to your responsible person to submit the statement electronically
    • Click "Yes" under "Request online statement of support"

  3. Upload a completed form to your VTAC account.

    • You can download a statement of support template by clicking "download and print a blank statement of support" on the Providing Evidence page in your account
    • You can also download a statement of support template from the statement of support page of the VTAC website.

Application details and any supporting documents must be submitted by the equity schemes and scholarships application deadline. Visit the VTAC dates page for the full list of key dates and deadlines.

Additional Information

For advice on the evidence requirements for each category, visit Providing Evidence for equity schemes and scholarships page. For guidance on how to provide supporting evidence, visit the Providing Evidence page.

Equity Schemes Application Outcomes

Applicants do not receive individual outcomes for their equity applications. Instead, outcomes are forwarded to institutions, who apply adjustments based on their own policies. As a result, adjustments may vary between institutions.

Rest assured that if you have submitted your Equity Schemes and Scholarships application, along with all required documents that have been accepted by VTAC, you will be considered for a competitive adjustment.

How Equity Adjustments Are Assessed

Institutions evaluate equity applications by considering the disadvantages outlined in your submission. To understand how equity adjustments are applied and which categories are relevant, applicants should refer to the equity page on their chosen institution"s website or visit the participating institutions page.

Scholarship Statements

You can provide additional statements to explain how a scholarship will benefit your studies to be considered for scholarships through VTAC. Scholarships are awarded for equity circumstances, not just for academic achievement.

Note: Scholarships are not available through VTAC for Mid-year (semester two) intake. Institutions may offer direct scholarship methods for both Main Round (semester one) and Mid-year (semester two) intakes, please consult the direct scholarships page for more information.

 

Tips for a Strong Scholarship Benefit Statement

  • Clearly outline how a scholarship will assist your studies.
  • Emphasise the benefits a scholarship would provide for your education and future goals.
Within the scholarship statements section there is a further options for Community service and leadership statement, where you can highlight any relevant experiences or contributions.

Scholarship-only applications

A scholarships-only application allows eligible applicants to apply for certain scholarships through VTAC without submitting a VTAC course application.

This option is designed for people who are not applying for a course through VTAC but still wish to be considered for participating institution scholarships.

Who can submit a scholarships-only application?

You may be eligible if you are:

  • Applying for Victorian courses through UAC (Universities Admissions Centre)
  • Already enrolled in a tertiary course
  • Deferring your studies
  • Transferring between tertiary courses
  • Applying directly to a university rather than through VTAC

Participating institutions

The following institutions accept scholarship applications from applicants who are not submitting a VTAC course application:

  • La Trobe University
  • Swinburne University of Technology
  • Victoria University

How to apply

A link to the scholarships-only application will be available to VTAC account holders once they complete their education history section.

The link can be found beneath the 'My application' section on the Portal homepage. Click 'Edit scholarship-only application' to begin.

Complete all form fields that are relevant to you, and provide any supporting documentation requested to complete your application.

Important information

Visit the VTAC scholarships page for important information on application opening and closure dates, eligibility requirements, institutional information, and more.

Benefits of a Scholarship

Scholarships offer financial support to students facing financial hardship, difficult circumstances, or the need to relocate for study. Scholarships are not solely based on academic achievement, you may qualify for equity scholarships based on the circumstances outlined in VTAC's Equity schemes and scholarships application.

 

Applying for Scholarships

Scholarship opportunities are available through:

  • VTAC
  • Individual institutions
  • Government, community, and business organisations

It"s important to research all available options and apply for any scholarships you may be eligible for.

 

Eligibility & Application Process

  • VTAC scholarship applications are open to those submitting a VTAC course application during the main round for Semester 1 entry.
  • Institutions may have multiple scholarship application periods, so check their deadlines carefully.
  • To qualify for institutional access and equity scholarships, you must meet the institution"s specific eligibility and residency requirements.

 

More Information

 For a list of scholarships available through VTAC, see the following page here.

 For a list of scholarships available directly through institutions, see the following page here.

Scholarship Notifications via VTAC

For scholarships available through VTAC, most institutions will notify successful applicants via their VTAC user account.

 

Provisional Scholarship Advice

VTAC will provide provisional scholarship advice for the following institutions:

  • Deakin University
  • Federation University Australia
  • La Trobe University
  • Swinburne University of Technology

 

There are two types of scholarship advice:

  1. Waiting List Notification – Your application is on a waiting list. If successful, the institution will contact you directly once course offers are determined.
  2. Unsuccessful Application – Your application has not been successful.

 

Important Notes:

  • Receiving a scholarship does not guarantee a course offer.
  • Scholarship advice will be available in your VTAC account around late November to early December.
  • If you have not received any updates from VTAC or the institutions by the end of December, contact the institutions directly.
  • VTAC does not determine scholarship eligibility or award decisions. Most institutions will notify successful scholarship applicant via the VTAC user account.

 

More information

For more information please see the Scholarship offers page on the VTAC website.

Who Can Provide a Statement of Support?

The statement must be written by someone who meets the criteria of a responsible person. 

A responsible person must meet ALL of the following criteria:

  • over 21 years of age
  • aware of the circumstances you have claimed in your application
  • is not related to you by birth, marriage, de facto relationship, or any other personal relationship
  • does not live with you

Important Note: A Medical Practitioner is required to complete statements of support for the Living with a disability or medical condition category.