Rates of Financial Supplement Loan (FSL) 010-12020000

The Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) was a voluntary loan scheme which gave eligible tertiary students the option of borrowing money to help cover their expenses while they studied. This was called a Financial Supplement Loan (FSL).

Tertiary students in receipt of one of the following payments may have been eligible for the FSL:

• ABSTUDY Living Allowance
• ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Austudy
• Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Youth Allowance (YA) - full-time students only

Note: PES has formerly been known as Family and Community Services (FaHCSIA) PES

and Department of Education PES.

There were two types of FSL, known as Category 1 and Category 2 loans. The category of FSL determined the amount of the FSL available.

Note: secondary level students could not receive FSL. This was irrespective of their age or whether they were undertaking a secondary level course at a TAFE college.

The daily rate of Financial Supplement Loan (FSL) to which a student may have been entitled was calculated by dividing the amount of FSL accepted (or the maximum amount of FSL available if the amount accepted was more than this) by the number of days for which FSL was payable.

FSL payments are not taxable and therefore are not included in the taxable income figure shown on the customer's Payment Summary. This is the case whether the FSL was paid to a Category 1 student or a Category 2 student.

For customers paid as Category 1 students, the amount they traded in to receive FSL forms part of their FSL. Therefore, the trade-in amount is not included in the customer's taxable income either. This also applies to any trade back transactions that have been made.

Customers were advised automatically of their taxable income for the financial year via a Payment Summary.

Note: trade in rules do not apply to Category 2 students as there was no basic benefit/living allowance payments to trade in.