For Students
Up to $8,000 a year, because your great‑grandfather went to war.
Not a loan. Not HECS. Actual money, every year of your degree or TAFE course - because someone in your family served. Most people who qualify have no idea it exists.
Takes about 5 minutes. No sign-up, no email, no catch.
The Maths
What $8,000 a Year Actually Means
The Gallipoli Scholarship pays $8,000 a year. AVCAT bursaries pay $4,000-$6,000 a year for up to three years. Here's that money in units that matter.
At casual rates, $8,000 a year is roughly a shift every week you can spend studying, training, or having a life instead.
This isn't HECS. It doesn't index, it doesn't follow you around, and it doesn't come off your payslip in ten years.
AVCAT bursaries run up to three years - up to $18,000 across your degree. You can often hold more than one scholarship at once.
The Part Nobody Tells You
These Are the Scholarships Almost Nobody Applies For
Big-name scholarships get thousands of applications. These don't - because almost nobody knows their family history counts.
- Eligibility goes back generations. A grandparent, great-grandparent - even a great-great-great uncle can qualify you. 1.1 million Australians served. The odds your family's in there are better than you think.
- Some scholarships go unawarded in some years - not because the money ran out, but because not enough people applied.
- Grandmothers count. Nurses, AWAS, WAAAF, WRANS - women's service carries the same eligibility as any other record.
- TAFE counts too. Plenty of these cover certificates and diplomas, not just degrees.
The Whole Thing, In Minutes
Here's Exactly How Much Effort This Takes
No mystery steps, no Centrelink-style maze. This is the entire process, with the time each step actually takes.
Check what you qualify for
Search the free database. Filter by your state and study level. No sign-up.
Find your digger
Go to the National Archives' RecordSearch - it's free. Type the surname. Pick the war. Hit search. You'll be looking at his actual enlistment papers - his handwriting, his signature, his age. A lot of them were 18 or 19 when they signed. About your age.
Save the pages as images
Download each page of the record as an image (JPG) - not the PDF export. The decode works from the page images. Our step-by-step guide shows every click.
We do the hard bit - $59
Upload the images and we translate the 1916-1945 army shorthand and copperplate handwriting into plain English: the full story of who they were, where they served, and what they lived through. Word document plus a timeline. This is the part that used to need a $500-$1,500 genealogist and 4-8 weeks.
The application
Most forms ask about your ancestor's service. Everyone else writes one line - 'my great-grandfather served'. You attach his whole story. Then you write the only part that's genuinely yours: why it matters to you. That's the application a panel remembers.
Final stepStraight Answers
The Two Questions Everyone Asks
"Will it cut my Youth Allowance?"
No. Merit and equity scholarships are exempt income up to $10,306 a year (2026 - indexed each January). Every scholarship on this site pays less than that on its own. Check it yourself on Services Australia.
"Is this legit?"
Fair question. The scholarship database is free - no sign-up, no email wall, and every listing links straight to the fund that runs it. The service record is free from the National Archives, and we tell you exactly how to get it yourself. The only thing that costs money is the $59 translation - and we show you what you get before you pay.
He was about your age when he signed up.
He didn't get to choose what came next. You do - and his service is the thing that helps pay for it. Five minutes to find out.