Allied Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Postgraduate Scholarship Program

The Department of Health is offering Allied Health and Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Postgraduate Scholarships. Fifty scholarships are available for allied health professionals and twenty for AOD practitioners.

Applications are open now until 4:00pm, 19 November 2025.

Purpose and scope

The Allied Health & AOD Scholarships are designed to support eligible allied health and AOD workers to undertake postgraduate studies in semester 2, 2025 and semester 1, 2026.

The scholarships, worth up to $13,000, support allied health and AOD workers to better provide integrated treatment, care and support to people living with mental health challenges and/or substance use.

The objectives of this program are to:

• to build allied health and AOD workers’ capabilities to deliver high quality interventions that are aligned with the reforming mental health and wellbeing system and AOD sectors
• to build allied health and AOD workers' skills so that their mental health and AOD practice meets the needs and preferences of consumers, families, carers and supporters who use these services
• to support and improve retention in the allied health and AOD workforces by providing opportunities to upskill in a particular area of practice and increase their prospects for career development and progression
• to support AOD and allied health workforces to deliver diverse and contemporary treatment/therapies and care and support

Applicants can use the scholarship for any postgraduate qualification level (including Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Master or Doctorate) and courses that support the development of their mental health or AOD practice.

Scholarships are paid directly to individual recipients, not their employers, education providers or the Australian Taxation Office.

To promote a diverse workforce as envisioned by the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System and Victoria's Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Strategy 2021-24, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, LGBTIQA+, workers with disabilities and culturally diverse workers are strongly encouraged to apply. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants will be given additional weighting in the application process.

Find out more about other mental health scholarships and grants included in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Scholarship Program.