Assessing satisfactory progress for tertiary students for Austudy 010-04050070

An assessment of satisfactory progress for tertiary students is measured against the minimum amount of time it would normally take a student to complete a course either full-time or part-time (as appropriate).

A tertiary student is making satisfactory progress if the amount of time spent in the course (together with the time spent in other courses at the same level) does not exceed the allowable time for that course.

A determination of the student's progress can be made:

• as of the day the student enrols (or re-enrols) in their course
• when the student's enrolment changes, or
• on the first day of the next study period

If on this day, the total of the student's previous study (in the current course and other courses at the same level) is less than or equal to the time allowed for the current course, then the student is making satisfactory progress. Payment can continue until the student exceeds the allowable time for the course. If the student's previous study exceeds the allowable time for the course, then the student is not making satisfactory progress and is not qualified for Austudy.

A student may not have completed their course within the allowable time, due to circumstances beyond their control. In these cases, some or all of the earlier study may be disregarded.

There are limits on the amount of tertiary study an Austudy student can undertake and remain eligible for student payment. The 'allowable time' is based on the minimum (normal) time of the student's current course. See Determining allowable time/reasonable time for a course of study.

For Austudy, all study (including any non-compulsory study periods) undertaken in the last 10 years must be included in an allowable time assessment. Where the date a course was completed falls within the last 10 years, but part of the course was undertaken more than 10 years ago, the entire duration of the course is included.

For a previous completed course, the length of study counted is the lesser of:

• the normal length of the course (that is, minimum time), or
• the time it took to complete the course

The 10 years is counted from the first day the student enrols in their current course, not their current year of study. This is regardless of whether the student was receiving a payment when they first commenced their course. Once an allowable time assessment has been completed, it is not reassessed at a later date to allow previous study to 'drop off' and produce a different outcome regarding payability.

Where study loads for study periods are added together for the purpose of satisfying full-time study load requirements (aggregation), these periods are counted as full-time when assessing satisfactory progress. For example, a student is part-time (0.250 EFTSL) in semester one and full-time (0.500 EFTSL) in semester two. Aggregation assessment is completed, and the customer is paid as a full-time student for both semesters. This equals 0.750 EFTSL, allowing the customer to meet the satisfactory progress rules as they have been undertaking an aggregated full time study load over the year.

Startup Year Courses are not subject to allowable time where the course is a stand-alone course. This is because students can only receive up to two STARTUP-HELP loans. The loan limitation replaces the need to conduct an allowable time assessment for these courses.

Students may request an extension of allowable time as they were temporarily unable to study or reduced their study load below full-time due to COVID-19. In some situations, education providers supported students to avoid academic penalty by displaying failures as withdrawals on transcripts.

When assessing satisfactory progress, evidence regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the student's study circumstances may be available on their record. Existing information about the customer being temporarily unable to study, or having reduced their study load for the corresponding period may be sufficient to disregard the withdrawal.

If there is no evidence on the record or existing documentation is insufficient to make a clear determination, ask the student to provide evidence.

Austudy students can upload academic transcripts as part of an online claim and in some circumstances are required to do so as part of a compulsory task on the Next Steps page. The previous study details in the Claim Overview in Process Direct can be used for satisfactory progress assessment and academic transcripts are only requested if they are required.