If you can picture yourself designing the buildings and spaces people use every day, this scholarship helps you take the first step
Overview of Scholarship
The Retail Group (TRG) is an Australian design and construction firm based at Macquarie Park in Sydney, working across retail design, construction documentation and project management. TRG has built a strong reputation for innovative supermarket design, large-scale shopping centre developments, retail rollouts, rebranding, commercial spaces and high-end multi-residential projects, and works with well-known brands across Australia, the Pacific and Asia.
TRG wants to open a door into the design and built environment professions for students leaving public schools. Through this scholarship, TRG funds two scholarships each year for students heading into architecture, interior design, urban design and town planning, civil engineering or project management. Each student receives $3,000 a year for up to three years, with a relocation payment of up to $3,000 available in the first year for students who need to move away from home to study. TRG also looks for ways for its team to connect with students, including work experience where that can be arranged.
Is this scholarship for you? This scholarship is for students completing Year 12 in 2026 at an Australian public school who plan to start full-time study at a public university or TAFE in 2027 in one of the fields above, and who are facing hardship that could get in the way of taking that step. You need to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. If that does not sound like your situation, the PEF Eligibility Quiz will match you to the scholarships that do suit you.
Eligibility Criteria
To apply for the TRG Tertiary Scholarship, the nominee must:
- Be completing Year 12 in 2026 at a public school anywhere in Australia
- Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- Be enrolled in, or planning to enrol in, a full-time tertiary course starting in 2027 at an approved Australian public university or TAFE
- Be undertaking a course of at least one academic year’s duration. Face-to-face, online and blended courses are all acceptable
- Intend to pursue a career in one of the following fields:
- Architecture
- Interior design
- Urban design and town planning
- Civil engineering
- Project management
- Have enough proficiency in English to meet the IELTS requirements for university or TAFE entry. Both the nominee and their principal must address this in the application
- Be able to show that their current study, academic record or work experience suits the tertiary study they have nominated
- Be experiencing hardship that may otherwise prevent them from successfully moving into post-school study or training
- Show a positive attitude towards schooling, participation in school life, and a contribution to their community or to extracurricular activities
Priority is given to nominees who have not previously undertaken tertiary education.
PEF scholarships support public education. Study must be at a public university or TAFE. Courses delivered by private universities or private training providers are not covered.
A nominee can only hold one PEF scholarship at a time. If you are recommended for this scholarship, you are no longer considered for other PEF scholarships in the same round.
Selection Process
Applications are reviewed by an independent panel of reviewers convened by PEF. A representative of TRG is invited to sit on the panel each year.
Reviewers assess each nominee’s potential and ability to complete the course they have nominated, based on their academic transcript and how well they meet the selection criteria. Panels meet between September and November.
The panel puts its recommendations to the PEF Board, which approves the final list of scholarships at the end of November. Every applicant is told the outcome, whether successful or not, in late November or early December 2026.
Successful nominees must provide PEF with confirmed evidence of enrolment in their public university or TAFE course before any payment is made.
Funding and Assistance
Two TRG Tertiary Scholarships are awarded each year.
Each student receives $3,000 a year for up to three years, to a total of up to $9,000. Where a TAFE course runs for less than three years, the scholarship is matched to the length of that course.
Payments are made once a year by electronic transfer into a bank account in the student’s name. Each payment covers a full year of the scholarship, provided the student is enrolled full-time for that year.
A student who needs to move away from home to take up their studies can request a one-off relocation payment of up to $3,000 in the first year of the scholarship. Evidence of the relocation is needed before this is paid.
Every student’s progress is reviewed at the end of each year to confirm academic progress and continued eligibility. Where progress is satisfactory and full-time enrolment is verified, payments continue. Where they are not, payments may be paused until PEF is satisfied the student can meet the criteria again. Special consideration can be given in circumstances such as personal, financial or health difficulties.
A student can defer their studies for up to twelve months where PEF accepts the reasons for the deferral. This can include a subject not being offered in the coming semester, personal, financial or health issues, or intensive English study needed before entry to the course.
Beyond the funding, you will also receive:
- Free access to Studiosity online study support
- Access to PEF’s mentoring program
- Skills and career development workshops
- Industry excursions and opportunities to connect with the wider PEF community
- A discount code for refurbished technology through WorkVentures, PEF’s technology partner
- An invitation to the Proudly Public! scholarship award ceremony at Sydney Town Hall, along with their guests
TRG is keen for its team to engage with students directly, and will look at work experience opportunities where these can be arranged. Students do not need to live in a state where TRG has an office. Arrangements are worked out case by case.
Acceptable Use of Scholarship Funds
Scholarship funds are there to help a student meet the real costs of study. They can be used for:
- Course fees and student contributions
- Textbooks, course materials and software
- Equipment and technology needed for the course
- Travel and transport to and from study
- Accommodation and living costs while studying
- Relocation costs, in the first year, where the relocation payment has been approved
Funds are not intended for expenses unrelated to study.
Where a scholarship is terminated because a student withdraws from study, or for other reasons such as repeatedly not submitting progress reports, PEF consults TRG on what happens next. This can include the return of some or all of the funds.
PEF Scholarship Funds Usage Guidelines will be provided to each scholarship recipient and their school.
Application Form
Applications are completed online through PEF-Apply. The form asks for:
- The nominee’s personal and contact details
- School details and the name of the principal endorsing the application
- Confirmation of Australian citizenship or permanent residency
- The course, institution and field of study the nominee is planning to enter in 2027
- The nominee’s most recent academic transcript or school report
- A personal statement addressing the eligibility criteria, including the nominee’s career goals in their chosen field
- A statement of the nominee’s proficiency in English, which the principal must also address in their endorsement
- Information about the nominee’s circumstances and the hardship they are experiencing
- The nominee’s participation in school life, community activities and extracurricular activities
An application cannot be assessed without the principal’s endorsement.
The term “applicant” means whoever completes the form. This can be the nominee or someone acting on their behalf. The “nominee” is the person being put forward for the scholarship.
How to Apply
Applications for 2027 open on Monday 29 June 2026 and close on Friday 18 September 2026.
To apply:
- Go to the Public Education Foundation website and open PEF-Apply.
- Take the Eligibility Quiz. It will match you to every PEF scholarship that suits your situation, not just this one.
- Create your PEF-Apply account.
- Complete the application form. Your answers carry across to each scholarship you open, so applying for more than one is quick.
- Ask your principal to complete their endorsement. Give them plenty of notice, as applications cannot be assessed without it.
Applying for more than one scholarship does not reduce your chances with any of them.
Submitting Your Application
You can save your application as a draft and come back to it as often as you need before the closing date.
Make sure your principal’s endorsement and your academic transcript are attached before you submit. Incomplete applications cannot be assessed.
Submit your application before the closing date of Friday 18 September 2026. Late applications are not accepted.
You will receive an email confirming your application has been received. If it does not arrive, check your junk folder and then contact PEF.
Once submitted, an application cannot be edited. If something needs to change, contact the PEF scholarships team.
Further Information and Contact Details
If you have questions about this scholarship or about applying, please get in touch.
Public Education Foundation
105 Phillip Street, Parramatta NSW 2150
02 7814 2806
scholarships@publiceducationfoundation.org.au
publiceducationfoundation.org.au
