2026 Community Bank Bacchus Marsh Bachelor Degree Scholarship Program – School Leaver (CEF)(U)

Submissions are now being accepted. Submissions close at midnight 18 January 2026 (AEDT).

The 2026 Community Bank Bacchus Marsh Bachelor Degree Scholarship Program – School Leaver aims to assist academically motivated students from Bacchus Marsh, who have been offered a place at an Australian university to study for the first time at Bachelor’s degree level in 2026 and are experiencing challenging circumstances. The Scholarship program supports the following study related expenses – accommodation costs, course costs, study-related materials/equipment, textbooks, tutoring and /or education related travel (within Australia).

Key general qualification criteria:

  • You are an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
  • Students must reside in or attend school in 3340.
  • You can demonstrate leadership both within, and outside, your school community.
  • You can demonstrate the challenging circumstances (financial &/or social) hindering your ability to undertake further study.
  • You are a motivated student who can demonstrate community involvement

For study at undergraduate bachelor's degree level

Qualification criteria:
  • You will be a first-time tertiary student at first year undergraduate bachelor’s degree level in 2026.
  • You have been offered a full-time place to study on campus for a bachelor’s degree in an approved Australian course at an Australian university, TAFE Institute or College Campus.
  • You have completed Year 12.
  • You must be aged 21 years or younger as at 31 January 2026.
  • Students under the age of 18 years will require parental /guardian consent to accept this scholarship
The scholarship award value is up to $5,000 per year for 4 years or for the duration of the successful recipient’s course up to a maximum of 4 years (whichever is the lesser) for each successful recipient, subject to the criteria set out above and satisfactory academic performance.
 
Scholarships will be awarded on the recommendation of a selection committee and will be based on how an applicant addresses the qualification criteria.
 
For further information please contact the Community Bank Bacchus Marsh.
 
The Scholarship Selection Committee reserves the right, at its discretion, not to award this scholarship in any given year.
 
Community Bank Branch Scholarships are funded from management accounts of the Community Enterprise Charitable Fund ABN 12 102 649 968 (the Fund), The Bendigo Centre, Bendigo VIC 3550. Sandhurst Trustees Limited ABN 16 004 030 737 AFSL 237906, a subsidiary of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited ABN 11 068 049 178, AFSL 237879, is the trustee of the Fund. 
 

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Before you begin:

Welcome to the Bendigo Bank online grant application service, powered by SmartyGrants. For queries about the guidelines, deadlines, or questions in the form, please email us at foundation@bendigobank.com.au and quote your submission number. If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Saving your draft application:  

If you wish to leave a partially completed application, press 'save and close' and log out. When you log back in and click on the 'My Submissions' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. You can reopen your draft application and start where you left off. You can also download any application, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. Click on the 'Download PDF' button located at the bottom of the last page of the application form.

Submitting your application:

You will find a Review and Submit button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. You need to review your application before you can submit it. Once you have reviewed your application you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top or bottom of the screen or on the navigation panel. You will not be able to submit your application until all the compulsory questions are completed and there are no validation errors.

Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of support materials is possible. When you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email you used to register. If you do not receive a confirmation of submission email then you should presume that your submission has NOT been submitted. Hint: check the email hasn't landed in your spam/junk email folder.

Attachments and supporting documents:

You will need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This is simple but requires you to have the documents saved on your computer, or on a storage device. You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.