Benefits

Payments are calculated on the minimum duration (hours) required by the WIL unit according to the 2026 Handbook .

Eligible students will receive payment of $300 per week for the minimum duration required by the WIL unit. If relocating from usual place of residence to undertake the placement, an additional $500 may be available upon production of suitable evidence.

Students undertaking international WIL placements would receive payment of $2000.

Eligibility criteria

To meet the eligibility criteria for the payment you must:

• be a domestic student
• be enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) in the trimester of your application
• be enrolled in an approved WIL unit within the trimester/semester of your application with a placement arranged with your faculty
• not have received a Deakin Retention and Support Scholarship in 2026
• not have received or be eligible to receive a Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) for the same placement*
• not currently hold a Deakin-administered scholarship equal to or greater than $2500 per trimester/semester in 2026

You must also:

• be enrolled in an undergraduate course in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) in Trimester/Semester 1 2026 and be able to demonstrate  at least one of the following:
  • be from a low SES background, defined as having a home address at the time of course commencement in the lowest quartile of the SEIFA Education and Occupation Index, or]
  • be an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person

OR

• be enrolled in a postgraduate by coursework degree in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) in Trimester/Semester 1 2026 and
  • be an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.

*Please note: students who are enrolled in a Bachelor's or Master's degree in nursing, midwifery, social work or education are encouraged to apply for the Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) if eligible.

How to apply

You can apply via Deakin's Scholarship Applicant Portal.

Selection criteria

• Your application will be assessed and ranked based on the information you provide in your application.
• In the online application, you will be asked to provide information about yourself and to demonstrate why you require financial assistance to complete your WIL placement.
• If you are successful, you will be contacted by the email address you nominated within your application portal account, unsuccessful applicants will not be contacted.
• You'll find out if you were successful usually within four weeks of the application closing date. If you have not received an offer by this time, you have been unsuccessful. You can view the status of your application via your scholarship application portal account.
• Preference will be given to students who have not received a WIL Student Support Payment in any other 2026 trimester/semester.

Important information for applicants

• Consult your student adviser to ensure that you can fit a WIL placement into your course and identify the unit you will enrol in if you find a suitable role.
• Ensure that you have enrolled in a WIL unit. Please note, applications will not be considered for the WIL Student Support Payment until your enrolment in the WIL unit is confirmed and appears on your student record.
• If you have already commenced your WIL placement, you can still apply for the WIL Student Support Payment within the official application opening and closing dates for the trimester/semester the placement unit enrolment is within.
• If you have applied and have received the WIL Student Support Scheme or WIL support bursary in previous years, you are still eligible to apply in 2026.

Other assistance

For further information about the payment, please email wilfin@deakin.edu.au.

You may be eligible instead for the Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) which assists eligible students with costs related to mandatory placements in higher education courses for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work.

We appreciate you may be experiencing financial difficulties and in order to assist, Deakin offers interest free loans (conditions apply). More information regarding the financial assistance options is available at financial assistance.