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Austudy: get paid to study a masters

Richard McKeon

Head of Product @ Prosple
Did you know you the government will pay you to study a postgraduate degree? Both Youth Allowance and Austudy are available to many postgraduate students, depending on a simple set of criteria.

Giving up a salary is one of the biggest costs in deciding to continue into postgraduate study, so any financial support provided to students is very important.

If you are 24 years of age or younger and studying full-time, then you still qualify for Youth Allowance during your postgraduate degree. Payment rates are between $240 and $570 per fortnight, depending on your circumstances. If you are 25 years of age or older and taking a postgraduate degree full-time, you can apply for Austudy instead. Payment rates are between $440 and $570 per fortnight, depending on your circumstances. 

Austudy, however, has some further eligibility requirements, and is only available for some postgraduate degrees. According to the Department of Social Services, masters by coursework degrees are eligible “...where the course is the minimum educational requirement, the fastest pathway or the only pathway to gain an entry-level qualification for a profession”. 

You may also be rendered ineligible as a result of other incomes, like JobKeeper, which has the potential to reduce your Austudy payments to $0. Furthermore, if your Austudy payments remain at $0 for 12 weeks, it will be cancelled. You can learn more about the effects of personal income on Austudy here.

The Department of Social Services conducts an assessment process each year and invites higher education providers to submit their professionally oriented coursework masters programs for assessment. Below is a list of all master's programs which are currently approved for Austudy (as of September 2020).

Australian Catholic University

Australian National University

Bond University

Carnegie Mellon University Australia

  • Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT)
  • Master of Science in Public Policy and Management (MSPPM)

Charles Darwin University

Charles Sturt University

Curtin University

Deakin University

Edith Cowan University

Federation University Australia

Flinders University

Griffith University

James Cook University

La Trobe University

Macquarie University

  • Doctor of Medicine
  • Doctor of Physiotherapy
  • Juris Doctor
  • Master of Actuarial Practice
  • Master of Biotechnology
  • Master of Biotechnology and Business
  • Master of Chiropractic
  • Master of Clinical Audiology
  • Master of Clinical Neuropsychology
  • Master of Clinical Psychology
  • Master of Engineering
  • Master of Environmental Planning
  • Master of Geoscience
  • Master of Information Technology
  • Master of Organisational Psychology
  • Master of Planning
  • Master of Professional Accounting
  • Master of Professional Accounting and Leadership
  • Master of Professional Psychology
  • Master of Public Health
  • Master of Radiopharmaceutical Science
  • Master of Special Education
  • Master of Speech and Language Pathology
  • Master of Surgery
  • Master of Teaching (Birth to Five Years)

Monash University

  • Doctor of Medicine
  • Doctor of Physiotherapy
  • Juris Doctor
  • Master of Actuarial Studies
  • Master of Architecture
  • Master of Business Information Systems
  • Master of Clinical Embryology
  • Master of Counselling
  • Master of Dietetics
  • Master of Educational and Developmental Psychology
  • Master of Environment and Sustainability
  • Master of Information Technology
  • Master of International Development Practice
  • Master of International Relations
  • Master of Interpreting and Translation Studies
  • Master of Laws (Juris Doctor)
  • Master of Medical Radiations
  • Master of Nursing Practice
  • Master of Occupational Therapy Practice
  • Master of Professional Accounting 
  • Master of Professional Psychology
  • Master of Psychology (Counselling)
  • Master of Public Health
  • Master of Radiation Therapy
  • Master of Social Work
  • Master of Social Work (Qualifying)
  • Master of Teaching in Early Years Education
  • Master of Teaching in Early Years and Primary Education
  • Master of Teaching in Primary Education
  • Master of Teaching in Primary and Secondary Education
  • Master of Teaching in Secondary Education
  • Master of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
  • Master of Urban Planning and Design

Murdoch University

Queensland University of Technology

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Southern Cross University

Swinburne University of Technology

University of Adelaide

University of Canberra

University of Divinity

University of Melbourne

University of New England

University of New South Wales

University of Newcastle

University of Notre Dame Australia

University of Queensland

University of South Australia

University of Southern Queensland

University of Sydney

University of Tasmania

University of Technology, Sydney

University of the Sunshine Coast

University of Western Australia

University of Wollongong

Victoria University

Western Sydney University

Source: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2020C00017