Customer will not commence full-time study for ABSTUDY, ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) and AIC PES 102-07020180

Is the customer unable to commence the course due to an incapacity or illness, and they are still considered to be enrolled?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 3

Depending on their payment type, see 1 of the following:

• Payment of ABSTUDY when a student or Australian Apprentice becomes incapacitated
• Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme student becomes incapacitated

Procedure ends here.

Is the customer not commencing study due to becoming an Australian Apprentice?

• Yes, see Identifying the most beneficial payment for students or Australian Apprentices
• No, go to Step 4

If the customer:

• is a new student and in the process of having their claim for the new course processed, and they have a new claim recorded on the Activity List (AL) screen, go to Step 5
• was not eligible, or not in receipt of ABSTUDY allowances as a full-time student in the previous study period, was intending to commence a new course and payments have already been granted for the new course, go to Step 7
• is a continuing student, and was eligible for ABSTUDY allowances as a full-time student in the previous study period, but will not commence study into the:
• same course in the next study period see: Payment of ABSTUDY when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course, or, Deferring or discontinuing study before end of the course for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES). Procedure ends here
• new course by the third Friday (this includes secondary school students moving from 1 year to the next), go to Step 6
• none of the above, go to Step 6

Customer has advised that they did not commence the new course.

As the customer was not in receipt of ABSTUDY in the previous study period, and has been granted, or a new claim is ready to be processed on the Activity List (AL) screen, they do not qualify for any payments for the new course as they have not commenced.

If the payment is:

• ABSTUDY, see Rejecting an ABSTUDY claim
• ABSTUDY PES, see Assessing claim for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)

Schooling A customers: for Schooling A students, the Group 1 SFA may have already been paid for the particular studies that they are not commencing. If this has occurred, delete the SFA off the Supplementary Education Payment (EPSP) screen prior to deleting the course off the relevant (EDC) screen page (as per Rejecting an ABSTUDY claim). To do this:

• place an 'E' next to the non-commenced course on the Education Course History (EDCH) screen and press [Enter]
• the system will navigate to the EPSP screen, and display the SFA that has been paid for the specific year. Delete this SFA by placing a 'D' in the Action: field and press [Enter]
• return to the EDCH screen and delete the EDC screen page showing details of the non-commenced course

Student Reviews: if this assessment is in relation to a review, and is on a customer who was ABSTUDY current for a course in the past, the record should not be rejected. The record will need to be cancelled. As the customer is not qualified for ABSTUDY Living Allowance or ABSTUDY PES in the previous study period, and they have not commenced the new study period, the record will need to be cancelled from the date they ceased study in the past. No entitlement exists for the new course.

To do this, navigate to the EDCH screen and delete the EDC screen page showing details of the non-commenced course.

Record details of action taken on a DOC.

Procedure ends here.

Identify which payment the customer is receiving.

For:

• ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), go to Step 7
• Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) or AIC PES, see Table 2, Step 8

An ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY PES student advises they will not commence studying at a full-time level, or by the third Friday.

• If the student will continue to study at a part-time level, check if they are eligible for 1 of the following workload concessions and follow procedures accordingly:
• Two-thirds study load concession
• Disability study concession
• Pensioner study load concession
• If they will continue to study at a part-time level, but are not eligible for a study load concession, consider if they qualify for the ABSTUDY Part-time Award
• If they will be temporarily absent from studies as a result of circumstances beyond the student's control, see Exemptions from study for ABSTUDY
• If they were previously a secondary boarding student receiving ABSTUDY boarding entitlements, see Cessation of the ABSTUDY Away from Home rate

None of the above, go to Step 8.

If the ABSTUDY customer:

• is a continuing student who will not be commencing their studies in the new course in the next study period, including secondary school students moving from 1 year to the next, see Table 2, Step 1
• is not a continuing student, and was to start a new course, but did not commence studies, see Table 2, Step 4
• was in receipt of ABSTUDY entitlements as a full-time student in the previous study period, but will recommence as a part-time student without a workload concession in the following study period, see Table 2, Step 6

Are the customer's payments showing as suspended due to no proof of enrolment being received?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 3

As the customer did not commence in the course, their ABSTUDY will be cancelled from a date prior to the date they were suspended. Therefore, no proof of enrolment is needed to be supplied.

• If the ABSTUDY customer is in receipt of Schooling A award, refer to Payment of ABSTUDY when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course
• If the ABSTUDY student was a continuing student in a new course and did not commence study at all in the new study period, or by the third Friday, including secondary school students moving from 1 year to the next, they will be entitled to payment of Living Allowance/PES up to the date they became aware they would not be recommencing as a full-time student. If they do not commence at all and they were initially eligible, they will then have no entitlement to Incidentals Allowance in respect of the non-commenced course

Note: ABSTUDY customers going from year to year at a secondary level school are considered to be undertaking a 'new course' for the purposes of coding these steps.

If the customer is:

• a tertiary or secondary non schooling customer (including customers who are at a secondary school and are eligible to receive Incidentals Allowance as they are 18 years of age at 1 January), go to Step 4
• a continuing secondary school student (or secondary non-schooling student who is not eligible for Incidentals Allowance as they are under 18 years of age at 1 January) who was intending to commence a new course in the upcoming study period, go to Step 5

Payments can be cancelled and the appropriate Incidentals Allowance overpayment generated (if applicable) by updating the record as follows:

• code 'ISS' in the Sys: field and 'SVABY' (ABSTUDY) in the Nxt: field
• delete the EDC screen page showing details of the non-commenced course
• select the details of the preceding course from the Education Course History (EDCH) page and amend the Student End Date: field to the date they became aware they would not be recommencing as a full-time student. Note: payment cannot continue beyond the third Friday after the new course commencement date
• If the existing Allowable Time End Date: field has a date earlier than this, this should also be amended to the date they became aware they would not be recommencing as a full-time student. Note: when changing the Allowable Time End Date: field as a work around to pay a customer in the new study period, then this must be DOC'd if the customer's Allowable Time entitlement has expired in the previous study period
• do not amend the Inst Course End Date: field
• Note: assessments or any other comments must not be recorded in the Comments: field. Information recorded in the Comments: field will be displayed to customers when using the 'Manage study details' online service. Any additional comments must be recorded on a DOC
• record on a DOC that the student did not commence, and to record any additional relevant details

Go to Step 7.

(Not eligible for Incidentals Allowance as they are under 18 years of age at 1 January) who were intending to commence a new course in the upcoming study period.

Update the record as follows:

• code 'ISS' in the Sys: field and 'SVABY' (ABSTUDY) in the Nxt: field
• select the Education Course Details (EDC) screen with details of the non-commenced course
• amend the Course Start Date: and the Student Start Date: fields to 1 Jan of the year the non-commenced course was due to begin
• amend the Student End Date: field to the date they became aware they would not be recommencing as a full-time student
• do not amend the Inst Course End Date: field. These actions will auto-cancel payments

Record details of action taken on a DOC.

Go to Step 7.

A continuing student who has been paid Living Allowance over the vacation period, and will commence in the following study period as a part-time student (without qualifying for a study load concession), will only be eligible to entitlements under the Part-time Award.

However the student will remain entitled to Living Allowance up to the date they became aware they would not be recommencing as a full-time student. No overpayment is raised for Living Allowance paid over the vacation period.

For continuing students who will commence as a part-time student in a course in the upcoming study period, code 'ISS' in the Sys: field and 'SVABY' (ABSTUDY) in the Nxt: field. Update the EDC screen as follows:

• select the listed current year course details from EDCH
• input a new Participation Status Event Date as the date they became aware they would not be recommencing as a full-time student
• change the Participation Status: to 'PTS'
• input an 'I' in the Action field to insert the new information and press [Enter]. There will be 2 lines on the EDCH screen for the current course - 1 as full-time and 1 as part-time
• select the new line that was created for the part-time study, from the EDCH screen
• update the Student Start Date: field to the same date that was used for the Participation Status Event Date (the date the student changed to part-time study)
• input a 'C' in the Action field to change the EDC details

The student will be entitled to allowances under the ABSTUDY Part-time Award which includes the Incidental Allowance (IA). If IA has already been paid to the student for the current study year as part of the previous full-time course details listed at EDC, the student is not entitled to another IA payment (the system will not issue a subsequent IA payment). However an IA payment will be generated for the student if 1 had not yet been issued for the current study year.

Procedure ends here.

The customer will need to test their eligibility for another payment type if they wish to continue to receive assistance.

If the student will be, or has actually commenced the course after the third Friday, then they will be able to reclaim ABSTUDY from the date they began the course. Refer to Claiming ABSTUDY.

• Most former students would be claiming:
• JobSeeker Payment - see Transfer to JobSeeker Payment (JSP) from another payment, or
• Youth Allowance - see Transfer to Youth Allowance from another payment
• If the customer wishes to claim a different payment, or they are uncertain what payment they may claim, the Service Officer will need to identify if the customer is eligible for income support or other products and services

Note: whenever a customer discusses claiming a payment it must be recorded in a DOC.

Procedure ends here.

An AIC student must be participating in approved study to continue to receive AIC or AIC PES.

• If the student has ceased study, cancel the AIC payment

Note: if the student is not studying full-time or at a reduced level due to a disability or health-related condition, and the school still considers the student is full-time, and the student is at least 16 years of age (or 15 years of age and an independent YA customer), check if the student qualifies for YA.