Your ceremony in Australia

Find everything you need to plan ahead, from guest tickets and accepting your award, to parking, transport and key arrival details.

Guest tickets

Your ceremony fee includes your ticket, two complimentary guest tickets and entry to the welcome reception.

If additional tickets are available, you’ll be able to purchase them through the guest tickets page in the GFP Graduations Portal. If more tickets are released in the lead up to your ceremony, we’ll email you.

A small number of extra tickets may also be sold on the day. If available, they’ll be on sale in the Graduate Entry area of the Robert Blackwood Hall when doors open.

Guest tickets will be emailed to the address you provided when registering their details.

• Children cannot accompany you on stage or sit with you while you wait to receive your award. If children attend, they must be supervised by one of your guests.Children under one can:Children aged one and over require their own ticket.
• You can use your ceremony confirmation email to support your guest’s visa applications. Due to the individual government travel and visa requirements, we are unable to issue personalised invitation letters.

Getting to Clayton campus

Your ceremony will be held at Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University Clayton.

We recommend arriving at least 2 hours before your ceremony to register, collect your academic dress and enjoy the welcome reception.

The venue opens one hour before your ceremony. Make sure you’re seated in the hall or assembled to join the academic procession at least 30 minutes before the ceremony starts.

Clayton campus can be accessed by a range of trains, trams and buses. Explore your public transport options for getting to campus.

• Parking is limited, so try to arrive in one car with your guests if possible.Allocated ceremony parking is to the right of the roundabout at the main Wellington Road entrance, with a drop-off zone outside the Robert Blackwood Hall. Ensure you park in the correct area to avoid fines.See the Graduation Precinct map to find your way.Your free parking codeCloser to your ceremony, you'll receive an email with a code for one free parking session in the SE4 car park (Level 1 and 2).Register your vehicle through vPermit before you arrive. See how to use your event parking code (pdf) for details.Extra parkingAdditional metered parking (via OPark or onsite meters) is available in SE3 (64 Scenic Boulevard) — fees apply until 4pm. After 4pm, parking is free in metered and blue permit spaces of the south east precinct. To find out more, see meter parking.
• We love seeing your pets around the graduation precinct, and you’re welcome to bring them on campus to be part of your special day. They’re also welcome to join you for studio photography with GFP Graduations in Campus Centre.Just note, they’re not permitted inside Robert Blackwood Hall or the pre-ceremony function venue, except for service animals.

Monash is smoke-free

To support the health and wellbeing of our staff, students and visitors, we don’t permit smoking on any Victorian campus, including buildings and grounds. This applies to all students, staff, contractors and visitors. If you wish to smoke, you need to go off campus.

Learn how to accept your award certificate

Watch the videos below to learn how to receive your award on stage. Don’t forget to pause and smile for the stage photo!

Coursework graduands

Doctoral candidates

Accessibility information

If you or your guests require assistance during the ceremony, let us know in your Graduation application via the Graduation Portal, or by submitting an enquiry through MoVA.

• A limited number of wheelchairs are available at the Robert Blackwood Hall. You can enquire with the Monash Performing Arts Centre before your ceremony, or speak with an usher on the day once doors have opened.
• Holders of an ADPP or Category 1 disability permit can park in accessible bays for free. If the accessible bays are full, you may park in any Red, Yellow or Blue permit bay at no charge, provided your disability permit is displayed.A convenient drop-off point is located directly outside Robert Blackwood Hall.Check the campus map (pdf) to identify the accessible parking options and drop-off/pick-up zones.
• The photography studios located in the Campus Centre are accessible for graduates and guests via the lifts opposite Neptune’s Seafood Catch.The doctoral candidate photography studios, located in the Peter Wade Lounge of the Chancellery, will also be open to graduates and guests with accessibility requirements.
• Ceremony stage access involves a number of steps. If you’re unable to manage these, you can contact the Graduations team so that they can arrange an alternative, such as using the lift to access the stage.Our team will meet with you before doors open on the day of your ceremony to discuss how they can best support you and to give you the opportunity to do a walkthrough while the hall is empty.Doctoral candidatesDoctoral candidates usually sit on stage with academics and dignitaries and enter the hall with the academic procession via a ramp leading to the stage. The ramp is accessed via several flights of stairs, and there are also a few steps at the end of the ramp to reach the stage.

Discover everything you need to know for the day, including the Graduation Precinct map, registration and gowning, venue access, the Welcome reception, and what to expect at your ceremony.

Ceremony schedule

Graduation precinct map

Keep an eye out for our flags identifying the different areas of the Graduation Precinct. You can also take a look at the Graduation precinct map to get an idea of where everything is.

Registration and gowning

Once you arrive on campus, register at the Campus Centre, then collect your academic dress from the Main Dining Hall (up to 3 hours before your ceremony). If you’re graduating from multiple degrees on the same day, you’ll wear the academic dress for your:

• managing faculty if you’re graduating from a double degree
• highest award if you’re graduating from two different award levels.

Return your academic dress to the Airport Lounge within one hour of your ceremony finishing.

Doctoral candidates

Register and collect your academic dress at the Peter Wade Lounge in Chancellery. You’ll need to return your academic dress to the same place within one hour of your ceremony finishing.

Find out more about your academic dress

The ceremony

Your ceremony will run for about two hours.

You will receive a program at the venue and your guests will be given access to a digital copy. You can purchase drinks at the bar in the foyer of the Robert Blackwood Hall, but no food or drink is permitted in the auditorium.

If you require assistance (including accessibility support) and haven't already let us know, contact the Graduations team by submitting an enquiry through MoVA as soon as possible.

Tripods and equipment blocking aisles or impeding views of other guests are not allowed.

Doctoral candidates

In some ceremonies, doctoral candidates sit on the stage with academics and dignitaries. Your electronic ticket will show if you’re sitting on the stage or in the hall.

If you’re seated on stage, leave your personal belongings with your guests or cloak them at gowning before assembling to join the academic procession.

• Once guests are seated, the academic procession will enter the venue and all guests will be asked to stand.The proceedings are as follows:At the end of the ceremony, all graduates join the academic procession to exit the building. This involves going up and down several flights of stairs, so let Graduations staff know if you’re unable to participate.
• You can exit the hall during a lull in the proceedings. An usher will assist you when re-entering the hall so you don’t cause a disruption. You won’t need to show your ticket to leave or re-enter the hall.
• You’ll wear the academic dress and be called on stage to receive your highest award. When the Chancellor hands you your graduation documents, the pouch will contain the testamurs for both of your awards and show the same conferral date. The program will list you as being presented for the higher award and graduating in absentia for the other.
• You may miss out on receiving your award on stage if you arrive late.If you can’t attend on the day due to extenuating circumstances, contact the Graduations team by submitting an enquiry through MoVA as soon as possible.If you don’t attend your ceremony and haven’t notified us, we’ll follow up afterwards to confirm whether you’d like to defer or graduate in absentia. If we don’t receive a response, you’ll automatically graduate in absentia.

Use of photos, audio and video recordings

During your ceremony, professional photographs, video recordings, audio recordings and live streaming will be undertaken. The recordings may be used, reproduced, published, communicated or broadcast for advertising, marketing, informational or promotional purposes and/or for teaching and research purposes. Photos may also be uploaded to social media pages, such as the official Monash University and the Monash Alumni community’s social media pages.

Welcome reception and venue access

Graduates

You’ll receive your electronic ticket when you register and collect your academic dress. Bring your phone as you’ll need to scan a QR code to receive it. Your ticket includes your seat number; you must sit in your allocated seat to ensure you’re in the correct order.

It’s best to leave your personal belongings with your guests until after the ceremony.

Guests

Your registered guests’ tickets will be sent to their email address. They will use the same ticket to enter the welcome reception and the theatre.

Guest seating is not allocated, so they can choose where to sit in the non-reserved areas.

Doctoral candidates

Head to the Peter Wade Lounge in the Chancellery building to register and receive your ticket.

Find out more about your tickets

• Children cannot accompany you on stage or sit with you while you wait to receive your award. If children attend, they must be supervised by one of your guests.Children under one can:Children aged one and over require their own ticket.To provide a more child-friendly experience, we livestream the ceremonies on the large screen at the Northern Plaza in the Graduation Precinct.If your guests bring young children or babies into the hall, they’re encouraged to sit near the doors so they can easily take them outside if they become restless during the ceremony.Prams can be brought on campus, however they’re not permitted in the hall for safety reasons, and must be parked in the designated area of the foyer.
• For safety reasons, flowers can’t be brought into the hall. You can leave them at the flower check-in marquee outside Robert Blackwood Hall and collect them afterwards.

Graduation services

All services are located in and around the Graduation Precinct. We recommend you make time to visit them before your ceremony.

• GFP Graduations offers studio photography before and after the ceremony to capture you and your family celebrating this milestone occasion.Images are uploaded to a private web gallery for viewing and purchase.Stage photosAll graduates are photographed on stage receiving their degree from the Chancellor or Deputy Chancellor and as they come off the stage. Photos can be purchased right after the ceremony in the marquee outside the Robert Blackwood Hall.
• To showcase your hard-earned award certificate, you'll find an impressive range of frames, mats and plaques from GFP. You can choose contemporary high-gloss frames in white and black, or more traditional frames in mahogany, teak or classic wood. You can also get a plaque that replicates your degree on a silver or gold metal sheet affixed to a base of your choice.You can order frames and plaque stands online.
• You can buy flowers at the gift shop in the Campus Centre (but you’ll need to check them in at the flower check-in before entering the Robert Blackwood Hall).
• There are light refreshments served at the welcome reception for you and your guests before the ceremony.If you want to buy additional food and drinks, check out our on-campus outlets. Take a look at our food and retail page for more information.
• The Monash Book and Merchandise Store offers a wide variety of graduation memorabilia, including Monash University graduation bears, frames, gifts and apparel. We also stock a range of Australian made frames for testamurs and standard photos.You can find us on the ground floor of the Campus Centre from 8.30am to 7pm on the day of your ceremony.
• Ceremonies at Clayton campus are professionally filmed by CVP. Recordings include the entrance procession, welcoming speeches and a close-up of the Chancellor or Deputy Chancellor greeting each graduate.You can buy a copy in DVD, Blu-ray or USB format for $25 – place an order online before or after the ceremony.