The current RTP stipend rate at Monash University ($575 per week) is significantly below the poverty line ($611 per week), and is inadequate to support basic living expenses for HDR students. Additionally, current HDR students have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with many students losing their source of income and still feeling the financial effects in 2022.

In response to the rising cost of living, ANU has already significantly raised their stipend rate (by more than $5,000 per year) to help students make ends meet. 

We are calling on Monash University to lift their stipend rate to $37,000 per annum, above the poverty line and in line with the minimum wage after tax. 

For more information, read the Monash Graduate Association's report into the HDR stipend rate, available at: https://mga.monash.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/MGA-HDR-Stipend-Report-2022.pdf