Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nursing Scholarships Program
Background
The MCH nursing scholarships are designed to attract high quality nurse-midwives to increase the capacity of Victoria’s already world-class MCH nursing workforce.
The Victorian Government Department of Health supports this scholarship as an initiative of the Victorian Government’s Early Childhood Reform Plan.
Are you eligible to apply?
To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, applicants must:
- be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, an Australian Permanent Resident or a Permanent Humanitarian Visa Holder
- have accepted a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) as a new student, and/or be enrolled as a continuing student at La Trobe University in the Graduate Diploma in Child, Family and Community Nursing in Semester 1 2025
- be currently registered as a Division 1 Registered Nurse (without restrictions) with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
- be currently registered as a Midwife (without restrictions) with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.
You are ineligible to apply if you have previously received an MCH Nursing Scholarship from the Department of Education and Training or Department of Health. Domestic Fee Paying (DFP) students are also ineligible.
Recipients of the scholarship shall be selected by the University based on their:
It is important that the MCH Nursing workforce reflects the composition of the Victorian community. The Department strongly encourages applications from eligible people of any gender identity, age, religion, ethnicity, language, socio-economic background, and disability.Scholarships
- Selection for the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nursing Scholarships Program will be based on meeting eligibility criteria listed above
Bursaries
Bursaries will also be available to support MCH Scholarship recipients at La Trobe University who address one or more of the following criteria within their course application's personal statement:
- applicants who identify as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander heritage
- applicants from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds
- eligible applicants from rural or remote regions.
- applicants from communities affected by natural disaster (excluding COVID-19) in the last two years.
- applicants residing or planning to work in areas projected to have high workforce demand for MCH services.
- applicants with demonstrated financial need, such as applicants in receipt of a Government tested low-income benefit or who hold a Health Care Card.
Recipient obligations
- La Trobe will provide the Department of Health with any such information as the Department may require in order to determine if the Recipient is compliant with their obligations under the Agreement, limited to information as relevant to the scholarship such as ensuring satisfaction of Eligibility Criteria, academic progress and results (non-inclusive of personally identifiable information and contact information).
- Recipients will provide consent to being contacted by La Trobe on behalf of the Department as a scholarship recipient via their personal email address for a period of up to five (5) years after the Term for the purposes of providing information to the Department regarding the recipients’ experiences as a student, employment and experiences in the field of maternal and child health nursing.
- Recipients may be requested to attend joint promotional events or participate in promotional activities in keeping with the spirit of the scholarship as reasonably requested between the Department and La Trobe.
How to apply
Scholarships will be automatically allocated dependent on receiving a CSP course offer. Students will be notified of their scholarship and/or bursary at the commencement of Semester 1, 2025.Bursaries will be allocated to enrolled students based on the additional information provided within their course application's personal statement.
Who to contact for further information
Scholarships Office, scholarships@latrobe.edu.au