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Applications for the 2011 intake are now closed.

Should you be interested in applying for an Australian Development Scholarship, you will need to keep checking this website for information on the next round of applications for the 2012 Intake.  These will be advertised on this website, and possibly through your government and the national press, either towards the end of 2010 or in early 2011.

Application Process:
  1. Carefully read the information given in Malawi Application Pack – click here to download it in Microsoft Word 1997-2003 format, or click here for PDF format.
  2. Check your eligibility against the ‘Desired Applicant Profile’ requirements outlined on the second page of the Application Pack.
  3. Submit the documents shown in (2) below to the Nominating Authority at the details given in (6) below by 30 April 2010.  Incomplete applications may be rejected.
  4. Send a ‘proof of submission’ email to GRM-ADS as instructed at the bottom of the Preliminary Application Form once you have submitted your complete application.
  5. Candidates that are shortlisted for interview will be contacted.  Interviews are currently scheduled for late July 2010 (although this may be subject to change so please keep checking this website). If you are not contacted by end May 2010 you should assume your application was unsuccessful.
  6. After the interviews, all interviewees will be given an information session explaining the rest the ADS and visa application processes.
  7. All interviewees will be notified around mid-September 2010 whether they are Priority or Reserve candidates, or unsuccessful.
Applicants that do not meet the eligibility criteria will be disqualified.


(2) Application Documents

Eligible Malawi nationals are invited to forward the following documents for consideration:

  • a completed Preliminary Application Form (PAF) - you can download it in Microsoft Word 1997-2003 formator PDF format;
  • a current curriculum vitae in English;
  • a certified copy of your university degree(s) and transcripts
  • a certified copy of your identity document

Failure to complete the application form and submit all documentation requested will lead to automatic disqualification. No undergraduate or PhD nominations will be considered.


(3) ADS Category

Public.  The public category of scholarships is intended to strengthen public sector capacity in Africa. Public sector applicants are employees from public sector organisations or training institutions including parastatals and other public sector entities.


(4) Priority Sectors
  • Agriculture ( particularly Veterinary medicine, irrigation and water development)
  • Mining and energy
  • Natural resource and environmental management
  • Climate change
  • Rural development
  • Public sector management and reforms
  • Education, science and technology (including special needs education)
  • Transport (particularly Port management)
  • Trade and industrial development
  • Public health, sanitation and HIV management
  • Tourism 

(5) Closing date for Receipt of Applications

30 April 2010

(6) Address for Application Submissions

The Secretary
Department of Human Resource Management and Development
Training Section, Ministry of Justice Building (Ground Floor)
Capital Hill
P.O. Box 30227
Lilongwe 3:


(7) English Language Proficiency:

To gain admission to an Australian University applicants will need to have a level of English language competency as indicated by at least an overall band of 6.5 in an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test that was taken not before September 2009. Alternatively, candidates may provide one of the following proofs of English language proficiency.

  1. Candidates that have studied at a University within the last five years which instructed in English may present an official letter from that institution indicating that the medium of instruction was English. Click here for an example.
  2. Candidates that have been out of University for longer than five years, but have worked recently in a professional environment that used English as the main language, may present a letter signed by their employer confirming that English was the medium of interaction in the workplace. Click here for an example.

If a candidate’s tertiary education or current medium of interaction is a language other than English, the candidate may be required to sit an IELTS test and undertake English Language Training prior to being offered a scholarship.  For further Information on IELTS click here.


Please click here for a PDF version of the Australian Development Scholarships Handbook.
 It details conditions relating to eligibility and payment of entitlements.