Assessing and coding student and Australian Apprentice claims for Youth Allowance (YA) 010-06020010
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For students and Australian Apprentice skilled staff only.
This document outlines how to process a Youth Allowance claim for students and Australian Apprentices.
On this page:
Determining and assessing YA eligibility for students and Australian Apprentices
Finalising student and Australian Apprentice claims for YA
Determining and assessing YA eligibility for students and Australian Apprentices
Table 1
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Claim lodgementA claim work item is created for allocation and processing in Process Direct where a customer submits:
Note: where a claim form is correctly scanned onto a customer's record, the system creates a Social Online Application (SOA) Shell. If a SOA Shell claim (created by a scanned claim form), is allocated to a Student Processing skilled service officer and the claim is for a job seeker or Australian Apprentice, it must be re-categorised:
A Re-claim or Transfer for Austudy or Youth Allowance (SY089) paper claim form lodged with a Date of Receipt (DOR) on or after 1 April 2023, cannot be accepted. If the customer has lodged an SY089, make a genuine attempt to contact the customer and tell them to submit an online claim or an SY001. If contact is unsuccessful:
If a claim is available to process in Process Direct that is a submitted:
If allocated a DOC requesting a reassessment of entitlement due to review of decision, go to Step 2. | |
Reassessment of entitlement Re-grant required from a different dateIf payment is current or assessed and a review of decision has determined the customer is entitled from a different date to the original date of grant, complete the following. In Customer First, go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen. Update the fields as follows when the customer is:
Press [Enter]. Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen, inhibit letters and finalise the activity. Once the claim is re-granted, the system:
If granting a claim from an earlier date and the system does not restore the payment from the cancellation OTH date, restore manually via the BA screen. Reassessment of a rejected claim
For Apprentice claims, check:
If there are:
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ACC submittedWhere an ACC has been submitted by a staff logon, check that the correct Date of Receipt (DOR) has been applied. When a claim is started through ACC and submitted by a Service Officer on a later date, the Date Submitted will default to the original DOR entered. Service Officers must determine the actual date of claim submission:
If the Document created by SAPAPP date is:
To correct the DOR:
If the DOR cannot be updated:
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Pre-assessment checksComplete all pre-assessment checks in Process Direct using the icons on the Transaction Summary (TS) screen. Checks may include selecting:
If an RFI has been issued and the customer has not responded by the task due date, see Contacting customers claiming Youth Allowance (student or apprentice) or Austudy who do not respond to a Request for Information (RFI). An Authorising a person or organisation to enquire or act on your behalf (SS313) form lodged with a new claim must be processed Immediately. This is to ensure the nominee will receive the outcome of claim letter. See Adding or rejecting a nominee request. The Resources page has a link to the SS313 form. UTLAH assessments If it is identified the customer may require a UTLAH assessment, check the following before placing the claim on hold 'awaiting UTLAH':
Check the customer's record Check if the record is a multiple CRN. If the claim has been lodged on a multiple CRN and there is not a Display on Access (DOA) DOC on the record from NA8 advising which record to use, see Centrelink customer has multiple Customer Reference Numbers (CRN). Provisions apply for an inappropriate claim or incorrect claim. If the same payment type as the claim was cancelled or rejected within 13 weeks of the new claim lodgement date, restoration or re-assessment may be appropriate, see Calculating the start date for Austudy and Youth Allowance (YA) students and Australian Apprentices claims. If the benefit status is AOE/CUR, see Assuree makes a claim for an Assurance of Support (AoS) recoverable payment. To prevent incorrect claim assessment, update the customer's record outside the new claim (where required). Updates may include correcting the previous benefit status so it displays as CAN (cancel). This prevents incorrect arrears when finalising the claim or end dating student/apprenticeship details. Does the benefit status show as CNP, or are there any outstanding employment reports?
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Cancelling previous paymentsIf the status of the previous payment is Cancel next payment (CNP) or there are outstanding employment reports, for either the customer of their partner, in Process Direct or Customer First (this does not apply to student or parenting transfers):
For further coding advice, for:
The benefit status should now be CAN. Go to Step 6. | |
Check previous studySee Historical cancellation and regrant of Youth Allowance (YA) (student) or Austudy (student), if the previous study details supplied in the claim show that the customer:
Additional actions may be required before the current claim can be assessed. For other changes complete corrections or updates in Customer First before actioning the new claim, where:
Check the details supplied in the claim with those on:
For assistance with coding, see:
After completing any updates, select | |
Check address and accommodation circumstancesIf the customer is advising of a future address and will relocate within the next 14 days:
After completing the updates:
If the customer's new address start date is more than 14 days in the future, and the at home rate is:
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Check all documents are receivedCheck that all required documents are received. See Documents required for Centrelink new claims. Where a claim submitted less than 15 days ago cannot be processed due to outstanding documents, hold the claim until day 15 (or later) by changing the Status. This includes where an additional Task is not yet due. Note: if the customer intentionally provides incorrect information (for example, completely unrelated documents or images) to submit a Circumstance Change Monitor (CCM) claim, the claim can be rejected. Use the most appropriate rejection reason. Does the claim now require assessment?
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Claim not required to be assessedExamples of claims not requiring assessment include, but are not limited to:
If the claim is not required to be assessed, change the status of the claim to Not Required. Changing the status to Not Required is final and it cannot be changed again. In Process Direct:
If the customer is 16-19 years of age, check if their parent was receiving Family Tax Benefit (FTB) prior to the Youth Allowance claim being lodged, as the FTB may be reassessed/restored. See Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for children aged 16-19 years.
Procedure ends here. | |
RelationshipsWhen a customer claims YA online as a full-time student or apprentice, the relationship details will be provided as part of the new claim. The online claim responses will automatically determine which relationship documents are required. For more information, see Relationship details for new claims. Note: if a customer advises they are separating, see Separating safely - protecting personal details to ensure personal information is kept safe. All Relationships details must be reviewed/updated. If a relationship details update is required, it must be completed before selecting Process. On the TS screen:
Only update relationship details if the tables contain different information to what is provided in the claim. Only delete or edit relationship data if recorded in error. If the relationship data is no longer applicable (for example, the customer has become married), a new entry must be added. If the relationships details have been coded incorrectly, regenerate the claim by selecting | |
YA payment ageWhen assessing qualification for YA, check if the customer is between the minimum and maximum ages for YA students and Australian Apprentices. Does the customer meet the YA age requirements?
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Qualification for YAThe customer must be an Australian resident, and if they are:
Does the customer meet all qualification criteria for YA or they will within 13 weeks of the date of lodgement?
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Payability for YAIf the customer:
Base the decision on the following:
When a customer declares income in the claim that is above the cut-off and advises this is not their usual wage, for:
Where UTLAH/Independence has been rejected, check if the customer can, and wants to be assessed under the Parental Income Test (PIT). Assess the customer as a dependent unless information available suggests another independence criteria may apply. See Independence for Youth Allowance (YA) customers. Issue a request for a Parent or Guardian details - for the BASE tax year and CURRENT tax year for dependent Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY customers (MOD JY) to the customer. If it is documented that the customer does not want to be assessed as a dependent, do not issue the request. Reject the claim as Parental Income and Assets Not Provided (PIA). PIT, contact the customer to confirm they want to be assessed from 1 January when they:
Is the customer payable now, or they will be within 13 weeks of the date of claim?
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Considering the most appropriate paymentConsider the most appropriate payment. Is YA the most appropriate payment?
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Further actions requiredUse
Note: before creating an internal referral, ensure all documents needed to enable a specialist assessment are provided. For example, a Private Trust (MOD PT) form must be accompanied by relevant supporting documents before a Complex Assessment Officer (CAO) referral is created. Are further actions required?
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Additional supporting documents requiredWhen assessing a claim only request documents required to grant or reject the claim. Make updates based on any evidence the customer has provided with their claim. Before requesting supporting documents, carefully check the record. Do not request documents that were requested at Next Steps or have been requested since the claim was lodged. Is further essential information required that has not already been requested?
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Internal referralsIf the claim requires an internal referral, select Check the Recent referrals, if there are any referrals of the same type with a status of In Process, do not create another referral. If there are no referrals of the same type with a status of In Process, action the required referral to:
Annotate the claim progress DOC with the details of what is required to finalise the claim. Note: if a UTLAH assessment is in progress, do not reject the claim FSD (failed to supply documents). If it is not already held, place the claim on hold pending the outcome of the UTLAH assessment. | |
Regenerate or Re-index the claimWhen the claim requires regeneration or re-indexing, select the appropriate option from Regenerate claim option displays when the claim has a status of In Process or On Hold. Re-index claim option displays when the original claim has a status of completed. | |
Identity ConfirmationOn the TS screen, check the Circumstance Data for the customer's Identity Status. If the Identity Status is:
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Previously receiving an allowanceIs the customer currently receiving a Services Australia administered income support payment or ABSTUDY Living Allowance?
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menu
to view the information submitted by the customer
> Regenerate claim, followed by a 
> SAP Refresh. All updates then transfer from ISIS into Process Direct.
> Regenerate claim, followed by a 
> SAP Refresh, to make sure the updates are transferred into Process Direct
> Regenerate Claim. This reverts the claim back to its original state and all information manually coded is lost.
> Change Benefit to allow the benefit type to be changed and the claim assessed as a Austudy claim. See 
on the TS screen to
> Referral.
Assessing YA claims
Table 2
Action | |
Assess YA claimYA claims for students and Australian Apprentices are assessed in Process Direct. Select Process to populate data from the claim into the appropriate screens. Action the following where applicable:
Select the relevant Task Selectors from the SWE screen to help process the claim:
Note: where provisional data has uploaded from the online claim, the relevant Task Selectors will display | |
Check eligibility for Student Start-up Loan (SSL)See Student Start-up Loan (SSL) when a customer advises in their claim they want to apply for an SSL. Note: if the claim slider shows Total $0 and there are no loan periods displayed, the customer has not applied for any SSLs. | |
Relocation ScholarshipCheck eligibility for Relocation Scholarship. If the customer is eligible, ensure the Regional Location Details (RLD) screen is updated in the claim. | |
Employment incomeCheck if the customer or their partner has employment income. For coding instructions, see Reporting requirements for students and Australian Apprentices. This information may be:
Single Touch Payroll (STP) Employment details may be pre-filled through Single Touch Payroll (STP) in the online claim for the customer to confirm. This includes the employer name and ABN. Staff can recognise a STP employer has been presented if the question 'Do you work for (employer)' is displayed in the claim slider. Further details can be seen on the STP Employer Update (EMCF) screen. If a customer has previously confirmed an employer and advises they do not work for the employer anymore, the employer will still remain as confirmed on EMCF. This employer should be recorded by the customer in previous employer details for employers ceased within the last 12 months within the claim. A customer will automatically be placed on reporting if STP data is presented to the customer within the claim, regardless of the employer status on EMCF. Customer or partner has precluding income declared as 'this is my usual wage' For customers who state they or their partner earn a 'usual or regular wage' and this will preclude them from payment, the following applies:
For Australian Apprentice claims rejecting income only, Hours for One Period (HOP) entry is not required. Placing the customer on 2 weekly reporting via the Reporting Regime (RPRD) screen Generally, there is no need to update the RPRD screen when employment income is declared in the student claim. While there will be no provisional coding on the RPRD screen, when the claim is taken to assess, the system will determine the customer's reporting requirements. In some circumstances, such as paper claims, manual updates are needed on the RPRD screen. If the system does not apply the correct automatic profiling, manually place the customer onto or off reporting within the claim on the RPRD screen:
Australian Apprentices For Apprentices, make sure:
Does the online claim show the customer and/or their partner has ceased work, and expect to be paid final employment income after the date of claim?
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Final employment incomeIf the customer and/or their partner is to be paid a final employment income in the first entitlement period, update the details within the claim. The claim may reject if the employment income is over the threshold. If information from the customer or in the claim, shows they and/or their partners paid employment income will preclude payment for the first entitlement period:
Where a claim is granted and there is remaining employment income still to be recorded (in a later entitlement period) for the customer and/or partner:
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Waiting periodsAssess waiting periods based on details provided by the customer. See:
For assessment of waiting periods, see Waiting periods for income support payments. | |
Tax File Number (TFN)Before being granted YA, customers must supply a valid TFN or have a valid exemption. Review the Tax File Number Authorisation (TFN) screen including any TFN exemptions already coded for validation against current claim. Has the customer (and partner, if applicable) provided a valid TFN?
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Tax deductionIf the customer has requested to start or cease a tax deduction in their claim, provisional data will show on the PITX screen. For coding instructions, see Managing Australian Taxation Office (ATO) tax deductions. | |
Newly Arrived Resident's Waiting Period (NARWP) qualifying residence exemptionDo not assess claims as an early claim, if the customer:
To ensure the customer is assessed at the correct student start date, create a SOA shell transaction for Youth Allowance (YA) (students or Australian Apprentices). Before creating a SOA shell:
See Table 3. |
.Finalising student and Australian Apprentice claims for YA
Table 3
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Outcome of claimIf the claim is to be:
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Failed to supply documentsDo not reject claims FSD where:
Where the customer has not supplied their:
Claims can be streamline rejected FSD where:
Can the claim be streamline rejected?
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Streamline rejectionIf the claim is to be streamline rejected, no updates are required before rejecting. Streamline reject the claim:
If the Streamline Rejection indicator has been incorrectly updated before finalising the claim, the claim must be regenerated to remove the indicator. If the claim will be rejected Not a Full Time Student (NST) or Not an Apprentice (NAT), establish if another payment will be appropriate. If the customer's claim will be rejected because they did not start their study or an apprenticeship, go to Step 4. For all other rejections, go to Step 10. | |
YA not continuing student and did not/will not start their study or apprenticeshipIf a customer has lodged a claim for:
If the customer did not start their study or apprenticeship due to a change in circumstances and:
If none of the above applies, go to Step 10. | |
Customer is not eligible for YAWhere the claim is not finalised as a streamline rejection, the rejection should automatically occur once the information is entered. Make all necessary updates required within the claim. For apprentice claims where income is above the cut-off and there is no registration details on the NAPD screen, delete any unverified provisional data so it is not applied to the customer's record. Claims should reject automatically where the customer:
Apprentice claims Where there are no registration details on the NAPD and an automatic rejection did not occur, the claim must be referred to a Service Support Officer (SSO). Apply the following:
All other reasons Is the claim automatically rejecting on ELD?
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Manual rejection of a claimWhen manually rejecting a claim, make all necessary updates required within the claim. If the updated claim does not auto-reject, reject it manually:
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Granting of a claimSelect Assess. Action any errors on the Errors (SWE) screen. For help, see Using Digital Assistant Roxy in Process Direct. After fixing any errors, select Assess again to go to the ELD screen. Check the results on the ELD screen. Does the claim go to Pending Sibling Assessment (PSA) status?
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Claim goes to Pending Sibling Assessment (PSA) statusDo not allow the claim to remain with a PSA status. If the claim goes to PSA status, check for any sibling claims. Where a sibling has made a claim, process both claims. If siblings have different start dates:
Reject the claim Parental Income too High (PIH) if:
If a sibling has been cancelled or rejected PIH in the previous 13 weeks, see Youth Allowance at pending status (YAL/PSA) and dependent siblings. | |
Finalise the claimTake note of any arrears being paid, especially any amount paid for a period that the person received a previous income support payment. Decide if an arrears amount needs to be reduced to avoid duplicate payments for the same period. Manually zero or reduce any arrears the customer is not entitled to. See Payment of arrears after reassessment and stopping a payment. Note: when calculating the rate payable, the system may include the FTB notional rate from the claim lodgement date until the day before claim assessment date where:
This may result in a:
In these cases, do not make any adjustments to the arrears or change the claim result as this is the expected outcome. Do not pay Relocation Scholarship to customers who have been granted the away from home rate pending evidence of independence (excepting independent customers who are disadvantaged by personal circumstances). See Relocation Scholarship (RS) payment and coding. Is the outcome correct?
The Claim Finalisation DOC displays. Edit or add any extra details required. Select Finalise to complete the claim. A confirmation dialog box appears. Select OK. Where a checklist of scans displays, mark each as complete using the tick boxes to close them. Service Profiler will automatically place homeless customers on 2 weekly reporting. After the claim is finalised, stimulate outstanding payments and remove reporting requirements for UTLAH customers who:
Where the customer's Student End Date (SED) has passed, the ELD screen displays with a zero rate from the SED + 1 on the Rate Component Override (RCO) screen. Once the claim is finalised, a further transaction will auto-cancel the customer's student payment as Not a Student (NST) from SED + 1 and deletes the RCO coding. | |
Record outcome of claim and further actionsIf the claim has not auto generated a DOC (that is, an abridged claim or where the claim is both granted and cancelled in the same activity), create a DOC. On the date the YA claim was lodged, if the customer was an FTB child and the claim is rejected, withdrawn or granted from a date after FTB was cancelled, create a Fast Note in the FTB customers record for FCC to re-assess/ restore FTB. Select Auto text, use Families > SUS/CAN/RES > YAL REJ/WTHDWN - FTB Reclaim. For partnered customers, a claim for income support payment may need to be processed. For independent customers, Child Support may no longer apply. Check if the claim has been granted and:
Is the customer now YA CUR and independent?
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Notify Child Support of this eventTo notify Child Support:
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