2010 Benefits and Conditions for the Graduate Research Scholarships (APA, APA[I], IPRS, MRS, MIRS, MIFRS, FMS, HRS, Prestigious and Other Major Scholarships)
6. Benefits
Living allowance (ie. stipend)
Voluntary Student Union (VSU) fees
6.1 Stipend (ie. living allowance)
The 2010 per annum stipend rates for full and part-time study are listed below.
The stipend rates are reviewed annually and usually increase by about 2% per annum.
See section 6.8 for information about taxation and scholarships.
| Scholarship | Stipend | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time rate | Part-time rate | |
| APA | $22,500 p/a | $To be advised |
| MRS | ||
| MIRS | ||
| FMS | ||
| HRS | $26,000 p/a | $To be advised |
| APA(I) | $To be advised | $To be advised |
| Other | The annual stipend rate of all other scholarships such as the Prestigious and Other Major Scholarships will be specified in the offer letter. | |
The fee remission scholarships (IPRS and MIFRS) do not provide students with a living allowance. However the University often awards a Melbourne International Research Scholarship (MIRS) to IPRS and MIFRS recipients.
top of page6.2 Fee remission
The fee remission scholarships (IPRS and MIFRS) cover 100% of the course tuition fees for the duration of the scholarship. Payments are not made to the student.
IPRS and MIFRS recipients who remain enrolled beyond the end date of their scholarship are liable for any tuition fees, etc from the date the scholarship ends.
The living allowance scholarships (APA, MRS, MIRS, FMS, HRS etc.) do not cover tuition fees. See Section 6.6 for further details.
6.3 Additional IPRS benefits (not available to MIFRS recipients)
An additional benefit of the IPRS is health insurance which is provided for students, their spouse and dependants by the Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) scheme.
-
New IPRS holders should inform International Admissions whether they will need family cover when they accept their offer of a place.
-
A standard OSHC policy covers the costs of medical and hospital care in Australia, most prescription drugs, and emergency ambulance transport.
-
An IPRS does not cover the costs of extra OSHC and IPRS holders must purchase extra OSHC if they require cover for ancillary services such as dental, optical, physiotherapy, etc.
-
For new IPRS holders, OSHC cover is paid for the standard course duration (three years for PhD, 18 months for masters by research). If the course is extended beyond the standard duration, the student must pay the OSHC provider directly for renewed cover and then seek reimbursement (using the MSO7 Overseas Student Health Cover Claim Form) from the Melbourne Scholarships Office (MSO) .
-
To ensure immediate health care cover, recipients should contact International Admissions as soon as they arrive in Melbourne.
As government sponsored students, IPRS holders may not be required to pay the visa application fee. Please contact DIMIA for a refund form [Claim for Refund (ACC 05)/Repayment] if the fees have been paid. Refund forms must be sent to the overseas post where the fees were paid.
IPRS holders may be eligible to claim Child Care Benefits (CCB) which assist families with the cost of their child care. This Benefit is means tested and is paid through the Family Assistance Office in Centrelink (freecall number 13 61 50). The following information may help when trying to obtain benefits:
-
IPRS holders do meet the residency requirements for child care benefits. The relevant legislation is The Family Assistance Act 1999. Section 42(a) of the Act states that an individual is conditionally eligible for child care benefit if the individual, or the individual's partner, is undertaking a course of study in Australia and receiving financial assistance directly from the Commonwealth for the purpose of undertaking that study.
-
In order to establish that Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarships are direct financial assistance provided from the Australian Government, it may be useful to quote that they are postgraduate research scholarships that are a class of Commonwealth Scholarship, established under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA). For further information, refer to: http://www.backingaustraliasfuture.gov.au/guidelines/csg_guide.htm
Students holding a 100% fee remission scholarship may not be required to pay the international fee for dependents attending government primary and secondary schools in Victoria. All dependants seeking enrolment in a government school are required to complete an application form. To determine eligibility, students should contact the international student program unit:
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
International Student Program Unit
GPO Box 4367
Melbourne VIC 3001
Australia
Web: www.study.vic.gov.au
Email: international@edumail.vic.gov.au
Phone: +613 9651 3700
Fax: +613 9651 3980
6.4 Relocation Grant
Recipients of a scholarship that provides a living allowance (eg. APA, MRS, MIRS, FMS, HRS and the prestigious and other major scholarships) who relocate to Melbourne either from interstate or overseas to commence their scholarship are eligible for a one-off Relocation Grant paid in full with their first stipend payment. A separate application is not required.
Students who have studied at the University of Melbourne within the last 12 months are ineligible.
|
Cohort |
Relocation grant |
|---|---|
| Students relocating from interstate | $2,000 |
| Students relocating from overseas | $3,000 |
The fee remission scholarships (IPRS and MIFRS) do not provide students with a relocation allowance.
6.5 Thesis Allowance
The Thesis Allowance is only paid to students in receipt of a stipend (ie. living allowance) scholarship (eg. APA, MRS, MIRS, FMS, HRS etc.) The fee remission scholarships (eg. IPRS, MIFRS) do not provide a Thesis Allowance.
The Thesis Allowance contributes to the costs incurred by producing or resubmitting a thesis, including binding, printing, and paper costs. It does not cover the cost of computer equipment/ software or taxi travel.
Reimbursement for editorial assistance is only possible if the University's RHD Committee has endorsed the involvement of a paid editor. As noted in the PhD handbook available from the Melbourne School of Graduate Research (MSGR), such approval is extremely rare.
For thesis claims submitted in 2010, the maximum amounts that can be claimed are:
-
$420 for a masters thesis, and
-
$840 for a PhD or other research doctorate thesis.
To apply for the Thesis Allowance, complete and submit the Thesis Allowance form and original receipts within the time frames specified below. The form may be obtained from the Melbourne Scholarships Office (MSO) or downloaded from the MSO website.
In exceptional circumstances, students may apply for a waiver of the usual time limits for submitting a thesis claim. Such requests must be submitted to the MSO with supporting documents to explain why the claim is being made outside the permitted time. Requests will only be approved if exceptional circumstances beyond the student’s control warrant an extension of time.
|
Scholarship |
Due date for submitting thesis reimbursement claims |
|---|---|
|
APA, MRS, MIRS, HRS, FMS, prestigious and other major scholarships |
Within 1 year of submitting the thesis for examination and no more than 2 years after the scholarship has ceased. And for costs associated with the resubmission of a thesis, or submission of hard-bound copies, within 1 year of the thesis resubmission or lodgement date. |
| APA(I) | Claims for the Thesis Allowance are payable provided the thesis is submitted within 6 months of the completion of the project and the claim is lodged within 12 months of the end of the project. |
6.6 Course (ie. tuition) fees
|
Cohort |
Principle |
|---|---|
| Local students enrolled in a graduate research degree |
Fees are not usually payable as students are allocated a Research Training Scheme (RTS) place which exempts them from the Higher Education Contribution (HECS) Scheme. Time limits and other conditions apply to RTS places, and the University may opt to impose course fees if a student exhausts their RTS entitlement. For further information about RTS entitlements, students should contact their faculty office or visit the Melbourne School of Graduate Research (MSGR) website. |
| All international students |
Fees are payable unless the student is awarded a fee remission scholarship such as the IPRS or the MIFRS. |
For further information about course fees and financial aid, please visit the Future Students website.
6.7 Voluntary Student Union (VSU) fees
None of the scholarships described in this booklet cover VSU fees. For information about the VSU, please visit the Student Financial Aid website.
6.8 Taxation and scholarships
Scholarship recipients are advised to obtain independent tax advice to ensure that their individual circumstances are covered. The information below should be useful as a guide only.
General principles
Scholarships, studentships, bursaries and educational allowances are normally exempt from income tax provided that all of the following conditions are fulfilled:
-
the payment is to a student enrolled in a full time course
-
the scholarship is provided for educational purposes and not as part of an employment agreement
-
the student is not required to be, or become, an employee of the University or a scholarship sponsor4 as a condition of the scholarship, and
-
the terms of the scholarship do not amount to a contract for labour with the scholarship sponsor or the university.
4The scholarship sponsor is the organisation providing funds to the University for scholarship payments
Scholarships held by students who are enrolled on a part-time basis are not tax exempt. For payments subject to income tax, the University is required to withhold PAYG tax from the scholarship payment. Scholarship payments made through the Melbourne Scholarships Office (MSO) will have tax withheld at the student's marginal tax rate or as required by the tax declaration form. Tax declaration forms can be obtained from the ATO, selected newsagents or the MSO.
The rate that the scholarships are taxed on depends on the scholarship holder’s marginal rate of tax. There is no set amount; it all depends on how much the recipient is paid, however a greater tax benefit is provided to the scholarship holder if the amount is paid in smaller regular payments rather than large, lump-sum payments.
Further information
- The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website provides a good starting point for information about taxation and scholarships.
- The ATO also provides a Scholarship Decision Tool to determine whether or not your scholarship will be taxed.
- Scholarship income can also have an impact on Centrelink benefits. The Centrelink website contains further information about this.
- Student Financial Aid can provide general tax advice to scholarship recipients.