Claiming ABSTUDY 010-02010000

ABSTUDY is available to eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and Australian Apprentices. Applicants wanting to claim ABSTUDY must submit a completed ABSTUDY claim.

Claims for ABSTUDY can be lodged by:

• students
• full-time Australian Apprentices
• parents or guardians
• institutions, or
• interim applicants

The correct applicant must lodge an ABSTUDY claim, see Determining who should be the ABSTUDY applicant.

Early claims can be lodged for ABSTUDY.

ABSTUDY claims must be lodged by the relevant closing date.

There is no requirement for the applicant to be in Australia on the day they make a claim.

It is not always necessary for a customer to lodge an ABSTUDY claim. For further information on when an ABSTUDY claim is required, see the Process page.

An interim claim can be used when a student, or the person who would normally apply on behalf of the student, cannot due to exceptional circumstances such as serious illness, floods or remote locality. See Who is the ABSTUDY applicant and interim claims.

Points to note in completing the claim:

• The claim must be completed in blue or black pen
• All relevant questions on the claim form should be answered. Many questions only require a 'Yes' or 'No' tick
• For an interim claim, the minimum information acceptable is both the student and parent/guardian details

If helping customers and interim applicants to complete a claim form, do not underline or make any comments on the claim that is to be signed by a customer or interim applicant and lodged with Centrelink. Always use a separate sheet of paper to capture any notations or explanations to questions and attach this to the claim.

Identity Confirmation does not need to be met for all ABSTUDY payment types. Additional procedures exclusive to ABSTUDY apply in some circumstances.

ABSTUDY paper claims and supporting documents can be lodged by using any of the following options:

• Online using the Upload documents service
• Fax - see Processing Service details for: ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES
• Post by a reply paid envelope or by posting to Services Australia. See Processing Service details for: ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES
• In person at a service centre, or in remote areas, with a Centrelink field officer

Service Officers must accept all versions of ABSTUDY paper claim forms, including older versions.

When claims, forms or documents are received, check they are complete and scan to the customer's record.

Documents meeting the scannable document exceptions will be recorded in a DOC. It will show:

• where and when the document was received,
• the action taken and
• where it was sent

A withdrawn claim is treated as though no claim was received.

If a customer contacts regarding a withdrawn claim advise that a new claim is required. The Resources page contains an example of this situation.

ABSTUDY smart centre processing teams are responsible for the processing of ABSTUDY claims and supporting documents. Look up local Processing Service details for: ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES. See Processing arrangements for ABSTUDY claims and enquiries.