Assessing study load concessions for ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) 010-02080060

While general advice based on information provided by the student can be given over the phone, encourage the student to test their eligibility in person, particularly in cases of discretionary decisions.

With the exception of the requirement to be undertaking a full-time study load, the student meet all other eligibility criteria for the:

• ABSTUDY Tertiary award
• ABSTUDY Masters and Doctorate award
• ABSTUDY Schooling A award, or
• ABSTUDY Schooling B Award

Does the student meet the above eligibility criteria?

• Yes, and the student’s study load is:
• 75% or more, customer is deemed to be a full-time student, concessional study load assessment not required. Procedure ends here
• less than 75%, go to Step 2
• No, the student is not eligible for a study load concession:
• Advise the customer of their review and appeal rights
• Record details of discussion with student on a DOC
• Procedure ends here

Is the student undertaking at least 25% of the normal amount of full time study for their course?

• Yes, for student’s claiming ABSTUDY:
• Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), go to Step 3
• Schooling A or Living Allowance, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 13

Check the student's record for details of an appropriate Services Australia payment or ask for evidence of a Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) pension.

Use the Customer Target Category Summary (CTCS) screen to identify if the student is receiving one of the following payments:

• Special Benefit (SpB) as a sole parent
• DVA Defence Widow Pension
• DVA War Widow Pension, where the student is not in receipt of a DVA Income Support Supplement due to permanent incapacity for work?

Is the student receiving one of the above payments?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

Does the student have a dependent child under the age of 16 years?

• Yes, see Table 2
• No, go to Step 6

Check if the student is receiving one of the following payments:

• Disability Support Pension (DSP)
• JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or Youth Allowance (YA) with a Partial Capacity to work
• DVA Invalidity Service Pension
• War Widow Pension, where the customer both has a dependent child under 16 years old and receives a DVA Income Support Supplement due to permanent incapacity for work
• Carer Payment (CP)
• Parenting Payment Single (PPS)
• JSP or YA Principal carer (single)

Is the student receiving one of the above payments?

• Yes, see Table 2
• No, go to Step 6

If the student has a disability that effects their ability to study, evidence is required that the customer's disability is sufficiently severe to prevent the student undertaking a full time (that is, at least 75%) study load. The nature of this evidence is dependent on the nature of the disability.

Note: if there is sufficient evidence of the student's disability available from previous records, see Step 2 in Table 2.

Does the student have a disability that effects their ability to study?

• Yes, for a:
• Physical disability, go to Step 7
• Psychiatric disability, go to Step 8
• Intellectual disability, go to Step 9
• No, go to Step 10

For a student with a physical disability to be granted the 25% study load concession, Services Australia requires evidence from an appropriate medical practitioner. They must have a detailed knowledge of the student’s physical condition and state in writing:

• the student has a substantial physical disability, and
• they cannot successfully undertake the normal amount of full-time study in the course (75% of a full time load or more) because of that disability

Advise the student of the above. If required, send a request for the documentation, see Requesting information (CLK).

Has sufficient evidence of the student's disability been provided?

• Yes, see Step 2 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 13

For a student with a psychiatric disability to be granted the 25% study load concession, Services Australia requires evidence from a medical practitioner specialising in psychiatry (not psychology). They must state in writing:

• the customer has a substantial psychiatric disability, and
• they cannot successfully undertake the normal amount of full-time study in the course (that is, 75% of a full-time load of more) because of the disability

Note: a statement received from a medical practitioner who is not a psychiatrist, can be accepted if there is a shortage of qualified medical specialists in the area. The statement must indicate that the medical practitioner has experience in treating patients with psychiatric conditions and that they are treating the patient due to a shortage in the area of medical specialists in psychiatry. There is an expectation that the condition be confirmed by a psychiatrist in the long term so the concession should not be granted for longer than one academic year without a statement from a psychiatrist.

Advise the student. If required, send a request for the documentation, see Requesting information (CLK).

Has sufficient evidence of the student's disability been provided?

• Yes, see Step 2 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 13

For a student with an intellectual disability to be granted the 25% study load concession, Services Australia requires evidence from a psychologist (who is registered with the Board established under the law of a State/Territory that registers psychologists). They must state in writing:

• the customer is intellectually disabled
• they cannot successfully undertake the normal amount of full-time study in the course (that is, 75% of a full-time load of more) because of that disability

Advise the student of the above. If required, send a request for the documentation, see Requesting information (CLK).

Has sufficient evidence of the student's disability been provided?

• Yes, see Step 2 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 13

Is the student undertaking at least two-thirds (66%) of the normal full-time study load?

• Yes, go to Step 11
• No, go to Step 13

To be eligible for the two-thirds study load concession, the student’s reason for not studying 75% must be one of the following:

• It is the institution's normal requirements for the course
• The student has been given direction in writing from the Principal, Deputy Principal, an Academic Registrar or an equivalent officer for the reduced study load
• Recommendation in writing from the Academic Registrar or equivalent officer, for academic or vocational reasons

Is the student’s reduced study load due to one of the above reasons?

• Yes, go to Step 12
• No, go to Step 13

Tell the student they need to provide evidence of their reduced study load.

See the Resources page for supporting documentation requirements.

If required, send a request for the documentation, see Requesting information (CLK).

Has evidence been provided to support the reduction in study load?

• Yes, see Step 4 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 13

The student is not eligible for a study load concession. Advise them of their review and appeal rights. For more information, see External review of ABSTUDY decisions.

Record details of decision on a DOC.

While general advice based on information provided by the student can be given over the phone, encourage the student to test their eligibility, particularly in cases of discretionary decisions.

Note: the customer's eligibility for the ABSTUDY Part time Award should be considered.

If the reduction in study load is temporary, see Payment of ABSTUDY when a student or Australian Apprentice becomes incapacitated.

Procedure ends here.

The student is entitled to an ABSTUDY pensioner concession and will also receive PES based of their circumstances.

Select the appropriate option:

In Customer First:

• Update the Participation Status: field on the Education Course Details (EDC) screen to:
• U50 (25-49% study load)
• O50 (50-74% study load)
• See Coding ABSTUDY education details for coding remaining EDC screen fields
• Record study details and advice given to the customer on a DOC

Procedure ends here.

In Customer First:

• Select the course that the student has reduced their study load in from Education Course History (EDCH) screen
• Add a new Participation Status Event Date using the date they reduced their study load. Note: if a customer reduced their study load on the first day back after a break, use this date. Do not use the last day of the previous term/semester
• Change the Participation Status: to
• U50 (25-49% study load)
• O50 (50-74% study load)
• 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
• Finalise the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen and record details in a DOC

Procedure ends here.

The student is eligible for the disability study load concession.

• Send a Fast Note to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing team:
• select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > ABSTUDY Study Update Required
• include all relevant information
• Procedure ends here

Check the Medical Condition Details (MC) screen has details of the student's medical condition

• If the MC screen requires coding, see Table 3 in Assessing and coding medical evidence for temporary incapacity exemptions
• MC details may require coding in a separate activity. This allows the MC screen to read the PSED date from the Customer Study Details (EDCH) screen for exemption purposes. If this is the first medical exemption lodged, the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen must be coded first and the activity should be completed

Go to Step 3.

Select the appropriate option:

In Customer First:

• Update the Participation Status: field on the EDC screen depending on the customer's actual study load as follows:
• C25 for ABSTUDY PES where study load is 25 - 49%
• C50 for ABSTUDY PES where study load is 50 - 74%
• C25 for ABSTUDY Living Allowance where study load is 25 - 74%
• See Coding ABSTUDY education details for coding remaining EDC screen fields
• Record details of the disability study load concession on a DOC

Procedure ends here.

In Customer First:

• Select the course that the student has reduced their study load in from Education Course History (EDCH) screen
• Add a new Participation Status Event Date using the date they reduced their study load. Note: if a customer reduced their study load on the first day back after a break, use this date. Do not use the last day of the previous term/semester
• term/semester
• Change the Participation Status to:
• C25 for ABSTUDY PES where study load is 25 - 49%
• C50 for ABSTUDY PES where study load is 50 - 74%
• C25 for ABSTUDY Living Allowance where study load is 25 - 74%
• 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
• Finalise the activity on the AR screen and record details in a DOC

Procedure ends here.

When required evidence has been received, student can be considered eligible for the two-thirds study load concession.

Select the appropriate option:

In Customer First:

• Update the Participation Status: field on the Education Course Details (EDC) screen to ‘66%’
• See Coding ABSTUDY education details for coding remaining EDC screen fields
• Record details of the two-thirds study load concession on a DOC

Was the reduction in study load because of a recommendation in writing from the Academic Registrar or equivalent officer, for academic or vocational reasons?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, procedure ends here

In Customer First:

• Select the course that the student has reduced their study load in from Education Course History (EDCH) screen
• Add a new Participation Status Event Date using the date they reduced their study load. Note: if a customer reduced their study load on the first day back after a break, use this date. Do not use the last day of the previous term/semester
• Change the Participation Status: to C66 (66% Concessional 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
• Finalise the activity on the AR screen and record details in a DOC

Was the reduction in study load because of a recommendation in writing from the Academic Registrar or equivalent officer, for academic or vocational reasons?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, procedure ends here

As study load requirements cannot be reduced for academic or vocational reasons for more than half of the academic year, the customer’s entitlement to the study load concession will need to be reviewed in 6 months.

In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:

• Service Reason: ABY
• Review Reason: REV (Manual Review)
• Due Date:
• 6 months from today's date or
• if the advice received was for a shorter duration, code the date advised
• Notes: 'Customer’s entitlement to the study load concession needs to be reviewed, return to OB 010-02080060.'
• Keywords: ACTABY and ABYSUP
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: ABS

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action.

Procedure ends here.