Navigating Life Circumstances
It is common to have other responsibilities or hardships you are going through while undertaking a graduate degree. These factors will affect how you will approach and go through your graduate degree.
If you are experiencing any ongoing life circumstances that will affect how you navigate life as a HDR, consider these strategies or services below that may help you:
Below are some circumstances you may experience:
Health For mental and physical health challenges |
Financial For financial hardships |
Parents/Carers For those taking care of others |
Identity For People of Colour, LGBTQIA+ and religious individuals |
Below, we have listed specific resources and support services for each unique circumstance...
If you experience an unexpected physical or mental health challenge
It is best to apply for special consideration as soon as possible so that you can ensure you receive extensions for any assessments that you may need. You are able to apply for special consideration up to two days after your assessments are due. |  |
 | Contact your supervisor(s) to let them know about your situation and that you may need additional support and understanding for the foreseeable future. These conversations are often best in person and it may be helpful to send over an email requesting a meeting with them. View an email template of what you can write down below. |
If you have an ongoing mental or physical health condition
At the beginning of your degree, you should make your supervisor(s) aware of any life circumstances that have the potential to impact your ability to study when arranging how your working relationship will progress. However, if you did not have the chance to, it is never too late to let your supervisor(s) know. |  |
 | Your supervisory team’s primary purpose is to support you in your studies, therefore initiating this conversation at any point in your degree is acceptable and encouraged. Below is an email template of how you can approach this conversation. |
Support is available to youMental health support is available to assist you in navigating any physical or mental health challenges you may face. Further information on how to access this support is available here. |  |
 | Financial AssistanceUnder their Welfare Assistance Program, MGA offers financial assistance for those who have been placed in financial hardship due to an unexpected mental or physical health issue. This assistance comes in the form of a one-off grant of $500 per semester to help ease the burden of medical costs. To find out how you can access this grant, click here. |
Employment opportunitiesAny physical or mental health challenge that you experience should not impact your ability to find and maintain employment. GradWISE is a free graduate program developed to empower students living with a disability, mental, physical health condition or injury develop and thrive in graduate employment. To register with GradWISE, click here. |  |
How to support someone you know
If you know or feel that someone close to you is going through a difficult time, there are resources available to inform you on how best to support them. To see these resources, click here.
If you wish to better develop your ability to help someone in need there are free programs available to you through Monash.
- SafeTALK: Suicide Prevention - safeTALK is a half-day alertness workshop that prepares anyone, regardless of experience or training, to become a suicide-alert helper.
- Mental Health First Aid: Learn a range of skills and strategies to provide help to someone experiencing a mental health issue.
- Introduction to mental health (access through moodle): Learn how to how to approach and have a conversation about mental health when you are concerned about someone and what to do in a crisis situation.
- Better Friends Training (access through Health and Wellbeing events booking system) - A student designed and led program which aims to normalise conversations about mental health and increase student help seeking behaviours.
Financial stress can be particularly difficult to cope with if you are experiencing financial hardship, there are services, information and support available to you listed below.
MoneySmart is a government initiative that offers financial counselling, information on how to budget and save, and referrals to relevant financial support services. For more information on this initiative, click here.
What Monash offersMonash Connect can refer you to the relevant support services available to you. An Emergency Grant of up to $500 is available to all students who need immediate assistance. Find out if you are eligible by reading this webpage. Long and short term interest free loans are available for study related expenses. Up to $750 can be accessed for short term loans and $3000 for long term loans. |  |
 | Monash Graduate Association (MGA)MGA runs a Welfare Assistance Program which offers grants for parents, carers, accommodation and travel to placements or internships, visa renewal, study essentials and more. To access this, submit this form. MGA is associated with a number of other initiatives to assist HDR students who are experiencing financial hardship, to find out what these initiatives are, click here. |
Food Relief InitiativesWholefoods, located in the Clayton Campus Centre, runs “Free Food Mondays” with MSA Welfare at 7:30pm every week (excluding breaks) and other initiatives to make healthy food more accessible to students. MGA runs a food relief program outside of the MGA graduate lounge located at Monash's Clayton campus centre. Graduate students are offered free bread and baked goods every Thursday morning at 9:30am. | |
Legal Advice
If you require legal advice to assist you with your finances, there are numerous free options available down below.
Monash Law ClinicsMonash Law Clinics (based in Clayton and Melbourne CBD) offer free legal services provided by law and social work students supervised by a qualified practitioner. For more information on what issues you can get assistance for and how to book an appointment, click here. |  |
 | External Legal servicesFinancial Rights Legal Centre is a non-profit that provides information, advice and assistance and advocates for a fairer financial services market for consumers. Mob Strong Debt Help is a free legal advice service about money matters for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. They offer a debt helpline, self-help centre, financial counselling, and insurance law consulting. |
If you are struggling to balance your parental/carer and student responsibilities during your degree, seek advocacy through Monash Graduate Association (MGA). Being a parent or carer can be tough at times and may affect your mental health and wellbeing.
It may help to talk to someone eg. a friend, family member or a free counsellor through Monash Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) or the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) if you are struggling.
For carers
Regardless of if you feel that you can easily balance everything, in the future your demands may end up increasing to an unmanageable level. It will be less stressful if you already have support services and supervisors who are understanding of your situation when this happens.
| Inform your supervisor(s)If your supervisory team is unaware that you are a carer, you are encouraged to let them know if you feel comfortable doing so. Below is an email template to inform your supervisory team of your situation if you wish to do so. |
Support and resources for carersBeing a carer can often impact your mental health and wellbeing. If this occurs, there are carer support groups and carer mental health modules that you can access to protect and improve your wellbeing. | |
For parents
| What Monash offersThere is support for parents such as family-friendly study spaces, parenting rooms, parental leave, subsidised childcare and school fees. MGA offers a comprehensive explanation on what these resources are and how you can access them here. MGA also holds social events for graduate student parents, find out more here. |
Government AssistanceParents may receive assisted childcare payments for children under 13 years through the Child Care Subsidy. Parents can get up to 85% off on up to 100 hours of childcare depending on their income. Other family services for health, education and counselling are outlined here and other financial support resources here. | |
Supporting your child's development
| Headspace offers mental health support for children as well as events for parents to help learn how they can best support their child's mental health. For more information on what support headspace has to offer, click here and slide the tile under ‘Get Support’ to ‘I’m supporting a young person’. |
Parenting Strategies is an online initiative that provides practical guidelines on how parents can support their child’s wellbeing. These guidelines are based on high quality scientific evidence and international expert consensus. |  |
| | Psychologists Off The Clock is a podcast where three psychologists bring evidence-based information to help people flourish. They have a range of parenting focused episodes that touch on the different strategies and skills you can use to assist in your child's healthy development here. |
Coping with parental guilt
It is common for student parents to feel guilt when they perceive their work to be taking time away from their families. It can often help to simply know that you are not alone in this feeling, and it is not a reflection on your ability to be a good parent.
One mother talks about how she overcame her feelings of guilt during her graduate degree here. In this article Stenzel states:
My kids are learning to look at the world through the lens of science, and watching their mom succeed inspires them.
While it is difficult, being a HDR student while also raising children is an impressive feat. You are being a positive role model for your child(ren) by showing them that they can achieve their professional goals while raising a family.
It is important to feel that you are sufficiently supported in not only the work you do as an HDR student, but in who you are throughout your graduate degree. For some people, an important part of who they are can be their religion, ethnicity and culture, gender or sexuality.
It can feel quite isolating if you don’t know of the resources, communities and support services out there that cater towards these parts of your identity. Check out the services and communities that can be helpful to you navigating and celebrating your identity down below.
LGBTQIA+
 | MGA QueerMGA Queer is a student-led group to support LGBTQIA+ graduate students at Monash. Follow their Instagram for updates on LGBTQIA+ events and initiatives (@mga.queer). They have a MGA Queer Officer that works to ensure LGBTQIA+ queer and questioning graduate students are safely supported and represented within Monash. |
External servicesQlife provides free, anonymous, LGBTQIA+ peer support and referral. They provide telephone and webchat support, delivered by trained LGBTQIA+ community members. Transgender Victoria (TGV) advocate and have programs and resources to support trans and gender diverse people and educate others. |
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| | Student-led leadership groupsMSA Queer, MONSU Queer (Caulfield) and MONSU Queer Collective are other LGBTQIA+ student leadership groups (based in Clayton, Caulfield and Peninsula campus respectively). They advocate and organise social events and workshops open to all LGBTQIA+ students. If you have an issue specific to your graduate education, we suggest going to MGA Advocacy over these associations for assistance. |
Ethnicity and culture
Culture student clubs and associationsThere are many clubs and associations that are there to connect and celebrate people of similar cultural backgrounds or introduce people to new cultures. Find one you're interested in by looking through this page. | |
| Monash Thrive InternationalMonash THRIVE has a wellbeing and mental health website developed and co-designed with international students for other international students. It is filled with resources specific to navigating and managing the unique experiences you may go through as an international student such as culture shock to enjoy your time at University. |
Monash University International Student Services (MUISS)MUISS advocates for the interests, rights, social and welfare of international students and run events and programs to help them settle into University. MUISS collaborates with Monash THRIVE to put out events, infographics and podcasts about mental health. See these at @muiss.monash on Instagram or Facebook. |  |
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
 | William Cooper InstituteThe William Cooper Institute promotes Indigenous leadership and advancement across Monash. The institute assists Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students with:
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13YARN13YARN is the first national crisis support line for mob who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping. They offer a free, confidential culturally safe space via phone call to speak with a lifeline-trained Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter. |  |
 | Other student associationsVarious Monash campuses have student-led leadership groups that advocate and support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout university such as: MONSU (Peninsula)'s Indigenous Officer and MSA Indigenous. However, if you have an issue specific to your graduate education, we suggest going to MGA Advocacy over these associations for assistance. |
Religious Individuals
Religious centreMonash has a multifaith centre on Clayton campus that can be used for spiritual services, weddings, christenings, funerals, memorials, private prayer and seminars. Find out more information about Monash support services for religious individuals on the Spirituality page. | |
 | Monash ChaplainsMonash has chaplains from different religious backgrounds that can lend an ear if you need someone to talk to. You can arrange a meeting with a chaplain so that you can discuss:
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