You're eligible for this category if:

• you resided in a rural area for 5 years (consecutive) or 10 years (cumulatively), from birth. A rural or isolated area is defined as an area with an Australian Standard Geographic Classification of: RA2, RA3, RA4 or RA5. If you are based in Victoria this essentially means anywhere outside of Melbourne or Geelong. You can check the classification of your address on the Department of Health and Ageing website.

If you are eligible for this category, supporting documentation to verify your rurality could include

• Supporting letters from a GP/dentist, bank, school, university or workplace (signed originals on letterhead). Supporting letters must be dated, include your rural residential address and your rural address history, and the dates that you resided at the address.
• Documents to prove residence such as invoices for telephone, utilities, or bank statements showing your (or your family’s) address, can be provided but must be accompanied with either:
  • a statutory declaration from a parent (if you were under 18 at the time and the bills are in the family name), OR
  • a statutory declaration from you, the applicant (If you were over 18 at the time, as the bills must be in your name).

You're eligible for this category if:

• you're of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent; or
• you identify as a person of Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage and are accepted as such by the community in which you have been or are associated.

If you are eligible for this category, please submit either of the following documents as part of the online application:

• A Certificate of Aboriginality from an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander organisation or land council, or
• A completed and witnessed Statutory Declaration

You're eligible for this category if:

• You've previously held an Australian temporary protection visa; or
• Currently hold a permanent humanitarian visa.

If you are eligible for this criteria;

• You'll need to provide a certified copy of your Australian temporary protection/humanitarian visa and a certified copy of your passport photograph page.
• You will need to provide a detailed statement of no more than 500 words outlining your journey from your home country, your age of arrival in Australia, the circumstances you have experienced and the impact these circumstances have had on your studies
• You may also provide a statement of support by a responsible independent source (who is not related to you) with knowledge of your circumstances as a refugee or holder of a humanitarian visa and can talk about the impact this has had on your tertiary studies (i.e. doctor, lawyer, accountant, social worker, counsellor, religious or community leader or teacher).

You're eligible for this category if:

• You come from a disadvantaged socio-economic background; or
• You experienced financial hardship during your tertiary study that had a sustained adverse effect on your academic achievement and you have a Centrelink benefit

If you are eligible for this category;

• You will need to provide detailed statement of no more than 500 words outlining your socioeconomic circumstances and describing the impact on your tertiary studies. You will also need to provide supporting documentation (payslips, etc) to validate any claims made in the personal statement.
• You will need to provide a Centrelink statement outlining your benefits. Alternatively, if you don't have Centrelink, you can provide a statement of support outlining any adverse circumstances signed by a responsible independent source not related to you (i.e. doctor, lawyer, accountant, social worker, counsellor, religious or community leader or teacher).
• You may also provide your parent’s Centrelink benefit statement, parental low income health care card, etc.

Note: If you're submitting a course application for the Melbourne Juris Doctor (JD), for a relevant Faculty of Business and Economics course, or for a relevant Faculty of Fine Arts and Music Course (either through the Victorian College of the Arts or the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music), and you are eligible for this category you must complete the Disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances – Supplementary form and submit this together with the Graduate Access Melbourne application.

You're eligible for this category if:

• You experienced a disability or chronic medical condition during your tertiary study that adversely effected your academic achievement; or
• You've experienced a disability (physical, sensory, intellectual, acquired brain injury or neurological impairment) prior to or since your tertiary study.

If you are eligible for this criteria,

• You will need to provide a detailed statement of no more than 500 words outlining the disability or chronic medical condition and describing the impact on your studies.
• You will need to provide a statement from a relevant health professional involved in the care / management of the condition which provides evidence of the condition and its effect on you in relation to your studies.
• You may also provide special consideration documentation or other relevant documents to support your personal statement

You're eligible for this category if you:

• Experienced personal difficulties during your tertiary study which had a sustained adverse effect on your academic achievement. Examples of personal difficulties may include (but are not limited to): abusive living environment; divorce / separation of parents, immediate family members who have suffered serious or long-term illness.

If you are eligible for this criteria,

• You will need to provide a detailed statement of up to 500 words outlining the personal difficulties you have experienced and describing the impact of your personal circumstances on your studies.
• You will need to provide documentation to validate the information provided in the personal statement.
• You will need to provide a statement of support outlining your personal difficulties and signed by a responsible independent source not related to you (i.e. doctor, lawyer, accountant, social worker, counsellor, religious or community leader or teacher).

Domestic female applicants eligible for entry into Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology masters and coursework doctoral degrees will automatically be considered for a Graduate Access Melbourne Bursary.

You don't need to submit an application if Women in Engineering is the only category you're applying for.