The Victorian International Education Awards 2021-22 (VIEA 2021-22) are an initiative of the Victorian Government to support the international education sector and raise awareness of the benefits international students bring to the broader Victorian community.

Award Categories

There are seven (7) categories of VIEA 2021-22 for Students (Categories) and seven (7) categories of VIEA 2021-22 for Education Providers (Categories). Each Category has specific eligibility and assessment criteria, as outlined, within the Student and Provider Awards descriptions published at the Victorian International Education Awards 2021-22 portal.

Terms and conditions for international student and provider categories

By entering the VIEA 2021-22, you (the Applicant) agree you are bound by the following Terms and Conditions required by the State of Victoria as represented by its Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (ABN 83 295 188 244) of 1 Spring Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 (Department).

These terms and conditions incorporate the criteria for assessment of each VIEA 2021-22 Award (Assessment Criteria).

Eligibility

Individuals (Students)

1. Entry is voluntary and open to students who are:
a. not an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Australia (except in the case of Applicants for the Victorian Student of the Year – Internationalisation Award, which is open to all post-secondary students); and
b. currently enrolled in a course being offered by a Victorian post-secondary education institution (except in the case of Applicants for the International Alumnus of the Year Award)
c. or are to be enrolled in a future course offered by a Victorian post-secondary education institution (except in the case of Applicants for the International Alumnus of the Year Award).

2. Applicants must provide proof of their study visa, except in the case of:
a. Applicants for the Victorian Student of the Year – Internationalisation Award who must provide evidence of study being completed in Victoria, to the satisfaction of the Department; or
b. Applicants for the International Alumnus of the Year Award who must provide evidence of study completed in Victoria to the satisfaction of the Department; or
c. Applicants currently enrolled with a Victorian post-secondary education institution but based offshore due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.

Providers

3. Entry is voluntary and:

To be eligible for an award in the Provider Categories, an organisation must meet the following criteria:

a. An Organisation must hold an ABN and be accredited, registered or otherwise recognised as a provider of post-secondary education under state or federal legislation to international students;

b. Organisations may have operations in more than one state, however, only the operations and services for international students in Victoria will be considered;

c. Organisations may have operations and training activities in more than one state, however, only the collaborative international partnerships of the organisation in Victoria will be considered; and

d. For the Excellence in International Student Experience, Student Employability and Career Development and Excellence in Innovation in Partnerships and International Engagement categories, organisations meeting the above criteria without a CRICOS number, businesses operating under Australian law, including not-for-profit organisations, will be considered.

Submission of Applications

4. Applicants must submit all Applications online. Please visit the Study Melbourne website and follow the links to the Victorian International Education Awards 2021-22 portal to create an account and submit an Application.

Please read the privacy statement at paragraphs 33 and 34 below prior to making your Application.
If you encounter problems submitting your Application electronically, please email: viea@studymelbourne.vic.gov.au

5. The closing date and time for submitting Applications is Sunday 15 May 2022 at 11.59pm AEST (Closing Date). Applications will not be accepted after the Closing Date and time without the written consent of the Department, which may be given or withheld at the Department’s absolute discretion.
Please note: Support for the VIEA program is Monday to Friday from 9.00am – 5.00pm. After hours and weekend enquiries will be viewed on the next business day. For enquiries, please email viea@studymelbourne.vic.gov.au

6. It is the Applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the Applicant has selected the correct Category and submitted a fully completed Application form together with a submission addressing each of the relevant Assessment Criteria, before the Closing Date.

7. Student Applications (excluding Applications in the International Alumnus of the Year Award Category) must be original and written by the student Applicant. The Applicant must provide evidence of enrolment as a student from the relevant Victorian education provider.

8. The Department reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of an Application and to disqualify any Applicant who tampers with the entry process or submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.

9. There is no fee charged by the Department for accepting an Application however each Applicant is responsible for their own costs in relation to preparing and submitting the Application and, if selected as a Finalist, attending the ceremony or participating in the virtual ceremony.

10. The Applicant warrants to the Department that the Applicant is the author of the Application and that the Application: a. is not offensive, defamatory or inflammatory;
b. does not contain any incorrect, misleading or fraudulent information; and
c. does not infringe any third party’s intellectual property rights or breach any law.

Assessment of Applications

11. Applications will be assessed by a panel of governmental and industry representatives appointed by the Department (Judging Panel). The Judging Panel’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. 

12. All valid Applications will be assessed by the Judging Panel in accordance with the Assessment Criteria and in a competitive framework.

13. The Judging Panel may in its absolute discretion refuse to accept (or disqualify) an Application that is incomplete, indecipherable, does not meet the specified Assessment Criteria or otherwise fails to comply with these Terms and Conditions. The Judging Panel may in its discretion, but is not obliged to, offer an Applicant the opportunity to reallocate their Application to a more suitable Category (if applicable).

14. The Department reserves the right to make no award in any or all Categories.

15. The Judging Panel will create a shortlist of finalists for each Category (Finalists). Finalists may be requested to attend an interview with the Judging Panel via video conference.

16. The winner of each Category (Winner) will be announced later this year (date and details to be nominated by the Department). The ceremony will take place in 2022.

17. The Applicant agrees that if selected as a Finalist or Winner, the Applicant will work collaboratively with the Department and its representatives to promote the VIEA 2021-22 through a range of publicity and promotional media (including via the internet and social media) to be distributed and published by the Victorian Government. Finalists and Winners may be required to participate in media interviews.

Award Scholarships

18. With the exception of the International Alumnus of the Year Award, each winner in a Student Category will be awarded a tuition fee scholarship of up to AUD$6,000 (Winner) and 2 other finalists (Finalists) will each be awarded up to $2,000 to support their study activities at a Victorian education institution (Scholarship).

The Winner of the Premier’s Award for International Student of the Year will receive an additional tuition fee Scholarship of up to AUD$10,000 to support their study activities at a Victorian education institution.

19. Each Scholarship finalist of any value is required to provide the Department with evidence (to the Department’s satisfaction) of the payment of course fees and materials for the course to which the Application relates and a commitment to pay a future semester’s course fees and materials. The Department may pay Scholarship funds in instalments at its absolute discretion. Scholarships are non-transferable and non-exchangeable.

20. Payment will be made to the Winners and Finalists by depositing the funds directly into a nominated bank account with an Australian authorised deposit taking institution, held in the relevant person’s name.
Scholarship fund payments will be made as follows:

  • 70 per cent of funds are awarded upon the Department approving relevant documentation submitted to it, including evidence of enrolment.
  • 30 per cent of funds are awarded at the mid-way point of the study program upon satisfactory completion of a mid-term report.

21. Each Winner and Finalist agree that the use of the scholarship is to be as agreed in writing by the Department and wholly towards the cost of course fees and materials at a Victorian education institution. Scholarships are non-transferable and non-exchangeable.

22. Any amount of a Scholarship not claimed within 24 months from the date of the Ceremony will be forfeited. The Department accepts no responsibility in the event a person is unable to use the Scholarship funds or where the Scholarship funds are lost or stolen upon payment to the nominated bank account.

23. Each Winner and Finalist authorise the Department to include your name, image, details of your application and the provision of the Award and the Scholarship funds in any activities publicising the Victorian International Education Awards (including without limitation on Victorian government websites that are accessible worldwide).

24. Each Winner and Finalist agree to participate in media/promotional activities organised by the Department to promote the Victorian International Education Awards and Victoria’s international education sector at no cost to the Department (reasonable prior notice will be provided).

25. Each Winner and Finalist approve the use of their image in photographs and video footage as part of any promotional activities for the Victorian International Awards, without requiring any compensation or remuneration and without the right to inspect or approve such promotional material prior to publication.

26. Each Winner and Finalist undertakes not to enter into any activity, action or speech which will bring the Department, a Minister or the State into disrepute.

27. Each Winner and Finalist acknowledges that if any of these Scholarship Terms and Conditions or the Victorian International Education Awards Terms and Conditions are breached, the Department may require repayment of the whole or any part of the Scholarship as the Department may determine, and that the amount must be repaid as a debt due to the Department.

Promotion of VIEA 2021-22

28. By submitting an Application, an Applicant irrevocably grants the State of Victoria permission to freely use the content of their Application and information obtained during the application process, and any image of the Applicant provided or taken during the Ceremony, for the purpose of publicity and promotion of the VIEA 2021-22.  The permission granted includes without limitation reproducing, publishing, adapting and communicating the whole or any part of the Application online, in any broadcast and print media, and in a range of materials by the Victorian Government (without the need to attribute authorship to the Applicant).

29. For the purposes of clause 28, the Applicant will not have the right to review or preapprove the Department’s use of the Application or information obtained during the application process (including without limitation use of the Applicant’s image or likeness) and the Applicant will not make any claim for payment or fees in relation to such use by the Department and releases the Department, its employees and agents from any liability arising out of such use.

Award Cancellation and Liability

30. The Department may at its discretion cancel (in whole or in part), modify or terminate the VIEA 2021-22 if in the opinion of the Department, the VIEA 2021-22 is interfered with in any way or cannot be conducted as anticipated by the Department.

31. The Department will not be liable for any loss (including, without limitation, any consequential or indirect loss), cost or damage, personal injury or death which is suffered (whether or not due to the negligence of any person) in connection with the Applicant entering the VIEA 2021-22 or in connection with the acceptance of a Scholarship by a Winner, except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law (and, if so, that liability is limited to the minimum permitted by law).

32. The VIEA 2021-22 is governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia and clauses 8 to 10, 17 and 28-34 (inclusive) survive the conclusion of the VIEA 2021-22.

Privacy

33. By making an Application, to the extent that the Application includes any personal information (including without limitation an image capable of being identified as the Applicant’s likeness) the Applicant consents to the collection, use and disclosure of the Applicant’s personal information by the Department for the purpose of administering the VIEA 2021-22 and for the uses described in clause 28 above.

34. The collection, use and disclosure of the Applicant’s personal information is subject to the Department’s Privacy Policy which the Applicant must read prior to making his or her Application.