Manage study details 133-26021205

Customers issued a Course end review letter, can use the Manage study details service online through a Confirm course end date task to:

• update their study details, and
• request more support from Services Australia

The task displays on the customer's Centrelink online account homepage and takes customers to the Study details page where they can:

• update their student end date if they need more time to complete their course or will complete it earlier than expected
• add a new course if they are completing their current course and starting a new one
• apply for a job seeking payment if they need more help when they finish studying. If they have met their notification obligations:
• JobSeeker Payment (JSP) streamlined claims are offered to Austudy (AUS) and Youth Allowance (YA) students who are 22 years or over on the day after their student end date
• Student to job seeker transfers are offered to YA students who are under 22 on the day after their student end date

The Confirm course end date task does not display if the customer has:

• an outstanding study details activity
• a submitted JSP claim
• already reached their student end date

If the customer submits updates to their study details during the course end date review period, a receipt page will display:

• confirming the information provided in their online update, and
• any further action required to remain on a student payment or to apply for another income support payment

Austudy (AUS), ABSTUDY, Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), ABSTUDY PES, Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) and Youth Allowance (YA) (student) customers can use the Manage study details service to make changes to their current or future study details.

Customers can:

• change their:
• student end date
• course
• study load
• provide their student ID

If the customer submits updates to their study details, a receipt page will display confirming the information provided in their online update.

Customers cannot make changes to their:

• education provider's name
• course title
• level of study, or
• course start date

Add new course will always display for ABSTUDY, ABSTUDY PES and YA (job seeker) customers.

Add new course will only display for YA (student), AUS and PES customers, if they have:

• a current course with a student end date in the next 13 weeks, and
• no future course or intention to study recorded

When adding a new course, the system allows customers to

• search for the course using predictive text
• select other and unknown fields if they do not know their course code
• manually enter information if the field is blank
• change course start and end dates if the pre-populated dates are incorrect

Customers adding an approved scholarship course are asked if they want to apply for a Student Start-up Loan.

If the customer may qualify for Relocation Scholarship (RS), they are asked to provide their family home address.

When a customer has a future course, they are unable to make updates to their current or future course.

If the customer wants to:

• update their current course they need to select Remove to remove the future course first
• change their future course they can use the Change course option

Customers can use the Manage study details service to apply for or change SSL decisions for current or future loan periods.

Customers can apply for one or more SSL loan periods when:

• adding a new course, or
• updating a current course, and
• the new or current course is an approved scholarship course

If a customer applies for an SSL through the Manage study details service, they must accept the terms and conditions for the loan/s to submit their update.

YA (student) or AUS customers can use the Manage study details service to record an intention to study in the next study period when they:

• are not sure if they will get an offer for a course
• do not know the full details of a course, or
• have not decided which course they will enrol in

Customers who want to record an intention to study need to select Add new course and I only know the start date when asked about their new course.

The customer is asked to enter the expected start date of their course.

YA is only paid for courses the customer started before they turn 25 years. See Determining minimum and maximum age for Youth Allowance (YA).

If a customer changes their course or adds a new course that starts after their 25th birthday, they are told within the study update:

• they need to submit an AUS claim, and
• the day on which they should do so

Customers select the option that best fits their circumstance when they update their current course details.

Additional questions in the Manage study details service determine if a customer:

• must provide evidence to verify their circumstances
• is no longer eligible for a student payment

For more information about when a customer has selected:

• changing my study end date, go to Step 2
• changing courses, go to Step 3
• providing my student ID, go to Step 4
• changing my study load, go to Step 5

When an AUS, YAL or ABSTUDY customer advises they stopped studying in the past they are asked if they are:

• experiencing an unforeseen or extreme circumstance
• deferring or taking an approved leave of absence, and
• intending to return to full-time study

If the customer answers yes, they are advised to contact Services Australia to discuss their circumstances. Customers who meet these criteria should be offered social worker assistance. See Referral to a social worker.

When the customer contacts, and is receiving:

• AUS or YA, provide the details of the customers circumstances, including if they remain enrolled in their course, and the date they intend to return to full-time study to the level 3 helpdesk. For more information, see:
• Youth Allowance (YA) student or Australian Apprentice becomes incapacitated or impacted by unforeseen or extreme circumstances
• Austudy student or Australian Apprentice becomes incapacitated or impacted by unforeseen or extreme circumstances
• ABSTUDY, see Payment of ABSTUDY when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course

YA customers under 22 years are asked if they want to stay on YA as a job seeker if:

• they are stopping study, and
• their Student End Date (SED) is between 14 days in the past and up to 28 days in the future of the date they are making their study update

See Student to job seeker transfers and Eligibility and rate impacts for Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker).

Customers who update their SED but do not meet their notification obligations are not eligible to transfer to YA (job seeker) and need to submit a new claim if they want to test their eligibility for YA (job seeker). Manually cancel their YA (student), see Cancellation of Austudy or Youth Allowance (YA) students and Australian Apprentices.

AUS and YA customers aged 22 and over who stop studying are offered a JSP claim. They may not be able to submit the claim until after their study update is processed.

If a customer contacts because they are unable to submit a JSP claim, check Transactions in Process Direct for any outstanding online study update.

If there is a study update with a status of For Manual Action and the Service Officer is:

• student skilled, complete the study update. Tell the customer to continue with their JSP claim
• not student skilled, transfer the customer to the Youth and Students or ABSTUDY line so they can complete the study update

See Transfer to JobSeeker Payment (JSP) from another payment.

ABSTUDY customers aged 22 and over are advised they can test their eligibility for JobSeeker Payment (JSP).

ABSTUDY customers aged 22 are advised they can test their eligibility for Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker).

A customer can extend their study end date in the online service by up to one year from their existing SED.

Assess allowable time or satisfactory progress when customers have extended their SED.

See Determining allowable time/reasonable time for a course of study.

Consider if the customer will continue to meet study load requirements.

See Assessing study load requirements.

AUS, YA (student), PES and TAP customers can use the Manage study details service to advise they have changed courses.

Customers who change their course are asked additional questions to determine if they meet continuing/intending student provisions. Do not complete further checks for continuing students when processing the study update.

If the customer is not a continuing/intending student, manually cancel their student payment, see Cancellation of Austudy or Youth Allowance (YA) students and Australian Apprentices. AUS and YA customers will be offered the option to:

• claim a job seeking payment, or
• complete a streamline claim in their study update if they've met their notification requirements

See Table 1 > Step 4 in Effect of end of course on payments for students.

If a customer has:

• not provided their student ID before, they can use the Manage study details service to provide it
• provided their student ID before, they will not see this option

Customers changing to part-time study or adding a new course with a part-time study load are asked additional questions to confirm the reason for their reduced study load.

Customers who advise they are part-time due to course requirements, medical reasons or may be eligible to have their study load aggregated, are:

• told they must supply evidence within 14 days, and
• given a link to the Services Australia website for the relevant evidence requirements

There is no online task or formal request for evidence. The transaction slider will show that the service told the customer they need to supply evidence within 14 days.

If the service asked a customer to supply evidence and the study update is allocated:

• less than 14 days from the date of submission, put the work item on hold until the submission date + 15 days
• more than 14 days from the date of submission, check for evidence the customer may have supplied. See Table 4.

To assess if aggregation of study load can apply, customers are asked if they are studying a tertiary course and are enrolled in:

• more than one study period, or
• a subject that extends across more than one study period

If the customer answers yes, they are told to provide evidence within 14 days showing their total Equivalent Full-time Study Load (EFTSL) over the period they are enrolled. Customers are also advised if they do not provide evidence, they will not be eligible for their student payment from the day they stopped studying full-time.

Customers who select my course requirements changed as the reason they're studying part-time are told to provide a letter:

• from their education provider within 14 days, and
• that confirms the reason their study load changed

Customers are also advised if they do not provide the letter, they will not be eligible for their student payment from the day they stopped studying full-time.

Youth Allowance (YA) customers who select I'm sick, injured or have a disability as the reason they are studying part-time are asked if they are planning to return to full-time study.

If they answer:

• no, they are told they can no longer be paid as a student. If under 22 years, they are asked if they want to test their eligibility for Youth Allowance (YA) as a job seeker. If 22 years or older they are offered a claim for JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• yes, they are told:
• they must provide medical evidence within 14 days showing why they are unable to study full-time
• if they do not provide medical evidence, they will not be eligible for their student payment from the day they stopped studying full-time

Austudy customers who select I'm sick, injured or have a disability as the reason they are studying part-time are asked if they are planning to return to full-time study.

Customers are told:

• they must provide medical evidence within 14 days showing why they are unable to study full-time
• if they do not provide medical evidence, they will not be eligible for their student payment from the day they stopped studying full-time

Based on the evidence provided determine if the customer is eligible for a 25% concessional study load.

If the customer is not eligible for the 25% concessional study load determine if they are eligible for a temporary incapacity exemption if they are returning to full-time study.

Customers are told:

• they must provide medical evidence within 14 days showing why they are unable to study full-time
• if they do not provide medical evidence, they will not be eligible for their student payment from the day they stopped studying full-time

For more information, see Decreasing study load for ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).

PES and ABSTUDY PES customers who select I'm sick, injured or have a disability as the reason they are studying part-time, do not need to provide medical evidence as their rate of PES will be paid based on their primary benefit and study load.

See:

• Assessing eligibility for 25% concessional study load for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Assessing eligibility for 66% concessional study load for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Assessing study load concessions for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)

AUS, and YA customers who select I choose to study part-time cannot be paid as a student. Customers who meet their notification provisions are offered the option to complete a JSP streamline claim or book a student to job seeker transfer appointment.

For ABSTUDY customers who choose to study part-time, see Decreasing study load for ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).

PES and ABSTUDY PES customers who choose to study part-time are asked to provide their study load, the rate of PES is paid accordingly when their study update is finalised.

AUS, YA and ABSTUDY customers who select Due to an unforeseen or extreme circumstance as the reason they are studying part-time are told to contact Services Australia.

Customers who meet these criteria should be offered social work assistance. See Referral to a social worker.

When the customer contacts, and is receiving:

• AUS or YA, provide the details of the customers circumstances, including their study load and the date they intend to return to full-time study to the level 3 helpdesk. For more information, see:
• Youth Allowance (YA) student or Australian Apprentice becomes incapacitated or impacted by unforeseen or extreme circumstances
• Austudy student or Australian Apprentice becomes incapacitated or impacted by unforeseen or extreme circumstances
• ABSTUDY, see Decreasing study load for ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)

If a customer attempted to update their study details through the Manage study details service and the details do not show online, the customer may contact.

Initial checks should include investigating:

• if a customer extended their student end date. The system may create a For Manual Action CoC to assess the customer's circumstances manually
• updates made by the customer may have to be manually processed. There may be a delay in the details being displayed on the Study Details page in their Centrelink online account
• if there is a submitted study update. Customers are not able to use the Manage study details service while the update has a status of:
• For Manual Action
• Draft
• On Hold
• For Customer Action
• In Progress
• QMA
• Payment Cancelled
• For Approval
• Received From Legacy

For customers reporting not being able to use the service, check Transactions in Process Direct for any previous unactioned study updates.

If a Service Officer is:

• not trained to complete study updates, transfer the customer to the relevant payment queue
• trained to complete study updates, see Table 4

If a YA (student) or AUS customer contacts advising they are unable to add a new course (including an intention to study), check if:

• an intention to study is already recorded, or
• the customer's student end date is more than 13 weeks in the future

If the customer is unable to record an intention to study through their Centrelink online account, students skilled Service Officers must help with these updates.

See the following procedures for more details:

• Assessing study load requirements
• Coding new study details
• Youth Allowance student full-time study requirements
• Satisfying the activity test for customers who are intending to study for Austudy
• Changing study or training details

The agency's database has limited space for the education provider name, so abbreviations are common.

If the customers course name has been recorded incorrectly, update as appropriate.

See Coding new study details and Coding ABSTUDY education details.

Customers attempting to update their details online may be presented with This Service is not currently available, when:

• their record is locked
• an activity has been started by the customer on their record
• there are system issues

Check the:

• Centrelink system to see if it is available
• Lock Override (LOVER) screen in Customer First in the customer's record to see if someone is in the record
• customer's Activity List (AL) screen for any started activities

Service Officers must ensure they are not locked in the record, tell the customer to sign out, close the browser and try the process again.

If the customer is still unable to make the necessary updates, Service Officers must update as appropriate.

Tell the customer the service only displays courses that finished within the last 13 weeks.

If a customer contacts about the progress of their uploaded documents, apologise for the delay and:

• check with the customer how long ago the form/document was uploaded and locating the document in Document Tools
• in Customer First, enter the new course details, see Coding new study details and Coding ABSTUDY education details

Student Start-up Loans only show within the Manage study details service when the customer:

• adds a new course
• updates their current course, or
• changes course, and
• the new or current course is an approved scholarship course

If the customer does not need to update their study details, they can access the Student Start-up Loan online service to make changes to future SSL loan periods.

The Student Start-up Loan online service is in Other services on the Manage study details landing page.

When a customer updates their study details using their Centrelink online account, or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app and the system does not complete the update, a Change of Circumstance (CoC) transaction will be created.

Review the information the customer provided in their online study update from the CoC transaction slider in Process Direct.

For circumstance:

• reducing to part-time study for:
• ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES, see Decreasing study load for ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• YA, AUS and PES, see Changing study load from full-time to part-time or concessional study load for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy or PES
• ceasing or deferring study for:
• YA or AUS see Payment of Youth Allowance (YA) and Austudy when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course
• ABSTUDY see Payment of ABSTUDY when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course
• PES see Deferring or discontinuing study before end of course for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• intention to study and course end date reviews for:
• YA and AUS, see Processing end of course and intention to study reviews for Austudy and Youth Allowance (YA)
• PES, ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES, see Processing end of course reviews for ABSTUDY, ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and PES students
• increasing study load for ABSTUDY students

Go to Step 2.

If a YA or ABSTUDY customer also receives TAP, follow the process for YA or ABSTUDY.

If the online study update in Process Direct is:

• YA, ABSTUDY, AUS or PES:
• ZCOC_STUDY_DETAILS, or
• ZCOC_STUDYDETAIL_ABY, or
• ZCOC_ ZEPF_STUDY
• go to Step 3
• ABSTUDY PES:
• ABSTUDY PES: ZCOC_ZEPA_STUDY
• go to Step 5
• TAP (only):
• ZCOC_ZTAP_STUDY, or
• ZCOC_ZTAP_STUDY_ABY
• go to Step 7

When actioning a Change of Circumstance (CoC) activity in Process Direct, review the study update details and Documents for related digital images.

Is more information required to complete the update?

• Yes, request the information. If the required information is:
• supplied, go to Step 4
• not supplied, hold the CoC activity until the RFI falls due in 14 days + delivery, see Allow extra time for surface mail delivery. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

If an update is:

• required, for YA, ABSTUDY, AUS or PES select Process, go to Step 6
• not required:
• use the Status button to change the status of the CoC to Cancelled
• and the decision to not make an update is an adverse decision (e.g., will result in cancellation) contact the customer. If the customer wants to continue receiving payment as a job seeker, see Student to job seeker transfers
• record a DOC to explain what information was supplied and why no update was made
• procedure ends here

Check the Activity List (AL) screen.

If the system attempted to autocomplete the online study update and failed due to an error, there will be a REA activity on the AL screen with Refer to Change of Circumstance Interaction in CF in the activity notes.

For an ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY PES update where there is:

• a REA activity on the AL screen, complete updates in this activity
• no REA activity on the AL screen, complete updates in a new activity

Go to Step 6.

Process Direct

• Go to the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen
• Select the relevant entry to update the Customer Study Details. See:
• Coding new study details
• Coding ABSTUDY education details
• For YA and AUS customers, update the Newstart Education Status (NES) screen, if required
• Check all SSL decisions advised in the online study update on the Student Start-up Loan Summary (SSLS) screen. See Student Start-up Loan (SSL). Note: if the claim slider shows Total $0 and there are no individual loan periods displayed, the customer has not applied for any SSLs.
• Where the customer has provided their Tax File Number (TFN), check the Tax File Number Authorisation (TFN) screen. If:
• the TFN field is blank or a CAT exemption is recorded, see Table 4 in Requesting a Tax File Number
• a TFN is already recorded, check the Student Start-up ATO Details (SSLATO) screen. If the SSLATO screen displays:
  Not Initiated, no further action is required, or
  No Match, see Table 2 > Step 10 in Student Start-up Loan
• Go to the Entitlement (ELD) screen, check the outcome
• Record details in the Finalisation Note
• Finalise the transaction

Customer First

• Go to the Education Course History (EDCH) screen
• Select the relevant entry to update the Education Course Details (EDC) screen. See:
• Coding new study details
• Coding ABSTUDY education details
• For YA and AUS customers, update the Newstart Education Status (NES) screen, if required
• Check all SSL decisions advised in the online study update. These are recorded via !SSLS screen. See Student Start-up Loan (SSL). Note: if the claim slider shows Total $0 and there are no individual loan periods displayed, the customer has not applied for any SSLs.
• Where the customer has provided their Tax File Number (TFN), check the TFN screen. If:
• the TFN field is blank or a CAT exemption is recorded, see Table 4 in Requesting a Tax File Number
• a TFN is already recorded, check the !SSLATO screen. If the !SSLATO screen displays:
  Not Initiated, no further action is required, or
  No Match, see Table 2 > Step 10 in Student Start-up Loan
• Go to the Activity Results (AR) screen, check the outcome and finalise the activity
• Record details on a DOC

For YA, ABSTUDY, AUS and PES only

If the online study update has been completed and there is another REA activity on AL with Refer to Change of Circumstance Interaction in Customer First in the activity notes, cancel this activity.

Procedure ends here.

Complete updates for TAP (only) customers in Process Direct. If an update is required, on the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen:

• select the relevant entry to update the Education Course Details (EDC) screen. See Code new study details
• finalise the activity
• record details on a DOC

The TAP Circumstance Details (TPCD) screen does not need to be updated.

Procedure ends here.