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Start and closing date for ABSTUDY claims 106-05010110

This document outlines the closing date for ABSTUDY claims and the procedure for calculating a start date for ABSTUDY for students and Australian Apprentices.

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Determining the closing date for ABSTUDY claims

Calculating the start date for ABSTUDY

Calculated start date

Receiving a Social Security payment

Determining the closing date for ABSTUDY claims

Table 1

Step	Action
1	Claim, course, activity, or training What type of claim, course, activity, or training is the customer participating in? Lawful Custody, go to Step 2 ABSTUDY PES, go to Step 5 An Open Universities Australia course of study, go to Step 7 A testing and assessment activity, go to Step 6 A full year or late starting course, go to Step 3 A course of less than one year, including short courses which overlap consecutive calendar years, go to Step 4 An Australian Apprenticeship, go to Step 12 If applying for reimbursement of Fares Allowance, go to Step 8 If applying for Away from Base assistance, go to Step 9
2	Lawful custody claim For a Lawful custody claim for: an advance payment or upfront payment to the provider, a claim must be lodged: for ABSTUDY Student or Australian Apprentice in lawful custody (SY022) by the end of the course reimbursement of either essential course costs (under Lawful Custody Allowance) or Away from Base Assistance, a claim must be lodged: for ABSTUDY Student or Australian Apprentice in lawful custody (SY022) before 1 April in the year immediately following the year of study or apprenticeship activity Was the Lawful custody claim lodged by the above date? Yes, the claim has been lodged by the closing date, the customer will receive the full entitlement. See Processing an ABSTUDY claim No, go to Step 10
3	Claim lodged by end of calendar year Has the student lodged their claim by 31 December in the year of study? Yes, the claim has been lodged by the closing date, they will receive full entitlement in accordance with their eligibility. See Table 2 No, go to Step 10
4	Claim lodged by end of course Has the student lodged their claim by the end of the course? Yes, the claim has been lodged by the closing date, they will receive full entitlement in accordance with their eligibility. See Table 2 No, go to Step 10
5	ABSTUDY PES Has the ABSTUDY PES student lodged their claim by the relevant closing dates for PES? Yes, the claim has been lodged by the closing date, they will receive full entitlement in accordance with their eligibility. See Calculating the start date for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and ABSTUDY PES. Procedure ends here No, go to Step 10
6	Testing and Assessment claim Was the claim for Testing and Assessment lodged by the Testing and Assessment claim closing date? Yes, the claim has been lodged by the closing date, the student will receive the full entitlement. See Table 2 No, go to Step 10
7	Claim lodged by end of the Open Universities Australia study period A claim must be lodged by end of the Open Universities Australia study period. The Resources page contains a link to the Open Universities Australia website. The site has details of the study periods. Was the claim lodged by the end of the Open Universities Australia study period for the assistance sought? Yes, the claim has been lodged by the closing date, the student will receive full entitlement in accordance with their eligibility. See Table 2 No, go to Step 10
8	Fares Allowance If applying for reimbursement of Fares Allowance, an ABSTUDY Fares Allowance Claim (SY032) must be lodged by either of the following dates. The applicable date is whichever date provides the greater amount of time and beneficial outcome for the customer: 12 months after the date of travel, or Before 1 April in the year immediately following the year of study Has the claim for reimbursement of Fares Allowance been lodged prior to the closing date? Yes, the claim has been lodged by the closing date. See Processing Fares Allowance and Away from Base entitlements in advance or reimbursements. Procedure ends here No, go to Step 10
9	Away from Base If applying for Away from Base assistance, a submission must be lodged by the institution or individual student by the relevant Away from Base submission closing date. Has the claim for Away from Base assistance been lodged prior to the closing date? Yes, the claim has been lodged by the closing date. Procedure ends here No, go to Step 10
10	Claim lodged after closing dates When a claim is lodged past the closing date due to circumstances beyond the applicant's control, students may still receive full benefits. The applicant must provide the claim as soon as possible and a written statement explaining the reason for late lodgement. Evidence may be requested if the decision maker considers it necessary. Was the claim lodged past the closing date due to circumstances beyond the applicant's control or has the customer claimed under vulnerability provisions? Yes, and the claim is for: ABSTUDY, See Table 2 ABSTUDY PES, see Calculating the start day for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and ABSTUDY PES. Procedure ends here No, and the claim is for: ABSTUDY, the claim must be manually rejected using the reason code OTH. See Rejecting an ABSTUDY claim ABSTUDY PES, go to Step 11
11	Claim lodged before discontinuing study ABSTUDY PES claims lodged after the relevant closing dates for PES, but before discontinuing study may still be granted from the date of claim. Has the student lodged their claim before discontinuing study? Yes, see Calculating the start day for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and ABSTUDY PES. Procedure ends here No, manually reject the claim using the reason code OTH. See Rejecting an ABSTUDY claim
12	Australian Apprentices Australian Apprentices will receive payments (where eligible) from the date they submit a claim unless they are: experiencing vulnerability or not able to lodge due to circumstances beyond their control Note: they may be entitled to an extension of time to lodge their claim due to a medical condition or special circumstances. See Table 2.

Calculating the start date for ABSTUDY

Table 2

Step	Action
1	ABSTUDY claim received What claim type is being assessed? Incidentals only, go to Step 2 ABSTUDY and transferring from Family Tax Benefit, see Step 9 in Table 3 Australian Apprentice, see Step 5 in Table 3 Schooling A Award, see Step 6 in Table 3 Schooling B Award for a student boarding away from home, see Calculating the commencement date of Away from Home rate for ABSTUDY an ABSTUDY Award/payment not listed above, go to Step 3
2	ABSTUDY Incidentals If the customer: is lodging their claim in the year they started study, the start date is the first day they started study in their course is lodging their claim in a subsequent year, the start date will be 1 January. For example, the customer started a 4 year course of study in 2022, is lodging a claim in 2023, making the start date 1 January 2023 was in receipt of another income support payment for their course of study, the start date is the Date paid to + 1 (DPT+1) Procedure ends here.
3	Start date of study Did the student start study in the year they lodged their claim: by the 3rd Friday of the relevant study period, or after the 3rd Friday of the relevant study period due to circumstances beyond their control If: Yes, and the student is undertaking: secondary level studies, see Step 1 in Table 3 tertiary or secondary non-schooling studies, go to Step 4 No, see Step 4 in Table 3
4	Full time or concessional study load If the customer was a full time or concessional student in the previous study period, they may be entitled to be paid from an earlier date. There is no requirement to provide evidence of a previous course(s) for the purposes of determining if a student has resumed study after a break. Previous course(s) information can be supplied within a new claim and must be used. Is the student resuming full-time or concessional study load study after a break? Yes, and the break was: less than or equal to one semester and they will start their full time study between 1 January and 31 March, see Step 1 in Table 3 less than or equal to one semester and they will start their full time study between 1 July and 31 July, see Step 2 in Table 3 greater than one semester, go to Step 5 No, see Step 3 in Table 3
5	Circumstances beyond the student's control Did the student have a break greater than one semester due to circumstances beyond their control? Yes, and they will start their full time study: between 1 January and 31 March, see Step 1 in Table 4 between 1 July and 31 July, see Step 2 in Table 4 No, see Step 3 in Table 3

Calculated start date

Table 3

Step	Action
1	1 January start date Advise the student their start date will be 1 January in the year they lodged their claim if they: are otherwise qualified for ABSTUDY, and have applied for ABSTUDY before 31 December For the same period that ABSTUDY is eligible to be backdated to, was the customer receiving: a Social Security payment Family Tax Benefit, or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment? Yes, see Step 1 in Table 4 No, ABSTUDY start date is 1 January. If the student did not apply for ABSTUDY by 31 December or meet any of the late lodgement concessions, they are only eligible from 1 January of the year in which they submitted their claim. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here.
2	1 July start date Advise the student that providing they are otherwise qualified for ABSTUDY, and have applied for ABSTUDY before 31 December of the year they started the course, the start date will be 1 July of the year in which their study started. For the same period that ABSTUDY is eligible to be backdated to, was the customer receiving: a Social Security payment Family Tax Benefit, or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment? Yes, see Step 1 in Table 4 No, ABSTUDY start date is 1 July. If student did not apply for ABSTUDY by 31 December or meet any of the late lodgement concessions, they are only eligible from 1 July of the year in which they submitted their claim. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here.
3	Start date will be the first day the course starts Advise the student that providing they are otherwise qualified for ABSTUDY, their start date will be the first day the course starts. Some students may be eligible from a date prior to the start of the course if they were undertaking study in a previous study period. For further information, see Specific coding requirements for paying ABSTUDY students over a vacation break. A tertiary student, who has studied over a summer study period and then starts a Masters or Doctorate course immediately after, is only entitled to the higher Masters and Doctorate rate of Living Allowance from the student start date of the Masters or Doctorate course. Resources contains examples of entitlement start dates and system coding. For the same period that ABSTUDY is eligible to be backdated to, was the customer receiving: a Social Security payment Family Tax Benefit, or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment? Yes, see Step 1 in Table 4 No, ABSTUDY start date is the first day the course starts. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here
4	First day study started Advise the student that providing they are otherwise qualified for ABSTUDY, their start date will be the first day they started study in their course. For the same period that ABSTUDY is eligible to be backdated to, was the customer receiving: a Social Security payment Family Tax Benefit, or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment? Yes, see Step 1 in Table 4 No, ABSTUDY start date is the first day the student started study. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here
5	Australian Apprentices The start date of ABSTUDY for Australian Apprentices is the latter of the: date the customer lodges a claim/intention to claim, or start date of the Australian Apprenticeship Australian Apprentices may be entitled to an extension of time to lodge their claim due to a medical condition or special circumstance. See Intent to claim for vulnerable customers. Note: care must be taken that a new claim is not actually being lodged as way of providing additional information for a previously rejected claim or for ABSTUDY that has been suspended or cancelled where a new claim is not required. There is no closing date for acceptance of additional information. For the same period that ABSTUDY is eligible to be backdated to, was the customer receiving: a Social Security payment Family Tax Benefit, or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment? Yes, see Step 1 in Table 4 No, ABSTUDY start date is the latter of the above. Record details on a DOC. procedure ends here
6	Schooling A Did the student come into the applicant's or the applicant's partner's care in the current calendar year? Yes, go to Step 7 No, go to Step 8
7	Schooling A start date for change in care Do the following apply prior to the student start date? The applicant or the applicant's partner: has the student in care, and qualifies for one of the prescribed forms of Commonwealth Government assistance, or is taken to be receiving their income support payment during an employment nil rate period, or is the holder of a current: Low Income Health Care Card (LIC), or automatic issue Health Care Card (HCC), including an HCC issued on the basis of receipt of maximum rate Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A or an extension HCC If: Yes, and the student start date was: on or before the third Friday of Term 1, the start date will be the date the change in care occurred after the third Friday of Term 1, the start date will be the student start date No, the start date will be the later of: the student start date, or when the applicant’s or applicant’s partner met the above qualification, or the date the change in care occurred
8	Schooling A start date continued Do the following apply prior to the student start date? The applicant or the applicant's partner: has the student in care, and qualifies for one of the prescribed forms of Commonwealth Government assistance, or is taken to be receiving their income support payment during an employment nil rate period, or is the holder of a current: Low Income Health Care Card (LIC), or automatic issue Health Care Card (HCC), including an HCC issued on the basis of receipt of maximum rate Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A or an extension HCC If: Yes, and the student start date was: on or before the third Friday of Term 1, the start date will be 1 January of the applicable year Note: an exception applies when the applicant’s or applicant’s partner’s qualification date is between 1 January and the third Friday of Term 1. The ABSTUDY start date will be the date of qualification after the third Friday of Term 1, the start date will be the student start date No, the start date will be the date the applicant or applicant’s partner met the above qualification
9	Transferring from Family Tax Benefit (FTB) End of secondary studies If the customer was paid FTB and they completed the school year, FTB entitlements may not always be paid up to 31 December. To ensure there is no gap in payments, a customer can transfer to ABSTUDY and be paid from the FTB DPT+1, as long as they: intend to enrol in a full-time or concessional study load, in an approved course, in the next available study period, and lodge a claim for ABSTUDY by the closing date, which is 31 December in the year secondary school finished, and are eligible for ABSTUDY Turning 16 FTB can continue to be paid in addition to the ABSTUDY if the secondary student is: aged 16 years or over, and boarding Away from Home to undertake study For students living at home, ABSTUDY can be backdated to the student’s 16th birthday, which may create an FTB overpayment. The FTB customer and the student will need to decide which payment is more beneficial before backdating ABSTUDY. In these cases, ABSTUDY is granted from the DPT+1 of FTB. If the FTB customer cannot be contacted, ABSTUDY is only to be granted from DPT+1. Service Officers will not be required to manually cancel FTB. The system will automatically cease FTB for the student from the grant date of the ABSTUDY (if applicable). Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here.

Receiving a Social Security payment

Table 4

Step	Action
1	Social Security or Family Tax Benefit A retrospective cancellation or rejection to backdate ABSTUDY can only occur if it: covers the same period for which any one of the following payments / benefits were paid to the customer, or paid in respect of the customer a Social Security payment (for example, JobSeeker Payment (JSP), Youth Allowance (YA), or Austudy), or Family Tax Benefit, and is more financially beneficial for the customer to be in receipt of ABSTUDY for the same period Is the student studying a Master or Doctorate level course? Yes, ABSTUDY can be backdated. Go to Step 7 No, go to Step 2
2	Earlier start date The rules for ABSTUDY for a continuing student are different than the rules for other payments. Is the ABSTUDY entitlement start date before the student’s current payment’s start date? Yes, ABSTUDY can be backdated over the Social Security payment, FTB or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment. Go to Step 7 No, go to Step 3
3	Incidentals Allowance Did the student start a course in a previous year for which they received a payment? Yes, ABSTUDY can be backdated over the Social Security payment, FTB or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment. Go to Step 7 No, go to Step 4
4	Fares Allowance/Away from Base Assistance Does the student want to claim Fares Allowance or Away from Base Assistance for a period they were on a Social Security payment or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment? Yes, ABSTUDY can be backdated over the Social Security payment or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment. Go to Step 7 No, go to Step 5
5	Away from Home (AFH) / Independence (IND) Is the student entitled to the AFH or IND rate of ABSTUDY for a period they were: receiving Social Security payment or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, and not eligible for the AFH or IND rate? Yes, ABSTUDY can be backdated over the Social Security payment or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment. Go to Step 7 No, go to Step 6
6	Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Is the student now entitled to ABSTUDY for a period which they had attracted FTB payments? Yes, and the entitled ABSTUDY rate is: greater than the received FTB rate. ABSTUDY can be backdated over FTB. Go to Step 7 equal to or less than the received FTB rate. ABSTUDY is only payable from FTB DPT+1. Procedure ends here No, ABSTUDY is only payable from the Social Security payment, FTB or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment DPT+1. If doubt exists, escalate to the Level 2 Helpdesk through Local Peer Support. Procedure ends here
7	Social Security payment or FTB to be cancelled If it is determined that ABSTUDY is payable from the earlier date, the customer no longer has an eligibility for the Social Security payment, FTB or Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment for the same period. Refer to the following for cancellation/rejection of the relevant payment: Jobseeker: JSP - JobSeeker Payment (JSP) job seekers returning to full-time study YAL - Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker or Australian Apprentice returning to full-time study YAL/Austudy - Cancellation of Austudy or Youth Allowance (YA) students and Australian Apprentices FTB - Service Officers will not be required to manually cancel FTB. The system will automatically cease FTB for the student from the grant date of the ABSTUDY Note: a retrospective cancellation or rejection of FTB can only occur if the FTB customer agrees. The customers ABSTUDY will be granted from their start date determined in Table 2 once the cancellation/rejection has been actioned. Customers who lodge an incorrect or inappropriate claim for ABSTUDY, will have their YA, or Austudy rejected and ABSTUDY granted from their start date. An overpayment may occur because of the retrospective cancellation and must be offset against the ABSTUDY arrears unless the cancellation is FTB. FTB overpayments must not be offset by ABSTUDY arrears. See Resources for examples. Procedure ends here.