Changing or correcting course of study for Youth Allowance, Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement students 102-07020010

Students must have a full-time or concessional study load in an approved course to meet the:

• full time study requirements for Youth Allowance (YA) and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), and
• undertaking full time study requirement for Austudy

Note: YA students turning 25 before starting a new course of study may need to transfer to Austudy. See Determining minimum and maximum age for Youth Allowance.

Students getting YA, Austudy, PES, ABSTUDY, ABSTUDY PES or Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) can view and manage their study details online using:

• their Centrelink online account, or
• Express Plus applications

Most education providers have an academic calendar with standard start and finish dates for courses or study periods. Often these will be published on their websites.

Many students' courses start or finish on a date other than the standard date on the academic calendar. Check these dates using the National Course Approvals sub-site.

Accept start dates advised by YA or Austudy students if the date is:

• no more than 14 days before the standard course start date published on:
• the National Course Approvals sub-site, or
• an education provider's website

The exception to this, is where the student has indicated the date they have provided is the day they are starting Orientation week (O week). O week is not considered part of the student's course.

When making study updates, decide if the student is a continuing/intending student. This decision may affect what date the student is eligible for a student payment. The rules for continuing/intending students vary between different student payments.

When making an unfavourable decision, speak to the customer:

• explain the decision
• give them a chance to provide more information, and
• advise their review and appeal rights