2026 RMIT Welcome and the Sam and Nina Narodowski Asylum Seeker Scholarships

The RMIT Welcome Scholarship in conjunction with the Sam and Nina Narodowski Asylum Seeker Scholarship has been established in recognition of the financial hardship that is faced by individuals from asylum seeker backgrounds.

Eligible people seeking asylum looking to study full-time in a RMIT vocational or undergraduate degree program are encouraged to apply.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineDecember 10, 2025
• Study LevelUndergraduate
• SponsorRMIT University
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

The scholarships consist of full program tuition fees and Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF) paid per semester and/or a living allowance for the duration of the program.

Requirements

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

• hold either a:
  • Temporary Protection Visa (V785) or
  • Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) or
  • Humanitarian Stay Visa (449) or
  • Temporary Humanitarian Concern Visa (786) or
  • Current bridging visa (that is in effect) that is linked to a humanitarian, protection or refugee visa application. 
• be a commencing or continuing student enrolled or intending to enrol full-time (in an eligible program**) in semester 1 2026 at RMIT University Melbourne campus (Melbourne CBD, Brunswick, Bundoora only), in a:
  • certificate IV, diploma, advanced diploma, associate degree or a bachelor's degree~
• for commencing students have a program offer by the 23 December 2025 and have accepted that program offer at RMIT University for semester 1 2026 by 6 January 2026* in an eligible program**
• for continuing students be re-enrolled full-time in your existing program for semester 1 2026 by 22 December 2025
• be able to demonstrate financial hardship
• reside in Australia

*If you apply direct to RMIT or through VTAC, applicants must have accepted their RMIT program offer by this date.

**See table in value and duration section for eligible programs (minus excluded programs listed below ~).

Selection

• Information supplied in your application will be assessed and ranked. 
• Results in previous programs may also be used for existing RMIT students. 
• Some programs have quotas for how many scholarships can be awarded.
• There are limited scholarships, not all applicants will be able to be awarded a scholarship.

Application Deadline

How To Apply

Depending on your circumstances, you will need to provide different types of evidence and material to support your scholarship application. Applications without supporting documents will not be considered.

You will need to provide the following:

1. A copy of your Visa Grant Notice or Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) Notice:

• your VEVO Notice must be valid within a month of your scholarship application submission date
• your current visa must include study rights, and if your study program includes a work placement, your current visa must include work rights too
• bridging visa applicants must also provide official documentation confirming their substantive visa application

2. Evidence of financial hardship:

• if you are in receipt of Centrelink payments you must provide a Centrelink statement showing your Special Benefit (SB) or Status Resolution Support Services Payment (SRSS) dated within the last three months, with your full name visible, or;
• provide your own financial documents confirming your financial status or financial documents from those who support you financially. The documentation accepted is: the 2024-2025 ATO Notice of Assessment or 3 most recent payslips for yourself and all the people who support you financially.

3. Letter of recommendation; a letter of recommendation is a statement of support written by someone who knows you or is aware of your circumstances. RMIT will accept one of the following types of recommendations:

• one letter from a community organisation with specialist services that support people seeking asylum or refugees who can confirm your membership or involvement with that organisation OR
• one letter from a teacher (current or past) or someone you know well who can highlight your academic and personal strengths and can include information about the type of social and/or emotional support that you have through family, friends or from your community as you look to commence further study.

For more details, visit RMIT University Scholarship webpage