Eligibility for Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme Distance Education Allowance (DED) 010-03040020

If:

• the applicant is applying for the AIC Scheme DED, go to Step 6
• a manual review is due as:
• the student is over the maximum age for home schooling go to Step 2
• the student’s home schooling registration will cease, go to Step 3
• a new home schooling registration certificate or statement is required, go to Step 4

Students, who are over the maximum age for home schooling, may have their registration stopped by the governing state or territory department. These students are not eligible for DED once the registration stops.

If allocated a home schooling maximum age review via Workload Manager (WLM):

• check the student and applicant record for notification of a change in schooling
• where there is no change in circumstances, make 2 genuine attempts to contact the applicant to advise them:
• DED is not payable if the registration stops due to age
• about the other AIC allowances they may be eligible for. For example, they may remain eligible if registering for distance education
• record details of discussion in a DOC

If the applicant advises new home school study arrangements, go to Step 6.

Cancel DED if the applicant says the student:

• will not be enrolling in approved distance education or boarding, or
• has not provided new study enrolment details
• Go to Step 5.

When students are approved for home schooling by the governing state or territory department, it is for the period stated on the home schooling registration certificate or statement. See the State/Territory Department of Education approval Table on the Resources page

Students remain eligible for DED if an application for renewal of registration is submitted before the previous registration ceases. If registration is not renewed, eligibility for DED ceases from the date the applicant is notified.

When a new claim is assessed, a manual review is created to ensure the home schooling registration is followed up with the applicant prior to registration ceasing.

If allocated a home schooling registration review via Workload Manager (WLM) select the appropriate option based on when registration will cease:

12 weeks before registration ceases

When the manual review falls due 12 weeks before a student’s home schooling registration will cease, make 2 genuine attempts to contact the applicant to discuss:

• if they have or will apply for a renewal of their registration as the certificate provided indicates the registration is expiring
• advise them to submit evidence of the renewal before the current registration ceases to continue receiving DED. See the State/Territory Department of Education approval Table on the Resources page for evidence requirements

If the applicant advises that home schooling will not continue, finalise the manual review. Go to Step 6.

When contact has been made or attempted:

• issue a Q888 letter to the applicant to request evidence of the home schooling registration renewal and a new certificate or statement if renewal is approved
• place the manual review on hold until 14 days before the current registration ceases
• record details of discussion and/or actions taken in a DOC

14 days before registration ceases

When the manual review falls due 14 days before a student’s home schooling registration will cease, Check the student and applicant records for evidence that the home schooling registration has been renewed or a renewal application has been submitted before the current registration ceases. See the State/Territory Department of Education approval Table on the Resources page for evidence requirements

Has evidence been provided?

• Yes, if:
• a new home schooling registration certificate or statement has been supplied, go to Step 6
• the applicant has submitted evidence that a renewal application has been submitted before the current registration ceases, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 5

When an applicant provides evidence that a renewal application has been submitted before the current registration ceases, confirm if the home schooling registration has been renewed. See the State/Territory Department of Education approval Table on the Resources page for evidence requirements

Make 2 genuine attempts to contact the applicant to advise them they must:

• provide a copy of the new home schooling registration certificate or statement when received, or
• contact Services Australian when they are advised that registration will not be renewed

Record details of discussion and/or actions taken in a DOC

In Customer First go to the:

• Activity List (AL) screen and select the manual review:
• Activity Details (AY) screen and update the following:
• Due Date: 12 weeks from the date the renewal application was lodged
• Notes: ‘New home schooling registration certificate or statement required, see OB 010-03040 to action’

The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Manager will allocate the review for manual action. Finalise the manual review when it matures.

Check the student and applicant records for a new home schooling registration certificate or statement.

If a new home schooling registration certificate or statement has:

• been provided, go to Step 6
• not been provided or registration was not renewed, go to Step 5

Code the DED cancellation from the later of:

• cessation of home schooling registration, or
• the date the applicant was notified that home schooling registration would not be renewed

In Customer First:

• Go to the Living Arrangements (EILS) screen:
• ‘S’elect the DEH line, update the End Date: field. Key the date the home-schooling registration ceases
• Use ‘INT’ in the Source: field and complete the DOR: field with the date the applicant notified of the change or today’s date if no notification, insert ‘C’ in the Action: field and press Continue
• Update the current study on the Education Course Details (EDC) screen:
• Student End Date: field, code the date the home schooling registration ceases
• Finalise the update via the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Ensure the system is cancelling the AIC payment from the correct date
• Record details in a DOC

Has a debt occurred?

• Yes, if cancelling DED:
• after home schooling registration ceases, if trained in actioning debts, see Table 2 in Cancellation and debt raising of Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme payments. If not trained in actioning debts send an open Fast Note to the AIC Smart Centre. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Debt Action Referral > AIC Debt Action. Include all the relevant details. Procedure ends here
• before the home schooling registration ceases, send an open Fast Note to the AIC Smart Centre. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Debts > Debt Action Referral > AIC Debt Action. Include all the relevant details. Place the Fast Note and debt shell on hold until the day after the current registration ceases. Procedure ends here
• No, procedure ends here

Does the applicant and student meet AIC Scheme eligibility criteria?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 11

Applicants may get DED for primary or secondary level students.

Students studying from home:

• The student must be enrolled in a distance education school. It can include a school of the air
• The student must be undertaking a course of home schooling/education. The relevant State or Territory authority must approve (register) the course as a satisfactory alternative to their government curriculum
• The student must be unable to attend their appropriate local government school due to distance or special needs. This can also include a short-term injury or illness, where the school will set the student work to do at home

Students not studying from home:

• The student can be studying or using facilities at a school that does not offer tuition at their level. They will usually be enrolled in a distance education centre
• The student can be studying at premises:
• not classified as a mainstream school, and
• that do not provide tuition by qualified teachers
• The student can be studying at a Homeland Learning Centre in the Northern Territory
• The student can be doing distance education study or home schooling/education at the family's second family home maintained for reasons other than daily access to appropriate schooling for the student or their siblings
• The student can be doing distance education study as parental work requires frequent moves
• The student:
• can be travelling overseas for less than 12 months, and
• continues to be enrolled at an approved distance education provider, and
• will continue to undertake the relevant school work on a full-time basis
  Note: the 12 months is calculated from each departure from Australia. The student remains eligible as long as they are not outside Australia for a continuous 12 months. See the Resources page for examples

Is the student studying by distance education through an approved distance education provider or in another acceptable arrangement as above?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 15

If the student is:

• registered for a full-time primary or secondary level course of home schooling/education formally approved by the relevant education authority as being a satisfactory alternative to a state/territory provided curriculum, go to Step 9
• studying at a Homeland Learning Centre, go to Step 10
• enrolled with an approved distance education provider, go to Step 11
• being provided with lessons to study at home by their local school, go to Step 11

To be approved for home schooling, the student must:

• meet the age requirements for registration for their home State/Territory
• be provisionally or formally registered for home schooling

Note: where registration for home schooling has only ended because of the education authority’s renewal process, a student remains eligible for DED if an application for renewal of registration was submitted before the previous registration ceased.

The Home Schooling table on the Resources page contains details of Age and Registration requirements for home schooling for each state.

Does the student meet the above requirements?

• Yes, go to Step 11
• No, go to Step 15

• The applicant and student must both live in the HLC community, not in the main community
• The student must attend an HLC, not the main community (hub) school
• The HLCs must provide the relevant level of study for the student. Some HLCs may not provide:
• secondary level study, or
• the same range of grades for primary and/or secondary level study

Is the above criteria met?

• Yes, go to Step 11
• No, go to Step 15

The student meets the eligibility criteria for DED.

Disability Support Pension (DSP) and Parenting Payment Single (PPS)

AIC Pensioner Education Supplement is the correct payment for students getting DSP or PPS and:

• undertaking primary or equivalent ungraded level of study
• meeting the eligibility criteria for DED

Is AIC Pensioner Education Supplement the correct payment for the student?

• Yes, go to AIC Pensioner Education Supplement (PES). Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 13

Tell the applicant they are not eligible for AIC for the student.

Encourage the applicant to test their eligibility by completing the Claim for Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) (SY040), particularly in cases of discretionary decisions.

Identify any other beneficial payments for the student.

A secondary or tertiary student in receipt of DSP or PPS may be eligible for AIC Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).

Record the details on a DOC. Include:

• reason(s) the customer is ineligible for AIC
• advice given to customer about ineligibility
• any other relevant details provided by the applicant

Procedure ends here.

Is the approved study full-time or considered full-time by the education provider or authority?

• Yes, go to Step 16
• No, go to Step 14

When a student with a special need has been assessed as needing to study from home, they may still be eligible for a pro-rata rate of DED:

Their study must include attending a local school for face-to-face tuition for parts of the week with remaining study at home. Study at home would be:

• through a part-time distance education enrolment
• home schooling/education, or
• work set by the local school to do at home

The following authorities must have agreed to, or have no objection to, the part-time home study:

• the distance education provider
• the state/territory education authority responsible for home schooling/education, or
• the local school

See Tables 1 to 4 on the Resources page for details.

Does the student fit one of the above?

• Yes, ask the applicant to supply a letter, from the education provider. It needs to show the amount of their face-to-face and home-based study and include for each the number of:
• lessons
• hours
• days, or
• periods, and
• the dates or periods affected
• Go to Step 16
• No, DED eligibility criteria not met, go to Step 15

Advise applicant they are not eligible for DED for the student.

If the applicant still wants to apply they may test their eligibility by lodging an SY040, particularly in cases of discretionary decisions.

Check:

• Eligibility for AIC Scheme Boarding Allowance
• Eligibility for AIC Scheme Second Home Allowance
• Eligibility for AIC Scheme Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)

Procedure ends here.

Tell the applicant to:

• lodge an SY040 if they have not already applied, and
• supply any further information as required (for example home schooling registration, verification of pro-rata home-based study)

When information has been provided:

• check to see if the Applicant is receiving a Mutual Obligation (MO) payment, that is, JobSeeker/Parenting Payments. If so, see Exempting a job seeker from mutual obligation requirements due to special circumstances, Table 3, Steps 9 & 10. Code the applicable exemption (PHS/ECH) if not already applied
• if assessing renewal of home schooling registration, create a new manual review to ensure home schooling registration is followed up before it ceases. See Step 5 in Table 4 in Assessing and coding claims for Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme
• see Step 1 in Table 2 to determine the rate of DED

Record details on a DOC.

For AIC rates, see A-B Rates and Thresholds.

Student is undertaking part-time home-based study:

• The applicant must supply a letter from the school/education authority confirming the study load and study periods
• When the study arrangements are complex, follow Tier 0 technical support - self-sufficiency
• When the part time study changes from week to week, assess and pay DED for each term in arrears

Has the applicant supplied an AIC claim and verified the study load/study period details?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, tell the applicant an assessment cannot be made until they supply the information. Procedure ends here

Based on the details provided, is the student considered to be full-time by the school or relevant state or territory home schooling/education authority responsible for that study?

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

The tables on Resources page show the minimum study load for payment of the normal full-time rate of DED. Use them to assess the DED payable for the particular part-time study load. Take into account any disability.

Is the student's home-based study less than 20% of the normal full-time study load for a school?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 6

Tell the applicant they may be eligible for the full-time rate of DED payment for the student.

Record details on a DOC.

If applicant says the student’s face-to-face study will gradually increase, tell the applicant Services Australia will assess AIC after confirmation of the new study.

Tell the applicant they are not eligible for AIC for the student.

Record details on a DOC. Include:

• reason(s) the customer is ineligible for AIC
• advice given to customer about ineligibility
• any other details provided by the applicant

If applicant says the student’s face-to-face study will gradually increase, tell the applicant Services Australia will assess AIC after confirmation of the new study details.

Procedure ends here.

When the percentage of home-based study is between 20% and 74.9%, and is consistent across a term instalment period, calculate entitlement for that term instalment as follows:

• $ annual DED rate/days in the year x days in the term instalment x percentage of home-based study

Note:

• round to the 3rd decimal point, for example 0.3948 becomes 0.395
• Days in the year: are 365 or 366 in a leap year
• Term instalment periods: have a different number of days as follows:
• Term 1: 90 days or 91 days in a leap year
• Term 2: 91 days
• Term 3: 92 days
• Term 4: 92 days

See Table 4 on the Resources page for Examples 1 and 2.

When the percentage of home-based study is between 20% and 74.5% and is not consistent across a term instalment period, calculate entitlement for each portion of the instalment period as follows:

• $ annual DED rate/days in the year x number of affected days in that portion of the term instalment period x percentage of home-based study for that portion of the instalment period

Then add each portion together to get the total entitlement for that term instalment period.

See Table 4 on the Resources page for Examples 3 and 4.

Complex cases

Refer complex cases to policy through Tier 0 technical support - self-sufficiency.

As DED is paid by term instalments, the pro-rata rate can only be applied by adjusting the term instalment amount on the One Off Payment (OOP) screen.

Code the AIC Claim as needed for the family/child's circumstances:

• On the Assessment Results (AR) Screen:
• 'S'elect the relevant term instalment payment line. Action each term instalment individually
• In the Nxt: field type OOP
• Adjust the payment amount on the relevant line on the OOP screen to the calculated amount for that term
• Repeat the above for each affected term
• Finalise on the AR screen
• Record details on a DOC. Include:
• reason(s) the customer is eligible for AIC
• verification documentation supplied
• calculations used for pro-rata rate
• any other information provided by the customer

The OOP screen may not allow adjustment of future entitlement. In this case, payments may need to be term by term. If so:

• End date Living Arrangements Details (EILA) screen with the current 'paid to' date. This will prevent the auto issue of incorrect payment amounts
• DOC that only the relevant terms have been paid
• In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: EIA
• Review Reason: REV (Manual Review)
• Due Date: next term instalment due date
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'Adjustment of DED entitlement required. Return to OB 010-03040020 for action.'
• Keywords: REVAIC
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: LPT
• The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action
• Tell the applicant payments can only be made term by term
• Finalise on the AR screen

Check the:

• applicant and student are both living at the HLC location and not in the main community
• student is attending an HLC and not the main community (hub) school
• year of study of the student as some HLCs may not provide:
• secondary level study, or
• the same range of grades for primary and/or secondary level study

Is the student attending an HLC and living with the approved applicant in an HLC location?

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

These claims have unique circumstances that only apply to these cases. Code the following:

• Address: - code the current home address of the applicant and student. Make sure they both live at the HLC and not in the main community

Customer Study Details (EDC) screen in Process Direct or Education Course Details (EDC) screen in Customer First:

• Institution: - code the EDC screen with the 'Homeland School'
• For example, if the student is attending Irrultja HLC, that is administered by and attached to Arlparra School, code Institution: 83934 'Arlparra Outstation Schools'
• Comments: on the Comment line enter the name of the actual HLC the student is attending
• Living Arrangements Details (EILA) screen:
• Check the year of study of the student. Some HLCs may not provide secondary level study or provide the same range of grades for primary and/or secondary level study
• End date: leave blank unless the student is in year 5 or 6. In this case code 31 December (of the relevant year)
• Living Arrangement code as DEO - Distance education other
• Isolation Details (EIID) screen:
• Code the EIID screen with the default distance of 56 km. Use the hub school institution code as the 'Nearest Approp Govt School'
• Complete all other coding
• Record details on a DOC. Include claim requirements
• On the DOC on the student's record, enter the name of the HLC they are attending and its hub or administrative school. For example, 'student attending Irrultja HLC, administered by Arlparra School'

For details of the appropriate codes and year levels of the HLCs, see Table 8 on the Resources page.

Tell the applicant they are not eligible for AIC DED for the student.

Record details on a DOC. Include:

• reason(s) the customer is ineligible for AIC
• advice given to customer about ineligibility
• any other details provided by the customer