Griffith University Rachel Hunter Refugee Scholarship 2026/2027

Griffith University reopened its annual scholarship application round on 1 July 2026, and the Rachel Hunter Refugee Scholarship is one of the awards you can now apply for through it. This scholarship exists for one purpose: to remove the cost barrier that keeps humanitarian visa holders out of undergraduate study in Australia.

It pays up to $20,000 across your degree, released in instalments each trimester so the money lands when your fees are actually due, plus a $500 early payment before orientation to help with the costs of simply arriving and starting. If you hold a permanent humanitarian visa and you’re about to begin your first undergraduate degree, this is worth reading before you submit anything else on the application portal.

Who Rachel Hunter Was

Ms Rachel Hunter PSM DUniv was a valued member of the Griffith University Council for more than 20 years and was elected as Deputy Chancellor in 2015, a position she held through to her departure in 2021. She was first appointed as a member of the Council by the Governor-in-Council in 2000. In addition to her significant contributions as the Deputy Chancellor and as a Council member, Ms Hunter provided extensive service to the University as a Council-appointed member on many University governance committees.

Ms Hunter has chaired the Board of Jobs Queensland, providing industry and evidence-based advice on skills needs and workforce planning and has served as the Chair of Children’s Health Queensland.  Recognised for her outcome-focused and values-led leadership style, much of Ms Hunter’s career in government has been spent in portfolios focusing on employment, skills, training, and economic growth and resilience. In 2020, Ms Hunter was awarded a Public Service Medal for outstanding public service to the community of Queensland. Awarding of a Rachel Hunter Refugee Scholarship is dependent on acceptance of an admission offer at Griffith University.

Griffith awarded her a Doctor of the University in 2010 in recognition of her service. The scholarship carries her name because it reflects the same focus her career had: removing practical barriers that keep capable people out of opportunity.

Griffith University Rachel Hunter Refugee Scholarship Summary

How the $20,000 Is Paid

The scholarship doesn’t arrive as a lump sum. Griffith calculates your instalment based on how many credit points you’re enrolled in each trimester, at a rate of $625 per 10 credit points, up to the $20,000 ceiling across your degree. A few practical points worth knowing before you enrol:

• Payments go directly into your bank account, not toward tuition as an offset, so you decide how the money is used.
• The $500 early payment lands before orientation, ahead of your first instalment, specifically to cover setup costs like textbooks or transport in your first weeks.
• If you study part-time in a given trimester, your payment for that trimester may be taxable — factor that into your budgeting rather than assuming the full amount is tax-free.
• If you haven’t used the full $20,000 by the time you finish your bachelor’s degree, you can carry the remaining balance into an honours year in the same field.
• Every payment is reassessed at the census date each trimester, so staying enrolled and meeting academic progress requirements matters as much as the initial application.

Who Can Apply

You must:

• hold a permanent humanitarian visa
• be starting a Griffith undergraduate degree for the first time — this includes school leavers and non-school leavers
• be able to show financial hardship and/or educational disadvantage that has affected your ability to reach your potential
• not have already completed an Australian bachelor’s degree, unless that degree is a required entry point into your current program
• not currently hold a Centrelink Relocation Grant or a Commonwealth Scholarship

Griffith assesses applications across six circumstance categories, including educational disruption, alongside your likely success in the program you’re applying for. There’s no minimum ATAR or GPA stated for this scholarship specifically; the assessment weighs your circumstances and potential rather than a cutoff score.

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Required Documents

• Completed scholarship application form, submitted through Griffith’s single scholarship portal. This is the one form that covers every scholarship you’re eligible for, so accuracy matters more than speed. A rushed answer on one section can affect how you’re assessed across the whole suite, not just this scholarship.
• Study details and secondary education history, including the school or institution you attended, your year of completion, and any results or transcripts Griffith requests. If your schooling happened outside Australia or was disrupted, note that directly rather than leaving the section blank.
• Personal background information, covering your visa status, your visa grant date, and your settlement history in Australia. Have your visa documentation on hand before you start the form, since you’ll likely need to reference specific dates and visa subclass numbers.
• Income and expenditure details for your household, not just yourself. Griffith uses this to assess financial hardship, so include all income sources, Centrelink payments, part-time work, family contributions and your regular expenses like rent and utilities.
• Evidence of financial hardship, which can include Centrelink statements, payslips, rent receipts, or a written account of circumstances that aren’t easily documented, such as supporting family members overseas. If you’re not sure what counts as evidence, include more rather than less; Griffith’s assessors weigh the full picture.
• Any additional supporting documents relevant to your specific circumstances, if requested. This might include a caseworker letter, medical documentation, or evidence of educational disruption. Griffith may follow up after your initial submission, asking for one of these, so check your email regularly once you’ve applied.

One detail competing posts skip entirely: Griffith doesn’t run a separate application form for the Rachel Hunter Refugee Scholarship. It uses one scholarship application that automatically checks your circumstances against every scholarship in its suite: equity, accommodation, academic, and this one included.

How Selection Works

Awarding the scholarship depends first on holding an accepted admission offer at Griffith. The scholarship application and the course application are separate processes, and you need both to move in parallel. From there, Griffith assesses your circumstances against the six categories mentioned above and reviews your likelihood of succeeding in your chosen program. Offers go out by email, and Griffith may follow up asking for more information before finalising a decision.

Staying Eligible After You’re Awarded

The scholarship isn’t a one-time approval; Griffith checks your eligibility every trimester at census date. To keep receiving payments, you need to stay enrolled in your undergraduate degree, maintain good academic progress, and remain on a humanitarian visa. Withdrawing after the census can suspend or terminate your scholarship, and exclusion from study under any university policy ends it outright. If your circumstances change, such as a visa status update, for instance, notify the scholarships office directly rather than assuming it won’t affect your payments.

How to Apply

1. Apply for admission to your chosen Griffith undergraduate program first, since the scholarship depends on holding an offer.
2. Log into Griffith’s scholarship application portal using your student or applicant login.
3. Complete the single scholarship application form — this covers the Rachel Hunter Refugee Scholarship and any other Griffith scholarship you’re eligible for.
4. Upload your supporting documents, including evidence of financial hardship and your visa details.
5. Submit before 30 June 2027, when the current round closes.
6. Watch your email for a decision — shortlisted applicants may be asked for further information before an offer is confirmed.

Application Deadline

The 2026–2027 scholarship round opened on 1 July 2026, and applications stay open until 30 June 2027.

There’s no separate closing date specific to the Rachel Hunter Refugee Scholarship inside that window. But “open until June” doesn’t mean waiting has no cost. Griffith assesses applications as they come in, and offers are tied to your admission timeline for a specific trimester, so if you’re aiming to start sooner rather than later, apply well ahead of your intended trimester’s enrolment period rather than close to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Rachel Hunter Refugee Scholarship still open for 2026?

Yes. Griffith’s annual scholarship round opened 1 July 2026 and stays open until 30 June 2027, so you can apply now regardless of which trimester you’re planning to start in.

Can I apply if I’m not yet in Australia?

The scholarship is open to permanent humanitarian visa holders regardless of where you’re applying from, but you’ll need an accepted Griffith admission offer before the scholarship can be awarded, so sort out your course application in parallel.

Do Nigerian or other African humanitarian visa holders qualify?

Yes. The scholarship isn’t restricted by nationality — eligibility is based on holding a permanent humanitarian visa in Australia, so applicants originally from Nigeria or elsewhere in Africa qualify on the same terms as any other visa holder.

What if I already completed a bachelor’s degree overseas?

That’s fine; the exclusion only applies to a bachelor’s degree already completed in Australia. A degree completed in another country doesn’t disqualify you, unless Griffith requires you to hold a prior Australian qualification to enter your chosen program.

Will the scholarship payments affect my other government support?

The scholarship itself is separate from Centrelink support, but Griffith explicitly excludes applicants currently receiving a Centrelink Relocation Grant or a Commonwealth Scholarship, so check whether you’re receiving either before applying.

Disclaimer: All scholarship details, deadlines, award values, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from official sources as of July 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on the official Griffith University website before submitting your application. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with Griffith University.

Official Application Portal