Study requirements for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) children aged 16 years or over 007-07040060

For customers to receive FTB for a child aged 16 years or over, the child must satisfy study requirements. This is part of the definition of an FTB child.

If the customer contacts to advise study details for their child, see Family Tax Benefit (FTB) children 16-19.

To satisfy the study requirements, a child aged 16-19 years must:

• be undertaking full-time secondary study leading towards a year 12 or an equivalent qualification
• have an acceptable adjusted study load, or
• be exempt from the study requirements

Apprentices, other than school based apprentices, do not meet the study requirements for FTB.

FTB Part A can be paid for a child up until the end of the calendar year in which the child turns 19 years of age if they continue to be in full-time secondary study.

When completing full-time secondary study, FTB Part A can continue to be paid:

• for 28 days after the course end date if the end date is before November or until 31 December if the course end date is in November or December, or
• until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 19 years of age

FTB eligibility criteria must be met for FTB Part A to be payable for the child.

FTB Part B can be paid for a customer who is a single parent or a grandparent carer with a child aged 16-18 years if they satisfy the study requirements or an exemption applies.

When completing full-time secondary study, FTB Part B can continue to be paid:

• for 28 days after the course end date if the end date is before November, or
• until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 18 years of age

FTB eligibility criteria must be met for FTB Part B to be payable for the child.

A child aged 16 years or over may be an eligible FTB child but may have the option to claim a more beneficial payment in their own right such as Youth Allowance (YA). To identify the best option for the family, customers can use the online Family Assistance-Youth Allowance Comparison Estimator.

For more information about Youth Allowance eligibility for students, see Youth Allowance (YA) qualifications for students and Australian Apprentices.

Note: 16-17 year old dependent children living at home in full-time secondary study will generally not be eligible for YA. If the child is undertaking tertiary study, they may qualify for YA.

From 1 January 2020, children aged 16-19 years receiving a means tested ABSTUDY payment (such as Living Allowance and School Fees Allowance (Group 2)) can still be considered an FTB child if they are:

• a full-time secondary student
• approved to live away from home to study, and
• boarding to attend school

Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) customers are encouraged to compare their DVA and potential FTB entitlements for a child aged 16 years or over using the online estimators to identify which payment may be more beneficial. In shared care arrangements, where one parent/carer is receiving Veterans' Children Education Scheme (VCES) or Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme (MRCAETS) from DVA for a child, this does not preclude the other parent/carer from claiming or continuing to receive FTB for this child. Both parent/carer's can be paid their shared care percentage of the payment they elect to receive. The DVA Clearance Team must be contacted to confirm eligibility in shared care cases.

Customers who have a child turning 18 years of age must contact Child Support to apply for an extension to their child support case before the child turns 18 years of age if all of the following apply:

• the child is continuing in full time secondary study
• the customer has a child support case in place for that child

If the customer does not apply to have the child support case extended before the child turns 18 years of age, the child support case will be ended and the customer will only be entitled to the base rate of FTB Part A for the child from the child's 18th birthday.

See Maintenance Action Test (MAT) for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) customers for more information about children aged 16 years and over.

Exemptions can be permanent or temporary. The only permanent exemption is for a child with a disability.

Temporary exemptions can be granted for up to 12 months. Where an exemption is granted this will be reviewed prior to the exemption end date to reassess the child against the study requirements.

An adjusted study load is where a child is studying but less than full-time for a reason beyond their control or choice. An adjusted study load is not an exemption.

Note: if a child chooses to study part-time and work part-time this would not be an approved adjusted study load.

Smart Centre processing staff will need to assess and grant/reject applications for both exemptions and adjusted study loads.