The Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Achievement has been established to recognise the outstanding performance of students completing their postgraduate degree by coursework.

The award will be awarded to the two highest achieving postgraduate coursework students in a masters program, in each faculty.

The executive dean from each faculty will nominate the top two recipients to receive the award.

Up to eight prizes are conferred each year; two from each faculty.

Each prize consists of $1000 and a commemorative plaque that is presented at one of the annual graduation ceremonies. An appropriate endorsement is also made on each student's Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS).

The award is not available to students enrolled in a graduate certificate or graduate diploma. Candidates may not self-nominate.