Changing or correcting course of study and/or educational institution for ABSTUDY students 102-07020150

ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) students need to be studying an approved course and:

• studying full-time
• approved for a concessional study load, or
• qualified for ABSTUDY under the Part-time Award

If a student tells Services Australia they are changing courses, find out if:

• the new course and institution are approved
• they are still within their reasonable time, and
• they have not exceeded limits of assistance

If the student is changing to an unapproved course or institution, they will only be eligible for ABSTUDY if they are undertaking an approved Indigenous special course.

Note: if an ABSTUDY student or Australian Apprentice discontinues and then subsequently starts to receive Living Allowance again, in either the same course/apprenticeship or a different course/apprenticeship, they remain entitled to ABSTUDY Living Allowance if the period between is no greater than 28 days.

Students registered online can view their personal information including study details by selecting My Details > Personal and contact details > Manage study details menu option on their Centrelink online account or on their mobile device using the Express Plus applications.

Students may notify the change to their study details by updating their details online if the student provides a change to their study details, the record may generate a DOC with details of the change for follow up action to be undertaken by a Service Officer.

Students who receive ABSTUDY PES and transferred to JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA), will stop being eligible for ABSTUDY PES if they defer or withdraw before the end of their course if they:

• are in the Disability Support Pension (DSP) transition group and assessed as having a partial capacity to work, or
• stopped receiving Parenting Payment Single (PPS) due to their youngest child turning 14 years of age

If they subsequently resume the same course, they are still not eligible for ABSTUDY PES except for ABSTUDY PES students who resume the same course within 28 days.

Changing details of the course including Student Start or Student End date on the following screens can also affect entitlement for Relocation Scholarship:

• Process Direct - Customer Study Details (EDC) screen
• Customer First Education Course History (EDCH) screen.

See Scholarship study requirements.