The essentials at a glance
Yes, Nepali students can get a scholarship in Australia, and most receive a university award that takes 20% to 50% off the tuition fee. Awards differ by level, course and university, and many come with your offer letter. For a master's, the government's Australia Awards pays the full fee, living costs and airfare. But it needs three years of work. With a part award, you still pay the rest of the fee and your living costs.
Main points from this page
Yes, you can, and most Nepali students who get one receive a partial scholarship from their university that cuts the tuition fee.
Scholarships in Australia come from two main places. The Australian Government funds a few full awards. Universities give many more partial ones to good students from every country, Nepal included. Study Australia, the government’s website for students, lists the main ones on its scholarships page. So the real question is not whether you can get one. It is which one fits your level, your grades and your plans.
Keep in mind that a scholarship is only one part of your plan. You still need an offer letter, an English score and money for the rest of your costs. Our guide to study in Australia from Nepal walks you through the whole plan. Most awards fall into one of these three groups.
Nepali students can apply for Australia Awards, research awards and the awards that each university gives to students from abroad.
Every university in Australia has its own awards for students from abroad, so this list is not complete. We picked well-known ones that are open to Nepali students. We checked each one on the university’s own page. Values can change each year, so read the official page before you apply.
This is the Australian Government’s full award. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) runs it. The Australia Awards Scholarships page lists full tuition, airfare, a living allowance and health cover. In Nepal it is for master’s study only. You also need three years of work after your bachelor’s.
This is government money that pays the fees of research students. Many universities add a living allowance too. You apply through the university, usually with your research proposal. Our guide to PhD in Australia explains how research scholarships work and when to contact a supervisor.
Monash University gives this award to new bachelor’s students from abroad. The Monash International Merit Scholarship pays AUD 15,000 a year, up to AUD 75,000 in total. There is no form to fill in. Every student with a bachelor’s offer is checked, but only about 20 get it each year.
Deakin University pays 50% or 100% of your fee for the normal length of your course. The Deakin Vice-Chancellor’s International Scholarship asks for at least 85% in +2, or 80% in a bachelor’s. You apply with a form, a short statement of 300 words and two references.
Griffith University has two awards that suit many Nepali students. The Vice Chancellor’s International Scholarship pays 50% of your fee. You apply for it after you get your offer. The International Academic Merit Scholarship pays 20%. It is given with your offer if your grades are good.
Western Sydney University gives new master’s students AUD 5,000 or AUD 10,000 a year, based on their grades. The Western Sydney postgraduate scholarship needs no separate application. Some master’s courses that Nepali students like, such as IT and business analytics, get the AUD 10,000 award with the offer.
Charles Darwin University (CDU) teaches in Darwin and Sydney. Its Global Merit award takes 30% off the fee in some courses, even TAFE courses, with no form. Its High Achievers award pays 50%, but it asks for 95% in your last course. Both are listed on the CDU international scholarships page.
Only Australia Awards pays for everything, while university scholarships take part of the tuition fee off for the whole course.
This table puts the awards side by side. You can see which ones match your level and whether you need a separate form. Deadlines are given as months, because they move a little each year. For awards that come with your offer, the deadline is just your course application.
| Scholarship | Level | What you get | How you apply | Usual deadline |
| Australia Awards | Master’s (coursework or research) | Full tuition, living allowance, airfare, health cover | Separate online application, then an interview | Opens in February, closes at the end of April |
| Research Training Program | PhD and research master’s | Tuition, often with a living allowance | Through the university, with a research proposal | Set by each university |
| Monash International Merit | Bachelor’s | AUD 15,000 a year | Automatic with your offer | Your course application |
| Deakin Vice-Chancellor’s International | Bachelor’s and master’s (coursework) | 50% or 100% of tuition | Form, statement and two references | At least one month before your course starts |
| Griffith Vice Chancellor’s International | Bachelor’s and master’s (coursework) | 50% of tuition | Separate application after your offer | Usually late November for the February-March start |
| Griffith International Academic Merit | Bachelor’s and master’s (coursework) | 20% of tuition | Automatic with your offer | Your course application |
| Western Sydney International (postgraduate) | Master’s (coursework) | AUD 5,000 or 10,000 a year | Automatic with your offer | Your course application |
| CDU Global Merit | TAFE, bachelor’s and master’s | 30% of tuition | Automatic with your offer | Your course application |
| CDU Vice-Chancellor’s High Achievers | Bachelor’s and master’s (coursework) | 50% of tuition | Separate application with a statement | Usually the end of January for the first semester |
You may still see the Destination Australia award on older websites, with AUD 15,000 a year. The Department of Education says on its Destination Australia page that there are no new rounds after 1 July 2024. So new students cannot apply for it. Our Nepali date converter helps you match these deadlines with the Nepali calendar.
Most scholarships go to students with high grades, a valid English score and an offer letter, and some also look at work and leadership.
Each award sets its own rules, and they differ by level, course and university. Still, the same few things come up again and again. So it helps to check yourself against them first. Our page on the requirements to study in Australia explains the entry grades for each level. You must meet these before any award is considered.
University awards are mostly about your marks. Deakin asks for 85% in +2, and CDU’s top award asks for 95%. If your +2 result is in GPA, the NEB GPA calculator helps you work out your grade first.
You need IELTS, PTE or TOEFL at the level your course asks for. Australia Awards asks for more: IELTS 6.5 with no band below 6.0. Our guide to the minimum IELTS and PTE for Australia lists the usual scores for admission.
Almost every university award is linked to an offer from that university. Some awards are written in the offer letter itself. Others have a form, and it usually asks for a copy of your offer.
For Nepal, Australia Awards needs at least three years of full-time work after your bachelor’s. The work should help Nepal grow. If you have just passed +2 or your bachelor’s, you cannot apply yet. It is a plan for later.
Awards with a statement, such as the 50% ones at Deakin and Griffith, look at more than marks. Helping in your community or leading a club at college gives you real things to write about.
Start about a year before your intake, choose universities whose awards match your grades, and apply for the course and the award together.
For university awards, the course application and the award move together, because the university needs to see your offer. So the steps below follow the normal order of applying. Our guide on how to apply for an Australia student visa explains that order from course to flight. Australia Awards is different. It has its own yearly window and its own form, so plan it on its own.
Tip: work backwards from your start date. Most Nepali students start in February or July, and our Australia intakes page shows when to apply for each intake. Award forms often close a few weeks before the course deadline. So write both dates in your calendar on the day you shortlist a university.
Australia Awards is a full scholarship for working Nepali graduates who want a master’s, and it usually opens in February and closes at the end of April.
The DFAT Nepal intake information sets the rules for Nepal. You need a four-year bachelor’s and three years of full-time work after it. A three-year bachelor’s counts only with a master’s of at least one year, plus the same work. The panel looks at your studies, your work and leadership, and how your degree will help Nepal. Shortlisted students are interviewed. Results usually come late in the year, for study that starts the next year.
Your course must fit one of Nepal’s priority fields. These include climate change, disasters, the economy, education, governance, mental health, natural resources and infrastructure. The English rule is IELTS 6.5 with no band below 6.0, PTE 58 or TOEFL 84. Women, people with disability, people from marginalised groups and public servants can apply with IELTS 6.0, with no band below 5.5. You apply online, and the opening and closing dates page shows each year’s dates.
There is one rule to know before you apply. After your course, you must leave Australia for at least two years. If you do not, you owe the full cost of the award. The Australia Awards Nepal office is in Kamaladi, Kathmandu, and it puts the forms on the Australia Awards Nepal website. These are the documents it asks for.
Your passport proves your citizenship. Your name in the form must match it exactly, with no short forms or nicknames.
Certified copies of your certificates and transcripts from SLC or SEE onwards, with your grades. A character certificate does not count.
Your IELTS, PTE or TOEFL result, still valid on 1 January of the year your study starts.
Two reports for a coursework master’s (one academic and one from work), or three for a research master’s, in the set format.
A short plan, in the set format, on how your degree will help your work and Nepal when you return.
A CV in the set format, plus a letter from your current job and every past job. These prove your three years of work. Our CV guide for university applications helps with the content.
A research proposal and proof that a possible supervisor in Australia supports it in principle.
A university award usually pays part of your fee only, so you still pay the rest of the fee and all your living costs.
Here is a simple example. If your course costs AUD 40,000 a year and you get a 50% scholarship, you save AUD 20,000 a year, which is about Rs 18 lakh. You still pay the other AUD 20,000, plus rent, food, health cover and travel. Our page on the cost to study in Australia lists the usual fees by level, so you can do your own sums. All amounts here are in Australian dollars, and the AUD to Rs forex converter shows what they are worth in rupees today.
A part award also does not cut the money you show for the visa by much. You still show AUD 29,710 for a year of living costs, about Rs 27 lakh, plus the fee you will pay and travel money. So see an award as a real saving for your family, not a way to skip bank or loan documents. Here is what an award can pay for, and the rules for keeping it.
University awards take 20% to 100% off the fee, or a set amount each year. Australia Awards and most research awards pay the full fee.
Only Australia Awards and many research awards help with living costs. With a university merit award, you pay your own rent and food.
Australia Awards pays a return economy airfare and a one-time allowance when you arrive. University awards almost never do.
Australia Awards pays your student health cover. With other awards, you buy it yourself before you apply for the visa.
Most awards have conditions. Monash asks for a 70% average every semester, and CDU asks you to keep a GPA of 5.3 with no failed unit.
Awards pay for the normal length of the course only. If you fail a unit or take longer, you pay for the extra study.
Most applications fail for simple reasons, such as a missed date, low grades or a statement that sounds copied.
Panels read many forms from Nepal and India for the same awards, so small problems stand out. The good news is that you can avoid almost all of these mistakes with a little more time. If you are applying to several universities, our list of cheapest universities in Australia helps you compare fees too. A lower fee can save as much as a small award. These are the five mistakes we see most often.
Award forms often close before the course deadline. Australia Awards takes nothing after it closes at the end of April.
If an award asks for 85% and you have 70%, your form is not even read. Apply where your result is above the award’s minimum.
Panels notice repeated text. Write about your own studies, your own work and your own reasons for the course.
Australia Awards rejects documents in last year’s format. So download the forms again each year.
Many students only try for full awards. A 20% or 30% award that comes with your offer is far easier to get, and it still saves lakhs.
A scholarship lowers what you pay, but you still need the same student visa, and the same rules apply to you.
Your award letter goes into your visa application as proof of the costs it pays. For the rest, you show your own funds. Our Australia student visa requirements page explains which bank, loan and income documents from Nepal count. An award also helps your Genuine Student answers. It shows the university chose you for your good results.
There is one big change for families. From 2 October 2026, most students cannot bring a partner or children on their visa. But Home Affairs lets some students include family. Its family members page names DFAT-sponsored students, like Australia Awards scholars, and foreign government scholarship holders. A university award does not give this right. Our guide to the Australia student visa with spouse or dependants explains the rest.
Would you like help choosing universities whose awards fit your grades? Our counselors can check your profile wherever you live in Nepal, even in a town like Dhangadhi. You can visit our branches in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Itahari and Pokhara, or get in touch online.
Dhiraj combines his leadership experience with expert study abroad guidance, helping students like you choose the right universities, scholarships, and career paths. Approachable, knowledgeable, and committed to supporting you every step of your journey.
Yes, but there are few of them. Australia Awards pays everything for master’s students with three years of work. Research awards can cover the fee and living costs for PhD students. Most other Nepali students get a part award instead.
Part awards of 20% to 30%, or AUD 5,000 to 10,000 a year, are quite common for students with good grades. Many come with the offer. Full and 50% awards are much harder, as they ask for very high marks and a strong statement.
Yes. Monash, Deakin, Griffith and CDU all have awards for new bachelor’s students, mostly based on your +2 result. Australia Awards is not open to bachelor’s students from Nepal. So if you have just passed +2, focus on university awards.
Yes. University awards such as Western Sydney’s AUD 10,000 a year or Griffith’s 20% scholarship look at your bachelor’s grades, not your work history. Only Australia Awards needs three years of work.
You still need an English score that your university accepts, but it does not have to be IELTS. Most universities take PTE or TOEFL, and Australia Awards takes all three. An award never replaces the English rule for the course or the visa.
No. The Australian Government stopped new rounds from 1 July 2024. Students who already had it keep it until they finish, but new students from Nepal cannot apply.
For university awards, apply with your course application, usually 6 to 9 months before your intake. Australia Awards usually opens in February and closes at the end of April. Study then starts the next year.
Yes, for the part the award does not pay. A 50% award still leaves half the fee, plus AUD 29,710 for a year of living costs and travel money. Only a full award such as Australia Awards covers almost everything.
Only some can. Since 2 October 2026, most students cannot bring family. DFAT-sponsored students, like Australia Awards scholars, and foreign government scholarship holders are exempt. A university award alone does not let you include a partner or children.
Reference links
Important guidance note
This page provides general guidance about studying abroad. Requirements, fees and policies can change. For advice about your situation, speak with a Goreto counselor before applying.
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