MRBS Payments
The scholarship is paid in 10 equal instalments from March to December, for as long as it takes to complete the medical course. The amount of the scholarship is indexed to ensure a real level of funding is maintained. For 2012 the amount of the Scholarship is $25,013. No payments are made during January and February.
The Scholarship is exempt from Income Tax Assessment. However, it is considered to be income for Youth Allowance and other Centrelink payment purposes. As the scholarship is considered income for Centrelink Payment purposes, it is likely to make you ineligible to receive centrelink payments as well as the low-income healthcare card.
The time taken to complete the medical course assumes that the MRBS applicant will not fail any years. For example, if you accept an MRBS place and enter into a 5 year medical degree, then you will receive payments for 5 years, totalling somewhere near $125,000 (remember this is indexed each year). If you fail a year or for some reason take an additional year to complete the 5 year medical degree, you will not receive any scholarship payments for the additional year it took for you to complete the course.
Read more about this topic: Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship Scheme