Hamilton Area Rural Australians for Refugees Scholarship

The Hamilton Area Rural Australians for Refugees Scholarship is a $1,000 annual scholarship provided to support refugee students studying at Federation University Australia. The scholarship is funded by the Hamilton Area Rural Australians for Refugees group, which was established in 2015 to support asylum seekers and refugees. The group was initially supported with a local philanthropic donation and now runs several fundraising events annually including cultural events, film nights, and garden stalls. Since 2017, the group has supported a student annually studying at Federation University. This scholarship is specifically targeted at refugee students studying at the Mt Helen campus in Ballarat or the Wimmera region. Preference is given to Karen refugees or refugees living within the Nhill district or Horsham. The scholarship is available for both new and continuing students across a range of study levels from Certificate through to Postgraduate programs. The scholarship supports the group's broader mission to provide a voice of balance against misinformation about asylum seekers and to offer practical financial support to refugees pursuing their education in regional Australia.