Australia Awards Scholarships (Africa)

Who can apply

Be a minimum of 25 years of age on 1 February of the intake year
Have at least 5 years of post-graduate work experience in a field relevant to the intended field of study
Be employed at the time of applying
Be a citizen of one of the 25 eligible African countries, and be residing in and applying from that country, unless working for an African regional organisation or on diplomatic mission for the home country
Already hold an undergraduate degree equivalent to an Australian undergraduate degree
Not already hold, or be undertaking, a master's degree or equivalent
Not have previously received a long-term Australia Award
Citizens of Algeria, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique and Rwanda must submit an IELTS, TOEFL or PTE Academic score: minimum IELTS 6.5 with no band below 6.0, internet-based TOEFL 84 with at least 21 in every subtest, or PTE Academic 58 with no communicative skill below 50. Citizens of the other 14 eligible countries are not required to submit an English test

Not one application round, but many separate country and regional rounds

Australia Awards is not one application round. DFAT sets the policy in a single scholarships handbook, then each country or region runs its own round with its own opening date, closing date, priority fields and extra conditions. The Africa round covers 25 countries and is administered from Pretoria. Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Pacific island states each have their own office and their own dates. Reading a deadline from a general Australia Awards page and assuming it applies to you is the usual error.

The African conditions are stricter than the global handbook

The African conditions are stricter than the global handbook and this catches people out. You must be at least 25, employed at the time you apply, and have at least five years of work experience after your first degree, in a field related to what you want to study. If you already hold a master’s degree you are not eligible. Recent graduates are effectively ruled out of this round, whatever the general Australia Awards material says about eligibility.

English test requirements are not the same for everyone

English test requirements are not the same for everyone, and this is where several other listings get vague. Citizens of eleven countries, Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique and Rwanda, must submit an IELTS, TOEFL or PTE Academic score. Citizens of the other fourteen eligible countries do not submit an English test at all. The programme’s eligibility document also carries the standard first-language-English exemption clause used across Australia Awards globally, but the Africa programme’s own FAQ answers this exact question directly: no, citizens of the eleven listed countries are required to test regardless of individual proficiency. Do not assume you are exempt because English is your first language if your country is on that list.

The award itself is unusually complete

The award itself is unusually complete. Full tuition, return air travel, an establishment allowance when you arrive, a contribution to living costs, health cover for the whole scholarship, and reasonable accommodation for scholars with disabilities. Applications go online through the OASIS portal linked from the Australia Awards Africa site, and late supporting documents are not accepted. Selection includes an interview, and successful 2027-intake candidates were told late in 2026, roughly seven months after the round closed. Plan for that gap.

If you’re not from one of the 25 eligible African countries

If you’re not a citizen of one of the 25 countries this Africa round covers, you’re not automatically shut out of Australia Awards altogether: the Australia Awards Scholarships (Indo-Pacific and South Asia) programme runs the same DFAT policy through a completely separate set of country offices, dates, and eligibility conditions for the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region.