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Transfer of excess SFA (Group 2)

Secondary school student's total annual entitlement is a combination of Living Allowance, Rent Assistance and Remote Area Allowance. If the total amount is insufficient to meet the board charge of the school or hostel, any excess SFA (Group 2), up to the maximum available, is transferred across to top-up the shortfall.

Terminology and formula used

Table 1: this table describes the terminology and formula used by the system from the coding on the School Fees and Boarding Details (EYSB) screen to calculate a top-up from the SFA (Group 2) for payment to cover the shortfall in boarding expenses.

Acronym	Name	Description
SFC	School Fee Charge	Amount charged for tuition by school
TSFA	Total School Fee Allowance	Total SFA (Group 2) after application of the means test
BC	Boarding Charge	Amount charged for board by school or hostel
TBE	Total Boarding Entitlement	Total Living Allowance, Rent Assistance and Remote Area Allowance after application of means test

TSFA minus SFC = available excess of SFA (Group 2)

BC minus TBE = shortfall in boarding entitlements

Top-up = the lower of the available excess SFA (Group 2) and the shortfall in boarding entitlements.

Scenarios - Excess SFA (Group 2) and available top-up calculations

Table 2: this table provides scenarios where an excess SFA (Group 2) is calculated for the shortfall in boarding entitlements.

These amounts may not be current. They are examples only. For current payments, see Rates and thresholds.

Scenario

Description

Calculating top-up for 2 sons in study and top-up sufficient for shortfall

Joan's permanent home is in a remote community. The nearest government school offering secondary level study is 119 kilometres away.

Joan is in receipt of an income support payment and has 2 sons who are of secondary school age. Rex is 14 years old, and Ruben is 16 years old. Both sons are attending a college and approved for Away from Home rate.

Boarding and tuition charges

The college is a boarding school. Payments must be directed to the college. Board and tuition charges must be coded on the School Fees and Boarding Details (EYSB) screen. This directs the payment to the college and enables the system to automatically calculate the transfer of any excess School Fees Allowance (SFA) (Group 2). The excess calculated will be used to top-up any shortfall in boarding entitlements where necessary.

The college charges:

Boarding (annual)

Student under 16 years of age - $11,500
Student 16 years and over - $16,000

Tuition (annual) - $1,200

Rex's entitlement:

To assist with boarding costs, Rex is entitled to a total of $10,186 in Living Allowance and Rent Assistance. To assist with tuition costs, Rex is entitled to $11,011 in SFA (Group 2).

There is a shortfall of boarding entitlements of $1,313.89 ($11,500 board charge minus $10,186.11 board entitlement). There is an excess of SFA (Group 2) of $9,811 ($11,011 SFA (Group 2) minus $1,200 tuition charge).

The system will automatically act to transfer only the necessary amount, up to the maximum available, of unused SFA (Group 2) to meet the shortfall of the board charge. An amount of $1,313.89 will be transferred to meet boarding costs. The remaining unused amount of $7,903.11 of SFA (Group 2) is not available to the school or student for use.

Calculation (as per Table 1)

SFC = $1,200
TSFA = $11,011
BC = $11,500
TBE = $10,186.15
TSFA ($11,011) minus SFC ($1,200) = available excess SFA (Group 2) $9,811
BC ($11,500) minus TBE ($10,186.11) = shortfall in boarding entitlements of $1,313.89
Top-up = the lower of the available excess SFA (Group 2) ($9,811) and the shortfall in boarding entitlements ($1,313.89). Top-up will be $1,313.89.

Ruben's entitlement

To assist with boarding costs, Ruben is entitled to a total of $15,348.25 in Living Allowance and Rent Assistance. To assist with tuition costs, Ruben is entitled to $11,011 in SFA (Group 2).

There is a shortfall of boarding entitlements of $651.75 ($16,000 board charge minus $15,348.25 board entitlement). There is an excess of SFA (Group 2) of $9,811 ($11,011 SFA (Group 2) minus $1,200 tuition charge).

The system will automatically act to transfer only the necessary amount, up to the maximum available, of excess SFA (Group 2) to meet the shortfall of the board charge. An amount of $651.75 will be transferred to meet boarding costs. The remaining unused amount of $8,535.25 of SFA (Group 2) is not available to the school or student for use.

Calculation:

SFC = $1,200
TSFA = $11,011
BC = $16,000
TBE = $15,348.25
TSFA ($11,011) minus SFC ($1,200) = available excess SFA (Group 2) of $9,811
BC ($16,000) minus TBE ($15,348.25) = shortfall in boarding entitlements of $651.75
Top-up = the lower of the available excess SFA (Group 2) ($9,811) and the shortfall in boarding entitlements ($651.75). Top-up will be $651.75

Calculating top-up-and insufficient for shortfall

Stanley is 14 years old, studying a specialist agricultural course at a college in Moon Hill. Stanley has been approved for Away from Home rate.

Boarding and tuition charges

The college is a boarding school. Payments must be directed to the college. Board and tuition charges must be coded on the EYSB screen. This directs the payments to the college and enables the system to automatically calculate the transfer of any excess School Fees Allowance (SFA) (Group 2). The excess calculated will be used to top-up any shortfall in boarding entitlements where necessary.

The college charges:

Boarding (annually) - $15,000
Tuition (annually) - $6,000

Stanley's entitlement

To assist with boarding costs, Stanley is entitled to a total of $9,711.61 in Living Allowance and Rent Assistance. To assist with tuition costs, Stanley is entitled to $11,011 in SFA (Group 2).

There is a shortfall of boarding entitlements of $5,288.39 ($15,000 board charge minus $9,711.61 board entitlement). There is an excess of SFA (Group 2) of $5,011 ($11,011 SFA (Group 2) minus $6,000 tuition charge).

The system will automatically act to transfer only the necessary amount, up to the maximum available, of unused SFA (Group 2) to meet the shortfall of the board charge. In this case, Stanley has an excess of SFA (Group 2) of $5,011 which is transferred. However, the excess is insufficient to cover the total board shortfall. The remaining shortfall is the responsibility of the parent(s)/guardian(s).

Calculation:

SFC = $6,000
TSFA = $11,011
BC = $15,000
TBE = $9,711.61
TSFA ($11,011) minus SFC ($6,000) = available excess SFA (Group 2) of $5,011
BC ($15,000) minus TBE ($9,711.61) = shortfall in boarding entitlements of $5,288.39
Top-up = the lower of the available excess SFA (Group 2) ($5,011) and the shortfall in boarding entitlements ($5,288.39). Top-up will be $5,011

Accommodation (AC) screen coding for a student under 16 in a private board arrangement

Table 3

Scenario

Description

Emily is 14 years old and lives on Palm Island. The local school is a recognised limited program school; therefore, Emily meets the eligibility criteria for the ABSTUDY Away from Home rate.

Emily applies for ABSTUDY to attend a high school in Cairns, starting on 22 January 2025. Emily provides an ABSTUDY request for private board provider details (SY015) form with the claim, indicating $400 a fortnight will be charged for meals and accommodation to board privately. Emily will start boarding in Cairns on 20 January 2025.

As a secondary student, Emily is entitled to the Away from Home rate from 1 January 2025. Emily is not eligible for Rent Assistance (RA) until 20 January 2025.

To ensure correct payment of RA and the Away from Home rate, 2 event dates will need to be coded on the AC screen within the ABSTUDY claim.

For event date 1 January 2025 key:

Home Ownership: NHO
Address Type: HOM
Event Date: 01/01/2025
Type of Rent: NRP
Sharer Status: NAS (Note: coding 'LWP' will result in the claim rejecting 'Doesn't meet Age Requirements' (AGD))

For event date 20 January 2025 (the date the private boarding arrangement commences) key:

Home Ownership: NHO
Address Type:

TER (term) if the student's home address is not in a RAA specified area
HOM (home) if the student's home address is in a RAA specified area

Event Date: 20/01/2025
Type of Rent: BOA
Sharer Status: XSH (Exempt Sharer)
Gross/Total Household Rent: $400
Net Rent Amount: $400
Rent Verification: EXB (Exempt - customer in boarding style accommodation)

Workaround

Table 4

Item

Action

Rejecting ABY boarding claim when student is current on ABSTUDY Schooling A (ABT)

There are circumstances in which a student's entitlement to ABSTUDY Schooling A (ABT) may be affected by the rejection of their boarding claim.

Cancel ABT:

Go to the BA screen
Codes the fields:

Svc Rsn: ABT
Action: CAN
Reason: OTH
Effect Date: record the day before the boarding claim's DOR
Notes: Known workaround to REJ ABY NCL
Source: INT
DOR: T

Select Continue
Go to the AR screen
On the AR screen under Letter Action, select the drop-down option Inhibit Letters
Select radio option Finalise
Select Continue to finalise the Cancellation

Reject the boarding claim:

Index the claim if there is no activity on the AL screen
Select the ABSTUDY boarding new claim on the AL screen
Go to the BA screen
Codes the fields:

Svc Rsn: ABY
Action: REJ
Reason: record the appropriate reason

Select Continue
Go to the AR screen
Select radio option Finalise
Select Continue to finalise the Rejection

Restore the ABT:

Go to the BA screen
Codes the fields:

Svc Rsn: ABT
Action: RES
Source: INT
DOR: T

Select Continue
Go to the AR screen
Navigate to the OOP screen, via the top left menu
Zero off the SFA entitlement being released inside the restoration
Select Continue
On the AR screen under Letter Action, select the drop-down option Inhibit Letters
Select radio option Finalise
Select Continue to finalise the Restoration

Finalise SFA debt shell created FND:

Staff trained in debt processing:

Navigate to school's record
On the AL screen, select the debt shell recently created
Go to the OPMA screen
Codes the fields:

Calculated Amount $: 0.00
FND reason: PRS

Go to the OPAF screen
in the Finished? field, key Y
Select Continue
Finalise the activity

Staff not trained in debt processing:

Navigate to school's record
On the AL screen, select the debt shell recently created
Select the radio option - (V) View activity details on AY screen
Click Continue
Select the double chevon on the heading Notes
At the start of the Paragraph, add:

'Please finalise debt as FND, ABT restored and the school is entitled to the SFA. See DOC on student record dated XX/XX/XXXX'

DOC all required records:

Record FND DOC on school's record
Record REJ DOC on student's record
Record DOC on students record with details of workaround coded

Operational Information