Closing Date: Not Specified
Call for Applications: 2026 Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarships
Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship Overview
The Australian Government provides funding to eligible HEPs through the RTP to support their training of domestic and overseas students undertaking research doctorate and research masters degrees.
The objectives of the RTP are to:
- provide flexible funding to support training domestic students and overseas students undertaking HDRs at Australian HEPs
- deliver graduates with the skills required to build careers in academia and other sectors of the labour market
- support collaboration between HEPs and industry and other research end-users.
Students can be offered Research Training Program (RTP) scholarships for one or more of the following:
- tuition fees offset
- a stipend for general living costs
- allowances related to the ancillary cost of HDRs.
From 1 January 2017, the RTP replaced the Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS), and the Research Training Scheme (RTS).
RTP scholarship periods of support
RTP scholarships are available for a minimum of 3 years and up to a maximum of 4 years at the discretion of the HEP for students undertaking a research doctorate at a full-time student load, and for a minimum of 6 years up to a maximum of 8 years for research doctorate students studying at a part-time student load.
For students undertaking a research masters, RTP scholarships are available for up to 2 years for students studying at a full-time student load, and for up to 4 years for those studying at a part-time student load.
A student’s period of support:
- will not be increased for periods of paid recreation leave or personal leave approved by their HEP
- will be increased by the length of any RTP scholarship suspension approved by the HEP, or any additional paid personal leave, paid parental leave, paid partner leave, or paid family and domestic violence leave that is approved by HEP.
RTP scholarship applications
RTP scholarships are administered by individual HEPs who each have their own application and selection processes. Students need to contact HEPs directly to discuss how to apply for an RTP scholarship. Prospective students may choose to apply for an RTP scholarship at more than one HEP.
Guidelines, conditions and calculations
Australian Government funding is provided through annual block grants to eligible Australian HEPs in accordance with section 46–20 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) and the Higher Education Support (Commonwealth Scholarships) Guidelines 2025.
2026 RTP grant amounts allocated to eligible HEPs are based on a formula that reflects the relative performance of each HEP in attracting research income and supporting students to complete HDRs.
A detailed guide to calculating RTP grant amounts is available.
RTP stipend rates
The RTP base and maximum stipend rates are indexed each year, effective from 1 January. The base and maximum RTP stipend rates for the following year are announced by 1 October each year. The table below details current and recent RTP stipend rates.
| Year | Full-time base RTP stipend rate ($) | Full-time max RTP stipend rate ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 34,315 | 53,608 |
| 2025 | 33,511 | 52,352 |
| 2024 | 32,192 | 50,291 |
RTP industry internship weighting
The Government introduced the RTP industry internship weighting through the 2021–22 Budget to incentivise early engagement between industry, HEPs and research doctorate students, and strengthen links between the latest research and industry innovation. It will also open a pipeline of highly skilled research doctorate students for employment in industry based, non-academic roles.
An additional weighting of 2.0 within the RTP funding allocation formula is applied to each research doctorate student reported from 2022 as completing their course having undertaken an eligible industry internship.
