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Calculating the start day for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and ABSTUDY PES 106-05010100

Examples of start dates for ABSTUDY PES

Table 1

Example	Description
1	John was receiving ABSTUDY PES in 2021 and completed the course on 14 September 2020. John has now advised Services Australia on 20 April 2022 that a new full-time course started and it started on 13 February 2022. ABSTUDY PES can be backdated to 1 January as John has not had a break greater than one semester. The closing date is not relevant in John's situation as ABSTUDY PES is being restored.
2	Simon is a full-time student, and lodged a claim for 'Incidentals Allowance only' and was granted before the ABSTUDY PES closing date. Simon has now contacted after the closing date asking to claim ABSTUDY PES, and have it backdated. Provided that Simon qualifies, ABSTUDY PES can be backdated. The closing date has been met as Simon already claimed ABSTUDY before the closing date.
3	Jean is a full-time student and has ended one course immediately before the Easter holidays and is starting a new course straight after. Jean is entitled to ABSTUDY PES over the vacation break. Special coding is required to facilitate the payment over the holiday period.
4	Raven submits an ABSTUDY PES claim on 1 July 2020. Raven is claiming PES for the same course started in February 2019 as a part time student. Raven will resume studies as a full time student on 15 July 2020. Although continuing in the same course Raven is not deemed to be a continuing student as Raven was not previously a concessional or full time student. The PES start date is therefore the 15th July, the date Raven starts the course as a full time student

Examples of start dates for Short Courses

Table 2

Example	Description
1	Sarah is studying part-time in a 29 week course starting on 22 February 2022 and finishing on 30 November 2022. Sarah lodges a PES claim on 15 March 2022. As this is not a full year course, the start date is determined by the start of the course, the four week rule and the date of receipt of the claim. In this case the customer has lodged within 4 weeks of starting the course, so Sarah is entitled to be paid PES back to 22 February 2022. Note: the customer is not entitled to be paid to 31 December 2022 but only to the course end date of 30 November 2022. To prevent the system from paying to 31 December, offset the end dates on the EDC screen by making the institution end date one day later than the student end date.
2	Brad is studying fulltime in an 18 week course starting on 2 February 2022 and finishing on 30 June 2022. Brad lodges the PES claim on 15 March 2022. As this is not a full year course, the start date is determined by the start of the course, the four week rule and the date of receipt of the claim. In this case Brad has not lodged within 4 weeks of starting the course, so is only entitled to be paid from 15 March 2022, the date Brad lodged the PES claim.
3	Linc wants to claim ABSTUDY PES and started a full-time short course on 1 February 2022. Linc lodged a claim on 8 March 2022 and had previously never claimed ABSTUDY. Linc's ABSTUDY PES entitlement would be assessed from 8 March 2022, as the claim was not lodged within 4 weeks of starting the course.

Examples of start dates for Full year courses

Table 3

Example	Description
1	Matt is studying part-time in a 3 year degree starting on 3 February 2021. Matt contacts about claiming PES on 27 January 2022 and lodges the claim on 2 February 2022. As this is a full year course (that is, it starts in the Jan-Mar period), the start date can be backdated to 1 January 2022 because Matt lodged the claim prior to 1 April. Matt hasn't lodged within four weeks of starting the course (3 February 2021) so is not entitled to PES back to the course start date. The customer made contact on 27 January 2022 and lodged a claim within 14 days and as a continuing student can be paid from 1 January 2022. Note: from 1 July 2018, intent to claim provisions only apply to customers in vulnerable circumstances.
2	Peta is studying full-time in a 32 week course starting on 3 February. Peta contacts about claiming PES on 29 March and lodges a claim on 30 March. This is a full year course (it starts in the Jan-Mar period). The start date can be backdated to 1 January if Peta was a student studying an approved course in the previous study period. See continuing/intending student.
3	Greg is studying full-time in a 2 year post graduate course starting on 3 July 2020. Greg contacts about claiming PES on 18 August 2018 and lodges the claim on 20 August 2020. As intent to claim provisions changed on 1 July 2018 to only apply to customers in vulnerable circumstances, the start date cannot be backdated. As Greg did not lodge a claim during the July period, Greg is only eligible from 20 August 2020, as this is the date the complete claim was submitted with all relevant supporting documentation. Note: from 1 July 2018, intent to claim provisions only apply to customers in vulnerable circumstances.
4	May did not study in 2021 but is now doing a 3 year degree full-time, which started on 20 January 2022. May lodged the ABSTUDY PES claim on 20 January 2022 and confirmed they started on 20 January 2022. May's ABSTUDY PES can be backdated to the course start date provided that May qualifies.
5	Bob is a secondary student in year 12 who is claiming ABSTUDY PES. Bob started before the third Friday in Term 1 and lodged the claim before the closing date. Therefore, Bob can have ABSTUDY backdated to 1 January, which aligns with the ABSTUDY Living Allowance rules for secondary students.
6	Catherine enrols in a year long course from 1 July 2021 to 1 July 2022. Catherine lodged a PES claim in February 2022. The start date for PES is 1 January 2022. The customer is a continuing student and can be paid from 1 January 2022. Catherine enrols and starts study in February 2022 but does not lodge a claim for PES until 15 July 2022. The start date for PES is 1 July 2022. If the customer wanted to be paid from the course start date or 1 January, the claim was required to be submitted by 31 March 2022.

Examples of start dates for late starting courses

Table 4

Example	Description
1	Xavier is studying full-time in a 3 year degree starting on 3 October 2021. Xavier contacts about claiming PES on 27 January 2022 and lodges the claim on 2 February 2022. As this is not a full year course (that is, it starts after 31 July), it is a 'late starting course'. For late starting courses, the start date cannot be backdated to 1 January or 1 July and is determined by when the customer met either the 'four-week' rule or the date of receipt of the claim. In this case, Xavier has not lodged within four weeks of starting the course so is not entitled to be paid from the course start date (3 October 2021). Xavier did lodge the claim within 14 days of the CCD so can be paid PES from that date (27 January 2022). Note: from 1 July 2018, intent to claim provisions only apply to customers in vulnerable circumstances.
2	Rose is studying part-time (50% workload), and started the course on 11 April 2022 and is studying until April 2023. Rose lodged a PES claim on 3 July 2022. As this is not a full year course (that is, it starts outside the Jan-Mar period), it is considered to be a 'late starting course'. For late starting courses, the start date cannot be backdated to 1 January or 1 July and is only determined by the when the customer met either the 'four-week' rule or the date of receipt of the claim. Rose can be paid PES from 3 July 2022 (the date the claim was lodged).
3	Julie receives ABSTUDY PES completed a course on 20 April 2022. Julie is starting another course on 25 April 2022. As the gap is less than 28 days, Julie is entitled to ABSTUDY PES during the gap. Special coding is required to facilitate the payment.