The Destination Australia scholarship: what's actually available now

What Destination Australia was

Destination Australia was a Commonwealth-funded scholarship program designed to encourage domestic and international students to study at regional campuses — broadly, university locations outside the major metropolitan areas — as part of a broader government push to grow regional tertiary education and support regional economies.

Participating universities received an allocation of scholarships each year to distribute to eligible students studying at their regional campuses, with the university handling the application and selection process locally rather than students applying directly to the Commonwealth.

Because it operated through individual universities, the specific application process, eligibility detail and available places varied noticeably from one institution to the next, even while the underlying federal funding was the same program.

What changed

The Australian Government did not fund further rounds of the Destination Australia Program from 1 July 2024 onward. In practical terms, that means new Commonwealth-funded Destination Australia scholarships are not being issued for intakes after that point — the federal funding line that supported the program was not continued.

This is a significant enough change that it's worth checking the date on anything you read about the program: articles and guides written before mid-2024 that describe Destination Australia in the present tense as an active government scholarship are describing something that has since changed, even if they haven't been updated to reflect it.

Universities that previously distributed Destination Australia places have had to decide individually whether to continue offering a similar scholarship from their own funds, rename or restructure it, or discontinue it altogether — there's no single, consistent national answer.

What's still available for 2026 intakes

Several universities have continued to run regional-study scholarships for 2026 applicants, generally funded directly by the institution rather than through the original federal program, sometimes keeping a similar name and sometimes rebadging it entirely.

Because this now varies by university, the only reliable way to check what's currently on offer is the scholarships page of the specific regional campus you're considering — search for the university's own current scholarships listing rather than a third-party scholarship-aggregator article, since those are the pages most likely to still describe the discontinued federal version.

Some universities publish specific application windows and closing dates for their regional scholarship each year, so if you're planning a 2026 or later intake, checking early — well before your intended enrolment — gives you the best chance of catching an open round rather than finding it already closed.

What counts as 'regional' for study purposes

Regional classification for study and scholarship purposes is generally based on a campus's location relative to Australia's major cities, using classifications that also intersect with (but aren't identical to) the postcode classifications used for some visa purposes, such as regional-migration pathways.

A campus being classified as regional for a university's own scholarship purposes doesn't automatically mean it carries the same regional status for every visa-related benefit — the classifications used for study scholarships and the classifications used for migration regional incentives are set by different frameworks and can differ.

If a regional classification matters to your visa planning as well as your scholarship eligibility, it's worth checking both separately rather than assuming one confirms the other — a MARA-registered migration agent can confirm how regional classification applies to a specific visa pathway; on Migratio you describe your situation once and compare consultation fees from MARA-registered agents (comparing is free; consults are typically $150–$300 and you pay only if you book).

If you're relying on regional scholarship funding to study in Australia

Given the federal program's funding has stopped, it's worth building a financial plan that doesn't depend on a Destination Australia-style scholarship being available, and treating any regional scholarship you do find as a genuine bonus on top of that plan rather than the foundation of it.

Regional campuses can still be considerably cheaper to live in than major cities, which is a real cost saving independent of any scholarship — factoring that into your overall budget alongside whatever scholarship funding you can confirm is currently open is a more reliable way to plan than assuming a specific scholarship amount will be available.

If a regional pathway also interests you for post-study visa reasons rather than purely scholarship reasons, that's a separate and still-current consideration worth researching on its own terms.

Is the Destination Australia scholarship still available in 2026?

The federal government stopped funding new rounds of the Destination Australia Program from 1 July 2024. Some universities have continued to offer their own regional-study scholarships for 2026 intakes, but these are now institution-funded rather than part of the original Commonwealth program, and availability varies by university.

How much was the Destination Australia scholarship worth?

Because the federal program has stopped funding new rounds, and any current university-funded equivalents vary in structure and amount, check the specific scholarship page of the regional university you're considering for the current figure rather than relying on older descriptions of the discontinued federal program.

What counts as a regional campus for scholarship purposes?

Regional classification for study scholarships is generally based on a campus's location outside Australia's major metropolitan areas, though the classification frameworks used for scholarships and for migration regional-incentive purposes aren't identical — check both separately if regional status matters for your visa planning too.

Where do I check if my chosen regional university still offers a scholarship?

On that university's own current scholarships page directly — third-party scholarship-listing articles are the most likely to still describe the discontinued federal program as active.