RBA First Nations Scholarship

Donor

The Reserve Bank of Australia

Establishment

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is an independent Commonwealth-controlled entity that works for the betterment of all Australians. As Australia’s central bank, the RBA conducts monetary policy, maintains strong financial systems and issues the nation’s currency. The RBA provides banking and payment services to around 90 Australian Government agencies and the corporate banking section.

The RBA designs and produces banknotes for Australia and 35 other countries through our subsidiary, Note Printing Australia, as well as passports, and birth, death and marriage certificates.

The RBA First Nations scholarship aims to support and grow the number of First Nations students studying degrees and subjects aligned to the Bank's work. As the nation’s central bank, the RBA works to include representation from our diverse communities within its workforce.

In 2027, the following programs (including combined) are eligible for this scholarship:

  • Bachelor of Arts
  • Bachelor of Laws (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Business
  • Bachelor of Commerce
  • Bachelor of Business Analytics
  • Bachelor of Commerce
  • Bachelor of Computer Science
  • Bachelor of Computer Systems Engineering (Honours)
  • Bachelor of Development Studies
  • Bachelor of Information Technology
  • Bachelor of Mathematics
  • Bachelor of Software Engineering.

For more information on this scholarship, please review the Terms and Conditions.

Applicable to Indigenous, Industry, Commerce, Economics, Information Technology, Arts, Laws, fulltime, part-time.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, you will need to:

  • Be enrolled/enrolling in any year of an eligible program (including combined) listed for this scholarship, at the University of Newcastle (see above).
  • Be enrolled either full-time or part-time.
  • Have the ATAR required for entry to your program if a new student; or a minimum GPA of 4.0 if you are a continuing student. Please note that you do not need to provide evidence of this as we will use University reporting.
  • Establish your Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander status per the process outlined on the Wollotuka Institute's study with us page.
  • Confirm your interest in undertaking an internship with the RBA.
  • Not be the recipient of another University of Newcastle donor-funded or sponsored scholarship concurrently.

Required Documentation

Required documents will be listed on the ‘Your Documents’ page of your application. The application portal accepts PDF only. A maximum of 3 PDF smaller than 5 MB can be added per document type upload field.

  • A personal statement (approx. 1 A4 page) outlining your academic achievements, career aspirations in the relevant area of study, and how a scholarship would assist you. This statement will cover all scholarships you are applying for.
  • The application will include a free text question asking you to outline your interest in associated future opportunities with this donor and/or Industry partner.

Benefit

This scholarship provides a total benefit of up to $30,000 over 3 years. This is paid as $5,000 in each semester for the duration of the scholarship, provided ongoing eligibility criteria are met.

Payments are typically received 2–3 weeks after the semester census date, or 2–3 weeks after you accept your offer if the census date has already passed.

Where a recipient completes their program before the end of the 3 year scholarship tenure, scholarship payments will cease and the remaining scholarship value will not be paid.

Selection

Selection will be made by the Scholarships Office with consideration of the eligibility criteria and any additional factors relevant to the purpose of the scholarship, in this order:

  • All eligibility criteria for the scholarship being met , and
  • Academic merit (cumulative GPA or ATAR or equivalent admission rank).

Preference will be given to students who are studying full time.

All applicants will be notified of an outcome via email. This will occur within 6 weeks of the scholarship application closing date.

College

Contact Details

Scholarships
Student and Academic Services
University of Newcastle
University Drive
CALLAGHAN NSW 2308

Phone: +61 2 4921 5000
Email: scholarships@newcastle.edu.au

Scholarship details

Applications open

Amount$30,000

Number available1

Closing date03 March 2027

Apply now