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Placement Grant

Undertaking a compulsory placement can create financial challenges for students. To help ease this pressure, there are two financial support options available in 2026 — the Australian Government’s Commonwealth Prac Payment and UOW's Practicum Placement Bursary.

Commonwealth prac payment at a glance

The Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) is a government grant administered by the University of °µÍø½ûÇø, designed to assist with the financial costs incurred by students undertaking mandatory placement in high priority entry to practices courses such as teaching, nursing and social work degrees. 

In 2026, eligible students will receive weekly benefit of $338.60 for the duration of their full time placements. For more information on this grant, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, please read the below sections.

Eligibility criteria

The Commonwealth Prac Payment has been designed to assist students in most need of support and those who are financially most disadvantaged due to limitations on their ability to undertake paid work during placement. To be eligible, students must meet all of the following criteria:

    1. Be a Domestic student enrolled in a , 
    2. Be undertaking a mandatory placement subject in an approved teaching, nursing or social work degree at UOW,
    3. Be currently in receipt of an eligible Income Support Payment or satisfy the Government's 'Need to Work' and 'Income Test'.

As of 2026, students must be studying an entry to practice degree in midwifery, nursing, social work or teaching and completing a mandatory placement that requires at least 30 hours per week. At UOW the following courses and subjects are eligible:

Courses Eligible subjects

Bachelor of Education - The Early Years (inc. Accelerated)

EYPD102, ETPD201, EYLL302, EYTE401

Bachelor of Health & Physical Education, Mathematics Education or Science Education

EDPS200, EDPS301, EDPS401, EDSE300, EDSE320, EDSE330

Bachelor of Primary Education (inc. Honours)

EDPD201, EDPD202, EDPD301, EDPD402

Master of Teaching

EDMT900, EDMT909, EDMT910

Bachelor of Nursing

SNUG192, SNUG291, SNUG292, SNUG391, SNUG392

Master of Nursing (Pre Registration)

MNPR914, MNPR918, MNPR924, MNPR928

Bachelor of Social Work or Master of Social Work

 SOWK410, SOWK916, SOWK924

From 1 July 2027, the Commonwealth Prac Payment will be expanded to a number of other Allied Health disciplines including clinical psychology, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. More information about the eligible UOW courses and subjects will become available soon.

To be eligible based upon Income Support Payments, applicants must demonstrate that they are in receipt of one of the following payments:

  1. Centrelink - Age Pension, Austudy, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension, JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, Special Benefit, Farm Household Allowance or Youth Allowance.
  2. Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) - Age Pension, Income Support Supplement, Service Pension, Veteran Payment or Education Allowance.
  3. ABSTUDY - Living Allowance.

Please note that Centrelink's Paid Parental leave, Family Tax Benefit A and Family Tax Benefit B are not eligible for this grant.

As the CPP is designed to assist students most in need of financial support, the Government uses a Need to Work and Income Test to demonstrate a student's need to work during normal periods of study to support themselves.

To be eligible for the CPP, students must satisfy both of the following:

  1. Need to Work - you must work more than 60 hours in the four (4) continuous weeks of study before you submit your application or commence placement, whichever occurs first. 
  2. Income Test - you must earn less than $6,145.48 across the same four week period.

The four week period of study must be a continuous block and does not include weeks where you are on session break, undertaking previous placements or on an approved leave of absence.

To help students understand which weeks will be assessed and whether their work pattern will meet the Need to Work and Income Test, UOW has designed a self assessment tool. Click on the link below to access it.

CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY

If you require financial support during your placement but did not meet the need to work or income test, or do not receive an eligible income support payment, you may be able to apply under exceptional circumstances.

Applications for exceptional circumstances must satisfy the following criteria:

1. Be outside of your control and/or a temporary, irregular or uncommon event (eg. illness, caring responsibilities, natural disasters, family life event)
2. Have impacted the four week period on which your need to work and income test was based upon, or affected your ability to receive income support.
3. You would normally meet the eligibility criteria for CPP during regular study periods.

If you would like to apply for the Commonwealth Prac Payment under exceptional circumstances, please complete the  and send to scholarships@uow.edu.au with any relevant supporting documentation. All applications will be assessed directly by the Department of Education and may take an additional two weeks to receive an outcome.

Application process

You will need to apply by completing our online application form. Please ensure you have all supporting documentation (payslips, income support statements etc.) ready when starting your application as you cannot resume the application at a later date.

Applications can be submitted up to two (2) months before your placement commences and up to six (6) months afterwards. It is recommended that you apply at least one (1) month before your practicum begins to allow for processing times.

Unsure if you meet the Need to Work and Income Test or don't know what documents to provide? Use our self-assessment tool to assist you with your application.

IMPORTANT: Please allow up to four (4) weeks for your application to be processed. If you require urgent assistance with an application, please contact scholarships@uow.edu.au.

 

Payment and obligations

If your application is successful, an offer letter will be issued to your student email account outlining the terms and conditions of the Commonwealth Prac Payment. The letter will contain instructions on how to accept or decline the offer and, if you accept, give you the option to submit your bank details in order to receive payment.

Students will receive the CPP payment monthly at the rate of $338.60 per week for the placements commencing in 2026. Approved placements for 2025 were paid at $331.65 per week.

The number of weeks you can receive the CPP will depend on your course, and is capped as follows: 

  Undergraduate Postgraduate
Nursing 20 weeks 20 weeks
Teaching 16 weeks 12 weeks
Social Work 26 weeks 26 weeks

As the Commonwealth Prac Payment is considered an assessable income source for both taxation and social security purposes you will be required to report any payments to:

  1. The Australian Taxation office as part of your tax return. UOW will issue a statement detailing the total amount of CPP received for each financial year after June 30th. Further information is available at the Services Australia website ()
  2. Services Australia or Department of Veterans Affairs (if applicable), to assess your ongoing rate of income support or other allowances that require income disclosure.

If your circumstances change at any point in a way that could affect your eligibility for the CPP, you must notify the University immediately. This includes (but is not limited to) situations that affect your income, placement hours, and/or withdrawal from a placement subject or course.  

If you are no longer eligible to receive the payment, you will be required to repay the University any amount received for the period you were not eligible. 

UOW Practicum Placement Bursary

We recognise the current rising fuel costs and shortages can make it more difficult to manage the logistics of undertaking professional or practicum placements as part of your studies. For those students who are not eligible to receive the Commonwealth Prac Payment, UOW offers a one off $250 bursary payment to help offset these costs.

 

To be eligible for the practicum bursary, you must meet the following criteria: 

  1. Be currently enrolled in a subject that includes a compulsory work experience or practicum component, and
  2. Have not received, or be expected to receive, the Commonwealth Prac Payment for Spring 2026.

 

Need further help? Contact us

scholarships@uow.edu.au