Graduate research scholarship terms and conditions

Introduction

The Graduate Research Scholarships Terms and Condition apply to various graduate research scholarships offered by the University of Melbourne, including but not limited to the Melbourne Research Scholarship and Research Training Program Scholarship.

The University reserves the right to make minor amendments to these terms and conditions without prior notice.

Definitions

Child means you or your partner’s child or child born through surrogacy or child placed through adoption or permanent care. Reference to "child" in the singular is inclusive of multiple births and multiple births do not extend the period of paid leave.

Full-time equivalent means the standard measure used to calculate benefits as if you were enrolled full-time. If you enrol part-time, the actual calendar duration of entitlements will be doubled proportionally.

Full-time study means full-time enrolment as defined by the Enrolment and Timetabling Policy (MPF1294).

Offer year means the offer year specified in your scholarship offer.

Part-time study means part-time enrolment as defined by the Enrolment and Timetabling Policy (MPF1294).

Your course means the course specified in your scholarship offer.

Working day means any day that a student is deemed to be enrolled in their course, including public holidays.

Benefits

Benefits vary between scholarships. The benefits that apply to your Scholarship are specified in your scholarship offer and may include one or more of the benefits defined in this clause.

1. Stipend (Living allowance)

1. The full-time stipend rate is stated in your scholarship offer.
2. The part-time stipend rate is fifty percent of the stipend rate for full-time study
3. Stipends are paid fortnightly from the commencement date of your scholarship.
4. Stipend rates may be indexed annually by the University

2. Fee sponsorship (offset)

Fee sponsorships or offsets are applied to Australian Fee Places or Overseas Fee Places and cover the cost of tuition in part or in full for the duration of the scholarship.

3. Overseas Student Health Cover allowance

1. Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) allowance covers single membership for students who require a Student Visa to study in Australia.
2. The allowance will be applied automatically, if you have requested the University to arrange OSHC on your behalf with the University’s preferred OSHC provider after you have accepted your course and scholarship offer
3. The allowance will provide a reimbursement upon provision of a receipt if you have arranged your own OSHC membership up to the scheduled value used by the University’s preferred OSHC provider.

4. Relocation allowance

1. Subject to (d), you are entitled to a relocation allowance, if:
   1. You were living outside the State of Victoria at the time of applying for the scholarship,
   2. You have not studied at an institution in the State of Victoria within 12 months prior to applying for the scholarship, and
   3. You have relocated to Melbourne to commence your course of study at the University of Melbourne
2. The value of the allowance is:
   1. $2000 if relocated from an Australian State or Territory other than Victoria, or
   2. $3000 if you relocated from outside Australia
3. The allowance will be paid after you have commenced your studies, usually with the first payment of the stipend.
4. If you are participating in an approved Joint PhD program, you are entitled to a relocation allowance with a value of $3000. The allowance will be paid upon notification of relocation to or from Australia.

Conditions

1. Commencement

1. You must commence the Scholarship in the year for which the scholarship was offered (offer year).
2. Unless otherwise specified in your scholarship offer, if you receive permission to defer commencement of your course to the following academic year, your scholarship can be deferred to the following year.
3. If you do not commence your course in the year for which the scholarship was offered or the following year (if permitted), your scholarship will be withdrawn.
4. If you commence your course in the offer year specified in your scholarship offer, the scholarship will commence on the day that you start your course.
5. If you have commenced your course prior to the offer year specified in your scholarship offer, the Scholarship will commence on, whichever is later, the 1 January of the year for which the Scholarship was offered or the day that you accept your scholarship offer.

2. Duration

Unless otherwise specified in your scholarship offer, the following applies:

1. If you are enrolled in a Master degree, the maximum duration of a stipend and fee sponsorship is 2 years (full-time study equivalent)
2. If you are enrolled in a Doctoral degree:
   1. the maximum duration of the stipend is 3.5 years (full-time equivalent)
   2. the maximum duration of the fee sponsorship is 4 years (full-time equivalent)
3. The duration of your scholarship will be reduced by any periods of study undertaken previously towards the course for which the scholarship is awarded.

3. Study rate

1. If you are enrolled in full-time study and receive approval to change to part-time study:
   1. The stipend rate will be adjusted to the part-time stipend rate effective from the date that your part-time study takes effect
   2. The end date of your scholarship will be adjusted to reflect the remaining duration based on your part-time study rate.
2. If you are enrolled in part-time study and receive approval to change to full-time study,
   1. The stipend rate will be adjusted to the full-time stipend rate effective from the date that your full-time study takes effect
   2. The end date of your scholarship will be adjusted to reflect the remaining duration based on your full-time study rate.

4. Recreational and personal leave

1. You are entitled to 20 working days (full-time equivalent) paid recreational leave per year
2. You are entitled to 10 working days (full-time equivalent) paid personal leave per year
3. Paid recreational leave and personal leave will be accrued over the duration of your scholarship and rolled over to subsequent years
4. The duration of your scholarship will not be extended by periods of recreational leave or personal leave
5. Any unused recreational or personal leave is forfeited at the end date of your scholarship

5. Leave of absence and suspension

1. If you are granted leave of absence or suspended from your course, your stipend will be suspended (unpaid leave), unless you are entitled to paid leave under item 6.
2. The end date of your scholarship will be extended by the duration of the leave of absence or suspension.

6. Paid leave

1. Paid additional personal leave
   1. If you have used your personal leave under item 4, you are entitled to 60 working days (full-time equivalent) paid additional personal leave for periods of illness or family caring responsibilities
   2. You must provide relevant supporting documents, e.g. a medical certificate or statutory declaration setting out the reasons for the leave.
2. Paid maternity leave
   1. If you have completed 12 months of study, you are entitled to 100 working days (full-time study equivalent) paid maternity leave for each child you give birth to and are the primary carer of
   2. You can start paid maternity leave six weeks prior to expected birth date. Paid maternity leave must be taken as continuous leave within 52 weeks from the birth date of your child
   3. You must provide a medical certificate confirming the expected date of birth with your Leave of Absence application.
3. Paid parental leave
   1. If you have completed 12 months of study, you are entitled to 100 working days (full-time equivalent) paid parental leave for each child you are the primary carer of, on birth of the child by your partner or adoption of a child under the age of 16.
   2. You must take your paid parental leave as continuous leave within 52 weeks from the birth or adoption of the child
   3. You must provide evidence of the birth or adoption of your child with your Leave of Absence application.
4. Paid partner leave
   1. If you have completed 12 months of study, you are entitled to 5 days (full-time study equivalent) paid partner leave for each child to whom your partner is the main carer of, on birth or adoption
   2. You must take paid partner leave as continuous leave within 52 weeks from the birth or adoption of the child
   3. You must provide evidence of the birth or adoption of your child with your Leave of Absence application
5. Paid family violence leave
   1. For each year that you are receiving your scholarship, you are entitled to 10 days paid family violence leave, if you are enrolled in full-time study, or 5 days paid family violence leave, if you are enrolled in part-time study
   2. Paid family violence leave does not accrue over the duration of the scholarship and does not roll over to subsequent years.

7. Transfer to another course

1. If you wish to transfer to another course within the University, you must seek prior approval from the proposed faculty, school or department to transfer your scholarship and be able to meet the requirements of the Scholarship.
2. Approval to transfer is at the discretion of the relevant faculty, school or department and is not accepted as grounds for extending the duration of your scholarship.
3. If you transfer from a Master degree course to a Doctoral degree course, the maximum duration of your scholarship will be 3.5 years (full-time equivalent) from the date that you commenced the Master degree course.
4. If you transfer from a Doctoral degree course to a Master degree course:
   1. The maximum duration of your scholarship will be adjusted to 2 years (full-time equivalent)
   2. If you received your scholarship for more than 2 years (full-time equivalent), it will cease on the date of the transfer.

8. Changing your research project

1. If you wish to change your research project, you must seek prior approval from your Faculty, School or Department.
2. Changing your research project may affect your entitlement to continue to receive your Scholarship.
3. Approval to continue to receive your Scholarship for a different research project is at the discretion of your Faculty, School or Department and is not accepted as grounds for an extension of your Scholarship.

9. Thesis submission and course withdrawal

If you submit your research thesis, withdraw from your course or your enrolment is withdrawn by the University (e.g. due to unsatisfactory progress or misconduct), your scholarship will be completed and all benefits will cease.

10. Concurrent awards

Students in receipt of a Research Training Program Offset Scholarship must not be in receipt of an equivalent award or scholarship from the Australian Commonwealth Government designed to offset graduate research fees.

11. Concurrent enrolments

1. You must seek prior permission to enrol or to remain enrolled in a graduate research course at another higher education provider.
2. You may not be entitled to receive your Scholarship while you are enrolled in a graduate research course at another higher education provider. Approval to continue to receive your Scholarship is at the discretion of the relevant Faculty, School or Department.

12. Acknowledgement of funding source

1. You must acknowledge the contribution of the source of funding as specified in your scholarship offer letter in your thesis and when, at any time during or after completion of your course, you or your supervisor or any other party, publishes or produces material such as books, articles, newsletters or other literary or artistic works which relate to the research project for which the scholarship was awarded.
2. If you are in receipt of a Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship you must ensure that the Commonwealth’s contribution is acknowledged in a prominent place when, at any time during or after completion of your graduate research degree, when you or your supervisor or any other party, publishes or produces material (including books, articles, newsletters or other literary or artistic works) which relates to the research project carried out by you while in receipt of the RTP Scholarship, by including the following form of words in any acknowledgement:
   
   “This research was supported by the Commonwealth through an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship [DOI: https://doi.org/10.82133/C42F-K220].”
   
   If you have an ORCID, you must acknowledge the Commonwealth’s contribution through the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship by including the RTP DOI https://doi.org/10.82133/C42F-K220 in your ORCID record.

13. False or misleading information

1. If you have provided false or misleading information, and as a result you were awarded or received benefits, the scholarship will be withdrawn and all benefits will cease.
2. You may be required to repay any scholarship benefits to which you are not entitled to within 14 days of being requested to do so by the University.

14. Administrative errors

If the University made an administrative or system error and as a result you received scholarship benefits to which you are not entitled, you may be required to return the payment within 14 days of being requested to do so by the University

Complaints and grievances

If you are not satisfied with a decision made  in relation to the application of these conditions, you may submit a Student Complaint or Grievance.

Privacy

Your personal information collected by the University will be managed in accordance with the University’s obligations and will not be disclosed without your explicit consent unless required or permitted by law. For example, the University will use or disclose your personal information for legitimate purpose to government agencies, such as Services Australia (Centrelink), Department of Education, Department of Home Affairs or Australian Taxation Office.

For further information, see: Student privacy statement.