INFORMATION BRIEF: AUSTRALIA AWARDS

2020 – 21 Outcome: $185.6 million

2021 - 22 Estimate: $200 million
Australia Awards are prestigious international Scholarships and Short Courses funded by the Australian Government. They offer
the next generation of global leaders an opportunity to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia.
Australia Awards are a whole of Australian government initiative bringing together Scholarships and Short Courses administered
by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Why we give aid

Australia Awards, managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade contribute to the achievement of development
objectives across a range of sectors and are a feature of nearly all of Australia’s bilateral aid programs.
The Australia Awards supports the Department’s Partnerships for Recovery strategy by equipping awardees with specialist skills
and knowledge to drive positive change and contribute to addressing the health, economic and social impacts of COVID-19 in
their home countries.
The Australia Awards initiative is an investment in new generations of global leaders with strong links to Australia, building on the
seventy year legacy of the original Colombo Plan of the 1950s onward.

How we give aid

Australia Awards offered through the Australian aid program consist of Australia Awards Scholarships, Australia Awards Pacific
Scholarships, Short Courses and ACIAR awards.
To ensure equity and broad participation, the Australian Government encourages women, people with disability, ethnic minorities,
people living in rural areas and members of socio-economically disadvantaged groups to apply.
Australia Awards alumni are important members of the Australian Global Alumni community, representing both the current
and next generation of global leaders, with links to Australia.
Australia Awards Alumni Engagement Strategy seeks to grow a global alumni community that engages and promotes Australia
and advances our national interests, especially in the Indo-Pacific. It aims to:
• strengthen diplomatic access and influence
• grow trade, investment and business linkages
• promote capabilities in education, science, research and innovation
• showcase Australia as a contemporary, innovative, open society.

COVID-19 impact
The impact of COVID-19 on the Australia Awards program has been profound. Travel restrictions and the
transition to online learning has impacted the learning experience of awardees. DFAT is working closely with
educational institutions on the welfare and safety of awardees studying in Australia and continues to provide
assistance to awardees wishing to suspend or defer their studies to return home.

2021 intake
DFAT offered 818 awards to individuals from 20 developing countries in the 2021 intake.

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FOCUS OF AUSTRALIA AWARDS
• For 2021, DFAT offered 818 Australia Awards scholarships and short courses to 20 developing countries.

• For 2021, over 88 per cent of Australia Awards went to the Indo-Pacific region.

• The 818 awards offered in 2021 include 330 Australia Awards Scholarships, 221 Australia Awards Pacific Scholarships, 9
ACIAR awards and 258 Australia Awards Short Courses.

REGIONAL FOCUS OF AUSTRALIA AWARDS 2021

Regions Long-term awards Short-term awards Total

Southeast and East Asia 158 169 327

South and West Asia 65 89 154
Pacific Island Countries 93 93
Papua New Guinea 233 233
Sub-Saharan Africa* 1 1
North Africa & the Middle East 10 10
Total 560 258 818
*= One ACIAR award for Malawi

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 COMMITMENTS TO AWARDS ($m)
Estimates 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22

Whole of Agency 290.5 259 185.6 200 (Est)

TOP 10 REPRESENTED COUNTRIES – AUSTRALIA AWARDS SCHOLARS IN AUSTRALIA (6/10/2021)

# of
% of total
Rank Country current Female Male TVET Undergrad Postgrad
scholars
scholars
1 Indonesia 211 24 112 99 0 0 211
2 Papua New Guinea 86 10 36 50 0 6 80
3 Vietnam 53 6 37 16 0 0 53
4 Samoa 46 5 29 17 0 41 5
5 Solomon Islands 42 5 25 17 0 28 14
6 Kiribati 40 5 30 10 5 21 14
7 Myanmar 39 4 24 15 0 0 39
8 Bangladesh 29 3 14 15 0 0 29
9 Fiji 29 3 16 13 0 24 5
10 Laos 26 3 17 9 2 0 24
All other countries,
279 32 145 134 0 33 246
total
All countries, total* 880 100 485 395 7 153 720
*= Total number includes ACIAR counts

AUSTRALIA AWARDS SCHOLARS CURRENTLY STUDYING IN THE PACIFIC (6/10/2021)

Destination country (campuses)

Citizenship country Grand total
FIJI PNG SAMOA VANUATU
PAPUA NEW GUINEA 375 375
TONGA 36 2 1 39
MICRONESIA, FEDERATED STATES OF 28 1 7 36
KIRIBATI 33 2 35
SAMOA 26 26
NAURU 21 21
SOLOMON ISLANDS 9 1 2 8 20
TUVALU 17 17
MARSHALL ISLANDS 6 3 9
VANUATU 8 8
NIUE 5 1 6
PALAU 2 2
Grand total 191 376 5 22 594

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AUSTRALIA AWARDS TOP RESULTS
1. In 2020, DFAT offered 2,017 long and short-term awards. Over 56 per cent of long-term awards went to women; while
approximately 3 per cent were awarded to those who identify as living with a disability.
2. DFAT provides three times as many awards to Asia annually, as were provided under the Colombo plan.

3. In 2020, around 800 Australia Awards Scholarships recipients successfully completed their award and returned home. A 2010
study showed that more than 85 per cent of scholars remain in their home country for at least two years. Since 2015 Australia
Awards Scholarships has had an average successful completion rate of over 95 per cent.
4. Since 2007, 27,279 long-term awards and 21,101 short-term awards have been offered by DFAT (and the then AusAID).

AUSTRALIA AWARDS INTAKE AND EXPENSE DATA

Intake Number
Intake Year Financial Year Long-term Short-term Total Cost ($m)*
(new awards)
2017 2016-17 4,204 1,571 2,633 303.3
2018 2017-18 4,040 1,462 2,578 300.5
2019 2018-19 3,053 1,539 1,514 290.5
2020 2019-20 2,017 1,347 670 259.0
2021 2020-21 818 560 258 185.6
2022 2021-22 2,075 1,235 840 200.0

AUSTRALIA AWARDS FROM 2017 TO 2022

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 GENDER RATIO OF 2020 INTAKE LONG-TERM AWARDS

STATISTICS FOR AUSTRALIA AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS (AAS) IN AUSTRALIA (6/10/2021)

CURRENT AAS BY LEVEL OF STUDY AND AVERAGE COST

Average cost Average
No. of current Percentage of
Level of Study per awardee length of
awardees total awardees
(AUD) study
Doctoral Degree 194 22 350,250 4 years
Masters Degree (Coursework) 517 59 148,800 2 years
Masters Degree (Research) 9 1 167,000 2 years
Bachelor Degree 153 17 285,250 4 years
Diploma (TVET) 7 1 120,000 1-2 years

CURRENT AAS BY SCHOLARSHIP KEY SECTOR

Percentage
Scholarship key sector Female Male Current total of total
scholars
Education 201 161 362 41
Governance 90 60 150 17
Health 78 49 127 14
Rural Development & Food Security 44 34 78 9
Infrastructure 24 43 67 8
Other 23 32 55 6
Environment & natural resource management 25 16 41 5
Grand Total 485 395 880 100

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 AUSTRALIA AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION (%)
Year of completion 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Per cent successful* 95 96 95 96 97 97.5
*=by main course result (pass rate)

AUSTRALIA AWARDS FUNDING TO AUSTRALIAN

INSTITUTIONS: TOP 10 IN FY 2020-21
Rank Australian institutions $m
1 The Australian National University 13.2
2 The University of Queensland 11.8
3 The University of Melbourne 11.7
4 Flinders University 10.1
5 The University of Sydney 8.9
6 Monash University 6.1
7 The University of Adelaide 4.3
8 RMIT University 3.9
9 Curtin University 3.4
10 The University of New South Wales (including ADFA) 3.2
$111.4
11 Total for 41 Australian institutions
m
Source: OASIS expense report for FY 2020-21 as of 6 Oct 2021

AUSTRALIA AWARDS PROGRAM INFORMATION

LONG-TERM AUSTRALIA AWARDS
• Australia Awards Scholarships are provided on a bilateral basis, in line with priority sectors identified by each country
program. Australia Awards Scholarships have been funded by DFAT (and the former AusAID) for over 70 years. They are
for long-term vocational, undergraduate, Masters or PhD level study at Australian institutions. Scholarship designs for each
bilateral program identify priority areas of study to support development objectives.
• Australia Awards Pacific Scholarships have been offered for over 20 years. They provide opportunities for citizens of
Pacific countries to study at selected educational institutions in Pacific countries and are awarded on merit and other
selection criteria.
SHORT-TERM AUSTRALIA AWARDS
• Australia Awards Short Courses are targeted programs of intensive training provided for selected cohorts of awardees.
Best used to address specific technical or soft skills gaps, they are formal study or training opportunities, generally less
than three months’ duration, and delivered by an approved Australian higher education provider or an Australian
Registered Training Organisation either in Australia or in partner countries. They are currently offered in Indonesia,
Philippines, Vietnam, PNG, selected countries from South and West Asia and Africa.

DATA AND INFORMATION SOURCES

• AidWorks for budget actuals and estimates
• Long-term Awards — Online Australia Awards Scholarships Information System (OASIS) and Suva Post (for Pacific Scholarships only)
• Short-term Awards — Smarty Grants database, Microsoft Access database, short-course spreadsheet
• Australia Awards Office Excel worksheet with core dataset for graphs/tables as of September 2021
• Australia Awards 2011 & 2012 Annual Progress Reports — Australia Awards website

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