The Gallipoli Scholarship Fund runs 17 named bursaries alongside its main scholarship. Each is funded by a different sponsor - RSL sub-branches, defence contractors, foundations - and each is worth $8,000, with two extending to $24,000 over three years. One is for women studying engineering. Another is for Indigenous Australians with multi-year funding. Several are for students in specific parts of NSW. One comes with a potential internship at a Big Four professional services firm.
You don't apply to any of them separately. The standard Gallipoli Scholarship Fund application covers all 17 automatically - the fund matches you to every bursary you're eligible for based on your location, course of study, background, and circumstances.
Every application - main scholarship or named bursary - has three components:
- Essential requirements - the demographic gates, shared by all 17.
- Necessitous circumstances - your situation, and it's much broader than an income test.
- Your Digger's story - the part most applicants underinvest in, and where applications are won.
This is a competitive process. That's not a reason to hold back, it's the reason to build all three components properly. This guide covers the shared criteria, then the full directory so you know exactly which bursaries you might match before you apply.
1. Essential requirements
Every named bursary sits inside the standard GSF application, so all 17 start from the same base. You must meet all four to be considered for any of them.
| Requirement | The rule |
|---|---|
| Descendant of a veteran | Direct descendant of an Australian or New Zealand veteran of any conflict or peacekeeping operation, WWI to today. Any generation counts. |
| Age | Under 25 at the time of application. |
| Citizenship | Australian citizen, residing in Australia. |
| Study | First year of a degree, diploma, or advanced diploma at an Australian university or TAFE. |
Meeting these four gets you considered for the main GSF scholarship and matched automatically against every named bursary you qualify for. From there, individual bursaries add their own criteria on top - a field of study, a state, a background - listed against each entry in the bursary directory below.
For the full detail on the base GSF criteria, including how the fund compares to AVCAT, see the Gallipoli Scholarship Fund complete guide.
2. Necessitous circumstances
This is the criterion most applicants have questions about - and it's assessed the same way across the main scholarship and all 17 named bursaries. The GSF's term is "necessitous circumstances", and it's broader than a simple income test.
Necessitous circumstances can include, but are not limited to:
| Hardship | Can include |
|---|---|
| Financial | Low household income, reliance on Centrelink, cost-of-living pressures |
| Physical | Disability, chronic illness, geographic isolation |
| Familial | Single-parent household, caring responsibilities, family breakdown |
| Emotional | Grief, trauma, mental health challenges |
| Medical | Ongoing health conditions requiring treatment or support |
| Environmental | Natural disaster, housing instability, forced relocation |
You don't need to tick every box. One is enough. These categories stand alone - medical hardship on its own can qualify you.
Don't rule yourself out
"Necessitous circumstances" isn't a wealth test at the door, and it isn't assessed against the school you attended. It's assessed against what it will actually take for you to study. Every year eligible students self-eliminate because they assume "hardship" means "poverty" - it doesn't. It means genuine challenge in any of the six forms above, and financial is just one of them. If you can make an honest case under any one category, apply.
The worst outcome of applying? A no. The worst outcome of not applying? A guaranteed no.
Will it cut your Centrelink Youth Allowance?
No. Merit and equity scholarships are exempt income up to $10,306 a year (2026, indexed annually) - so an $8,000 named bursary doesn't touch your payment, and neither does a $24,000 multi-year bursary paid out at $8,000 a year. Source: Services Australia.
3. Digger details and knowledge
This is the purpose behind every Digger scholarship, named bursaries included - and the part most applicants underinvest in.
A key purpose of these scholarships is to preserve the memory of the Anzacs in younger generations. The assessors are looking for an applicant who fully understands their ancestor's service, can speak to it, and will be a good ambassador for the sponsor behind the bursary. It's also where the competition is won - most applications answer the service question in a single line, and the applicant who can tell the panel where their Digger served and why it still matters is the one the panel remembers.
That's where Decode My Digger comes in: it takes the war record held by the National Archives and decodes it into a story told in today's language, anchored to the key events - think Australian Story, for your family's service record. Here's Banjo Paterson's decode as an example.
For the statement prompts themselves, use the same set that guides every Digger scholarship application - see Your statement - where to start.
At $59 against an $8,000 bursary - up to $24,000 for the two multi-year ones - it's the highest-leverage hour of your whole application.
The bursary directory
To be considered for any named bursary, you must first meet the four essential requirements above plus necessitous circumstances. From there, each bursary adds its own criteria - study field, location, background, or a combination. Meet the base and any one bursary's extra criteria, and the GSF matches you to it automatically from your single application.
National bursaries (no state restriction)
| Bursary | Focus | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADF Bursary | Academic excellence | $8,000, 1 year | 3 awarded per year over 6 years. University only. |
| Ataturk Scholarship | General (necessitous circumstances) | $8,000, 1 year | Sponsored by Australian business people of Turkish heritage. No additional course or location restriction. University and TAFE/VET. |
| Calleo Indigenous Bursary | Indigenous Australians | $8,000/year, up to 3 years ($24,000 total) | Minimum one scholar funded for 3 years; six scholars supported in 2026. University and TAFE/VET. |
| Aspen Medical Foundation Bursary | Health-related study | $8,000, 1 year | Medicine, nursing, allied health, public health, and related fields. First Nations and Pacific Islander applicants prioritised. University and TAFE/VET. |
| CEA Technologies Bursary | Women in engineering (sovereign capability) | $8,000, 1 year | Defence, electronic, systems engineering, and related disciplines. University only. CEA Technologies is a Canberra-based defence electronics manufacturer. |
| EY Internship Bursary | Business, economics, or finance | $8,000/year, up to 3 years ($24,000 total) | May include an internship with EY (formerly Ernst & Young). University only. |
| Lockheed Martin Australia Bursary | STEM | $8,000, 1 year | Science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. University only. Lockheed Martin is a major defence and aerospace contractor. |
| Vonwiller Foundation Bursary | Education, science/technology, or healthcare | $8,000, 1 year | University only. Broader course scope than CEA Technologies or Lockheed Martin - covers teaching and health as well as STEM. |
| Arthur Fittock Bursary | General (necessitous circumstances) | $8,000, 1 year | Named for Major General Arthur Fittock AO (Retired), inaugural Chair of the GSF. No additional course or location restriction. University and TAFE/VET. |
If you're an Indigenous descendant of a veteran, the Calleo Indigenous Bursary's multi-year funding is worth knowing about early - it provides stability that single-year awards can't. You may also be eligible for the Captain Reg Saunders Scholarships through AVCAT, and the Aspen Medical Foundation Bursary if you're studying a health-related field.
NSW-specific bursaries
You must be from, or studying in, New South Wales for these. NSW has the largest concentration of named bursaries in the GSF, funded primarily by RSL sub-branches across Greater Sydney.
| Bursary | Focus | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSL NSW Bursary | NSW-based students | $8,000, 1 year | 4 awarded per year - one of the more accessible NSW bursaries. University and TAFE/VET. |
| Merrylands RSL Bursary | Greater Western Sydney, or regional students studying in Sydney | $8,000, 1 year | University and TAFE/VET. |
| Castle Hill RSL Group Bursary | NSW-based students | $8,000, 1 year | Necessitous circumstances. University and TAFE/VET. |
| Earlwood Bardwell Park RSL Bursary | NSW-based students | $8,000, 1 year | Necessitous circumstances. University and TAFE/VET. |
| Fairfield RSL Club Bursary | NSW-based students | $8,000, 1 year | Necessitous circumstances. University and TAFE/VET. |
| Gallipoli Memorial Club Bursary | NSW-based students | $8,000, 1 year | Necessitous circumstances. University and TAFE/VET. |
| Hornsby RSL Club Bursary | NSW-based students (preference) | $8,000, 1 year | Preference given to students from or studying in NSW. University and TAFE/VET. |
| Ingleburn RSL Bursary | NSW-based students | $8,000, 1 year | Necessitous circumstances. University and TAFE/VET. |
If you're from Parramatta, Blacktown, Penrith, Liverpool, Campbelltown, or surrounding areas, the Merrylands RSL Bursary is targeted at you. Regional students who have moved to Sydney for study also qualify.
Quick reference: which bursaries match your profile?
| If you're... | Bursaries to note |
|---|---|
| Studying STEM | Lockheed Martin, CEA Technologies (women only), Vonwiller Foundation |
| Studying business/economics/finance | EY Internship (multi-year, possible internship) |
| Studying health/medicine/nursing | Aspen Medical Foundation, Vonwiller Foundation |
| Studying education/teaching | Vonwiller Foundation |
| A woman studying engineering | CEA Technologies |
| Indigenous Australian | Calleo Indigenous (multi-year), Aspen Medical Foundation (health, prioritised) |
| First Nations or Pacific Islander | Aspen Medical Foundation (health, prioritised) |
| Based in NSW | RSL NSW (4 per year), plus Castle Hill, Earlwood Bardwell Park, Fairfield, Gallipoli Memorial Club, Hornsby, Ingleburn |
| From Greater Western Sydney | Merrylands RSL |
| A regional student studying in Sydney | Merrylands RSL |
| Strong academic record | ADF Bursary |
| No specific study/location focus | Ataturk Scholarship, Arthur Fittock |
Multi-year bursaries
Most GSF bursaries are first-year only. These two exceptions offer funding across multiple years - rare in the GSF, and significant if you qualify:
| Bursary | Duration | Total value |
|---|---|---|
| Calleo Indigenous Bursary | Up to 3 years | Up to $24,000 |
| EY Internship Bursary | Up to 3 years | Up to $24,000 |
How to apply
Dates and method
Applications open 1 January and close 28 February each year - the same window as the main GSF scholarship. Apply directly at gallipolischolarship.com.au/apply. One form covers the main scholarship and all 17 named bursaries - there's no separate section for bursaries, and no need to nominate one. The fund matches you based on the information in your application.
For the full checklist of documents you'll need and the statement prompts, see How to apply in the main GSF guide.
Strengthening your application for named bursaries
If you're studying a specific field (STEM, engineering, health, business), state your course of study clearly. "Bachelor of Engineering (Civil)" is more useful to assessors matching you to a bursary than "engineering degree".
If you're from a specific region, include your home address and the address of your study institution. For the Merrylands RSL Bursary, for instance, the fund needs to see that you're from Greater Western Sydney or a regional student attending a Sydney institution.
If you're Indigenous, identify this clearly in your application. The Calleo Indigenous Bursary and the Aspen Medical Foundation Bursary both prioritise Indigenous applicants.
For all bursaries, your evidence of veteran service is the foundation. A decoded service record from Decode My Digger translates the veteran's record into plain language - service dates, postings, units, and conflicts all clearly laid out. At $59, it supports your eligibility across every bursary you're considered for.
Stacking with AVCAT
The GSF and AVCAT are completely separate organisations with separate applications, and their windows don't overlap. If you're an Indigenous descendant of a veteran, for example, you could apply to:
- The GSF main scholarship (including automatic consideration for the Calleo Indigenous Bursary) - apply January to February
- AVCAT Sponsored Scholarships (including automatic consideration for the Captain Reg Saunders Scholarships) - apply August to October
Apply to both.
Next steps
- Check which bursaries match your profile using the quick reference table above
- Review the full GSF eligibility criteria and application process
- Get your service records decoded for clear evidence of veteran service
- Apply at gallipolischolarship.com.au/apply when applications open on 1 January
- Also apply to AVCAT in August for additional scholarship opportunities
For the full picture of every scholarship available to veteran descendants, see our complete application guide and searchable scholarships database.
Data sourced from the Gallipoli Scholarship Fund and Services Australia. Named bursary details at gallipolischolarship.com.au/bursarys. Last verified 8 June 2026. The bursary directory may change from year to year as sponsors join or adjust their funding. Verify all details directly with the GSF at gallipolischolarship.com.au before applying.