Changing study load from full-time to part-time or concessional study load for ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) 102-07020190

ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), customer/student advises that they are reducing their study load.

If their study load will be:

• 75% or more of the normal amount of full-time study, go to Step 3
• less than 75% of the normal amount of study, and the customer is:
• a tertiary student studying at a higher education institution, go to Step 2
• not tertiary student studying at a higher education institution, go to Step 4

If a customer is studying at a tertiary institution which has a normal period of enrolment of a year, they may be able to take advantage of the aggregation of study load rules.

Aggregating is 'adding' the study load of semesters/trimesters or equivalent periods together to determine whether someone is undertaking full-time study.

Most universities will have year based enrolments. As such, these customers would need to have an aggregated Equivalent Full Time Study Load (EFTSL) of 0.750 over the academic year to meet the 75% requirement.

Therefore, if the customer has dropped to a part-time study load in the current study period, they may still be considered a full-time student if their study load in a previous study period/s or future study period/s can be added together to reach an aggregated EFTSL of 0.750 over the academic year to meet the 75% requirement.

For further information regarding aggregation of study load refer to Assessing study load requirements.

Could the student still be considered full-time if their study load is aggregated over the full academic year?

• Yes, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 4

The customer is still considered to be a full-time student; there is no need to reassess payments.

Advise the customer to notify Services Australia within 14 days if their study load reduces to under 75%.

If the student has been assessed as a full-time student due to aggregation of study load, record all relevant details of the aggregation of study load and decision on a Note/DOC.

Procedure ends here.

If the student is receiving ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY PES and their study load will be:

• between 25% and 74% of the normal amount of full-time study, go to Step 5
• less than 25% of the normal amount of full-time study, see Step 1 in Table 2

For ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES students undertaking between 25% and 74% of the normal amount of full-time study, may be eligible to either the disability study load concession or two-thirds study load concession, see:

• Assessing the disability study load concession for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES
• Assessing the two-thirds study load concession for ABSTUDY

Does the student meet the eligibility criteria for either the disability study load concession or the two-thirds study load concession?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, see Step 1 in Table 2

The final assessment of either the two-thirds (66% to 74%) or the disability (25%) concessional study load must be actioned by the relevant ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing team.

Record any relevant information on an ABSTUDY Study Update Required Fast Note and send to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing team. Select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > ABSTUDY Study Update Required > Confirm. Scan any paperwork supplied by the customer. Procedure ends here.

Once it has been determined that the customer meets eligibility for either the two-third or the disability concessional study load:

• Select the course that the student has reduced their study load in from Education Course History (EDCH) screen
• Input a new Participation Status Event Date as the date they reduced their study load. Note: if a customer reduces their study load on the first day back after a break, the date to be used is the first day of the new term/semester. The date should not be the last day of the previous term/semester
• Change the Participation Status: to either
• 'C66' = 66% Concessional Student
• 'C25' = 25% Concession Student
• Select 'Ins' in the Action: field select Continue. This will then display 2 lines on the EDCH screen for the current course, one as full-time and one as the concessional study load
• Select the new line that was just created, for the concessional study load, on the EDCH screen
• Update the Student Start Date: as the same date that was used for the Participation Status Event Date (the date that the student changed to a concessional student)
• Select 'Chg' in the Action: field select Continue
• Select the original FTS entry from the EDCH screen
• Correct the Student End Date to the day before the student reduced their study load
• Select ‘Chg’ in the Action: field and select Continue
• Go to Step 7

The student will now be entitled to allowances under either:

• the two-thirds study load concession for ABSTUDY, or
• the disability study load concession for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES

Record any relevant information on a DOC and finalise the activity.

Procedure ends here.

ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY PES students who do not meet the requirements for the two-thirds or the disability concessional study load can test their eligibility for other allowances under the ABSTUDY scheme.

This includes the pensioner study load concession and the ABSTUDY Part-time Award:

• Assessing the pensioner study load concession for ABSTUDY PES
• ABSTUDY eligibility and requirements

Is the student now eligible for the pensioner study load concession or the Part-Time Award?

• Yes,
• If eligible for pensioner study load concession, go to Step 2
• If eligible for Part-Time Award, go to Step 3
• No, go to Step 6

Staff should determine that the customer meets the eligibility criteria to receive pensioner study load concession. Then use the Education Course Details (EDC) screen to update:

• Select the relevant course to be updated
• Update the Participation Status Event Date: field to the date they reduced their study load
• Code the Participation Status: as either:
• 'O50' = 50 to 74%, no concession
• 'U50' = 25 to 49%, no concession
• Select 'Ins' for insert in the Action: field and select Continue. This will then display 2 lines on the EDCH screen for the current course, one as full-time and one as either 'O50' or 'U50' study load
• Select the new entry that was just created for the reduced study load on the EDCH screen
• Update the Student Start Date: to the same date that was used for the Participation Status Event Date (the date the student reduced their study load)
• Select 'Chg' in the Action: field and select Continue
• Select the original FTS entry from the EDCH screen
• Correct the Student End Date to the day before the student reduced their study load
• Select 'Chg'in the Action: field and select Continue
• Finalise the activity on the AR screen and record details in a DOC

The student will now be entitled to allowances under the ABSTUDY PES study load concession which may include the Incidentals Allowance.

If the student is eligible for Incidentals Allowance and it has already been paid for the current study year as part of the previous full-time course details listed at EDC, the student is not entitled to another Incidentals Allowance payment (the system will not issue a subsequent payment). However an Incidentals Allowance payment will be generated for the student if one had not yet been issued for the current study year.

Procedure ends here.

Was the student in receipt of ABSTUDY PES prior to the drop in workload?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, customer is eligible to receive the part-time award. Go to Step 5

Code the change on the customer's record. End the current course of study in:

• Process Direct on Customer Study Details (EDC) screen
• Customer First on the Education Course Details (EDC) screen

As the student is no longer studying full-time or a pensioner concession study load, the ABSTUDY PES payment will automatically cancel (this will not affect their PES attracting payment). The system should generate a notice in writing advising the customer of the decision and their review and appeal rights. Record relevant details on a Note/DOC and finalise activity.

As the customer is still entitled to the Part-Time Award, an ABSTUDY new claim must now be created to enable the entitlement to the Part-Time Award to display.

Note: the customer does not need to complete a new claim form for this to occur. The use of a new claim activity is simply a result of system restrictions.

To create the new claim for the Part-Time Award refer to Processing an ABSTUDY claim.

Procedure ends here.

Staff should determine that the customer meets the eligibility criteria to receive the part-time award. Then use the Education Course Details (EDC) screen to update:

• Select the relevant course to be updated
• Update the Participation Status Event Date: field to the date they reduced their study load
  Note: if a customer reduces their study during a term/semester break, the date to be used is the first day of the new term/semester. The date should not be the last day of the previous term/semester
• Code the Participation Status: as ‘PTS’ Part-time student
• Select 'Ins' in the Action: field and select Continue. This will then display 2 lines on the EDCH screen for the current course, one as full-time and one PTS
• Select the new entry that was just created for the part-time study load on the EDCH screen
• Update the Student Start Date: to the same date that was used for the Participation Status Event Date (the date the student reduced their study load)
• Update the Inst Course End Date (if applicable) and the Student End Date to match the new Course End Date
• Select 'Chg' in the Action: field and select Continue
• Select the original FTS entry from the EDCH screen
• Correct the Student End Date to the day before the student reduced their study load
• Select 'Chg' in the Action: field and select Continue
• Finalise the activity on the AR screen and record details in a DOC

The student will now be entitled to allowances under the ABSTUDY Part-time Award eligibility criteria which may include the Incidentals Allowance. If the student is eligible for Incidentals Allowance and it has already been paid to the student for the current study year as part of the previous full-time course listed at EDC, the student is not entitled to another Incidentals Allowance payment (the system will not issue a subsequent Incidentals Allowance payment). However, an Incidentals Allowance payment will be generated for the student if one had not yet been issued for the current study year.

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

Customers must claim payments as a jobseeker on or before their ABSTUDY cancellation date to ensure no gap between payments.

Note: different processes apply for customers experiencing vulnerability or risk issues, see Intent to claim and vulnerable customers.

Whenever a customer discusses claiming a payment with Services Australia, it must be recorded on a DOC.

Procedure ends here.

The ABSTUDY customer does not meet the requirements for a concessional study load, including the pensioner concession, or the part-time award.

Code the change on the customer's record. End the current course of study in:

• Process Direct on Customer Study Details (EDC) screen or
• Customer First on the Education Course Details (EDC) and Education Course History (EDCH) screens

Note: for ABSTUDY customers, any Incidentals Allowance entitlement is affected by the Institution Course Start and End dates. Where an ABSTUDY customer has ceased study prior to the course end date, it is important that only the Student End Date: field is amended. Ensure that the Inst. Course End Date: field is not amended in these circumstances.

For:

• PES customers, go to Step 7
• all other customers, go to Step 8

The ABSTUDY PES payment will automatically cancel as the customer is no longer eligible (this will not affect their PES attracting payment). The system should generate a notice in writing advising the customer of the decision and their review and appeal rights.

Record relevant details on a Note/DOC and finalise activity.

Procedure ends here.

The customer will have to test their eligibility for another payment type if they wish to continue to receive assistance, see:

• Eligibility for JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Eligibility for Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker)

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 and other products and services.

Customers must claim payments as a jobseeker on or before their ABSTUDY cancellation date to ensure no gap between payments.

Note: different processes apply for customers experiencing vulnerability or risk issues, see Intent to claim and vulnerable customers.

Whenever a customer discusses claiming a payment with Services Australia it must be recorded in a Note/DOC.