Effect of end of course on payments for students 102-07020030

The activity may need to be handed over to and processed in Customer First where a Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY customer has:

• supplied course end information through the Manage Study Details online service, and
• a Change of Circumstances (ZCOC or ZALL) activity is allocated with a status of:
• In Progress, or
• For Manual Action

To hand the activity over:

• follow the instructions in Manage study details, Table 3 – Online study update – manual process, then
• return to this process and follow the Customer First coding instructions

Go to Step 2.

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 3

• Yes, see Step 8 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 4

A student may end their course of study by:

• completing the course, or
• stopping study before completing the course

Completing the course

This normally means that the date study ended was anticipated and recorded by the agency. Some students may complete their course early as part of the accelerated programs offered by educational institutions. Any student payments would cancel automatically from the day following the appropriate student end date (except for recipients of Youth Allowance (YA) under 22 years of age as well as AIC students). Go to Step 5.

Stopping study before completing the course

This will usually not have been anticipated by the agency and the Service Officer would have to take active steps to avoid an overpayment. For more details, see:

• Payment of Youth Allowance (YA) and Austudy when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course
• Deferring or discontinuing study before end of course for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)

If a YA (Student) stops full-time study, they must notify the agency and register as a job seeker within 14 days to receive backdating of JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or YA (Job seeker) if they are eligible. Failure to notify cessation of study within 14 days will result in cancellation of YA from study end date + 1 day. Payment of JSP/YA (Job seeker) may only start from the date the claim was submitted.

A debt may be generated for students. See Raising debts for students and Australian Apprentices. There is no change to policy or process for customers advising an intention to study. See Satisfying the full-time study requirements for customers intending to study for Youth Allowance (YA).

Extra checks need to be undertaken whenever a Services Australia scholarship recipient is advising a change to a study end date. For more information, see: Relocation Scholarship (RS) payment and coding.

Procedure ends here.

If the student has completed the course (or was expected to have completed the course) they will usually have been sent the following before the anticipated student end date:

• 'You need to act now' letter for Austudy and YA customers, or
• Information required for continuation of Pensioner Education Supplement (SY075)

If an AIC student has completed the study year of their course (or is expected to complete the study year) the applicant (usually a parent/guardian) will usually have been sent an AIC End of Year circumstance review before the anticipated student end date.

Compare the actual course end date as reported by the customer and the pre-printed course end date on the form/letter or as coded on either the:

• Process Direct - Customer Study Details (EDC) screen, or
• Customer First - Education Course Details (EDC) screen

Extra checks need to be undertaken whenever a Services Australia scholarship recipient is advising a change to a study end date. For more information, see: Relocation Scholarship (RS) payment and coding.

If the student's current course or study in their current course is:

• finishing earlier than anticipated, go to Step 6
• finishing on the date anticipated, go to Step 12

If the customer's course will finish earlier than the date shown on the EDC screen, update either:

In Process Direct:

• Key 'START' in the Super Key and select the Study and Scholarship Details workflow from the Task Selector
• Select Customer Study Details. Select Start
• Select Edit next to the education line that requires updating
• Update the Change Education Details screen to correct the fields below
• Course End Date: with the earlier date (no verification is required for this update)
  Note: AIC students remain eligible until 31 December even where the course finishes earlier than anticipated (see Step 7 in this table)
• Student End Date
• Select Save
• Key the Receipt Date and Channel. Select Save

In Customer First:

• Select the education line that requires updating to correct the fields below:
• Inst Course End Date field with the earlier date (no verification is required for this update)
  Note: AIC students remain eligible until 31 December even where the course finishes earlier than anticipated (see Step 7 in this table)
• Student End Date

If the customer's study in their course will finish earlier than the date shown on the EDC screen, only the Student End Date field should be updated. The Course End Date/Inst Course End Date should remain the date the course will finish, despite the student finishing study earlier.

• For Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), the assessment must be done by PES processing staff. Use Fast Note - select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY and Apprentices > Pensioner Education Supplement > PES Study Update Action DOC. Procedure ends here
• For YA and Austudy customers, update the Newstart Education Status (NES) screen to record the customer as 'Not a Student' (NST) from the date recorded on the Student End Date field + 1 day
• Investigate the possibility of an overpayment. If necessary, see Raising debts for students and Australian Apprentices
• If a YA (student) stops full-time study (including when they finish their course), they must notify the agency and register as a job seeker within 14 days in order to receive backdating of JSP or YA (Job seeker) if they are eligible for those payments. Failure to notify cessation of study within 14 days will result in cancellation of YA from study end date + 1 day. Payment of YA (Job seeker) or JSP may only start from the date the claim was submitted. A debt may be generated for students who fail to notify cessation of studies

See Step 1 in Table 2

Before extending the Student End Date on the EDC screen, consider the allowable time rules.

Accelerated course programs

Some educational institutions offer flexible study options to students. This allows students to complete their course earlier under an accelerated course program. The EDC screen should show a different student end date to the Institution end date and notes in the comment field and/or a DOA DOC. Students who enrol in an accelerated course program and advise they need more time to complete their course, may have their EDC student end date extended to match the Institution end date.

Note: AIC eligibility is not affected by allowable time or previous study rules.

Will the projected 'new' student end date still be within the allowable time end date? See Determining allowable time/reasonable time for a course of study.

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, an allowable time/satisfactory progress assessment must be completed:
• For YA, see Assessing satisfactory progress for Youth Allowance (YA) tertiary students
• For Austudy, see Assessing satisfactory progress for tertiary students for Austudy
• For PES, see Assessing satisfactory progress and allowable time for tertiary students for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)

If the assessment cannot be complete at first contact due to:

• additional information required, request the information
• complexity of the case, contact Local Peer Support (LPS)

If the Service Officer is not skilled in student work, create a Fast Note:

• For YA, select Auto Text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > YAL Study Update Action DOC
• For Austudy, select Auto Text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > AUS Study Update Action DOC
• For PES, select Auto Text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Pensioner Education Supplement > PES Study Update Action DOC

If the allowable time assessment can be completed at the first point of contact, and the student is still eligible for payment, go to Step 8.

Students who are continuing the same course in the next available study period, must meet the continuing/intending student rules.

Does the student meet the continuing/intending student rules?

• Yes, go to Step 9
• No, and:
• the customer is under 22 years of age and wants to continue to receive YA as a job seeker, see Student to job seeker transfers
• the customer is under 22 years of age and does not require further assistance from the agency, go to Step 11
• the customer is 22 years of age or over and requires further assistance, refer the customer to the Payment and Service Finder (see the Resources page for a link) and advise the customer to complete a new claim as soon as possible
• the customer is 22 years of age or over and does not require further assistance from the agency, go to Step 10

Does the customer have ongoing entitlement to their student payment for their current course?

To determine continuing entitlement due to an extension or continuation of their course, see:

• Eligibility for Austudy
• Youth Allowance (YA) qualifications for students and Australian Apprentices
• Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) qualifications

Note: AIC students who complete the school year are entitled to payment up to 31 December of that year.

• Yes, to complete the update in:
• Process Direct, go to Step 10
• Customer First, go to Step 11
• No, see Step 1 in Table 2

• Key 'START' in the Super Key and select the Study and Scholarship Details workflow from the Task Selector
• Select:
• Customer Study Details
• Newstart Education Status (for YA or Austudy students only)
• Benefit Action - if payment has cancelled NST - Not a Student and can be restored
• Select Start
• Select Edit next to the education line to be updated
• On the Change Education Details screen, update:
• Course End Date: key the new date
• Student End Date: key the new date
• Select Save
• Key the Receipt Date and Channel. Select Save
• Select Next
• On the Newstart Education Status screen, for YA or Austudy students only:
• Student Status: if NST - Not a Student is coded, select Delete then Yes to confirm
• Select Next
• On the Benefit Action screen, restore the payment. Select Save
• Select Next
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
• Select Assess
• Select Finish. Record details of the update. Select Finalise

Procedure ends here.

• On the EDC screen, update:
• Inst Course End Date: key the new date
• Student End Date: key the new date
• For YA or Austudy students only, go to the NES screen. If NST is coded, in the Action: field, select Delete
• If payment has cancelled NST - Not a Student and can be restored, go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen to restore the payment
• Finalise the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Record details on a DOC

Procedure ends here.

No additional coding of the EDC screen is required, and the student payment should cancel automatically the day after the student end date.

Note: if the course finished on the expected date, the student is not required to return the Information required for continuation of Pensioner Education Supplement (SY075). However, if the student requires further assistance, they may contact to discuss their options.

For YA or Austudy only students, go to the Newstart Education Status (NES) screen. If the Student End Date has passed and NST is not coded, code the fields on the NES screen.

In Process Direct:

• Go to the NES screen
• Select Add and update the Create Education Status screen:
• Start Date: customer's last date of full-time study + 1
• Student Status: NST - Not a Student
• Education Level Attained: as advised by the student
• Verification Document Code: NVE - Not verified (unless already verified)
• Select Save
• Key the Receipt Date and Channel. Select Save

In Customer First:

• DOV: the customer's last date of full-time study plus one
• Student Status: NST
• Educ Level Attained: as per advised
• Year 12/Equiv Verified: NVE (Not verified) (unless already verified)

See Step 1 in Table 2.

If a customer was receiving the away from home rate of payment whilst studying this will need to be reviewed if the customer starts another course or becomes a job seeker or Australian Apprentice.

See The away from home rate for Youth Allowance (YA) customers.

Once any necessary action has been undertaken, go to Step 2.

Does the customer wish to claim further payments from the agency?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 3

Is the customer a YA customer under 22 years of age?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, finalise the activity in either:
• Process Direct, go to Step 4
• Customer First, go to Step 5

• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
• Select Assess
• Select Finish. Record details of the update. Select Finalise

If the customer asks about transfer to JSP, see Student to job seeker transfers.

Procedure ends here.

• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen (if necessary)
• Payments will cancel automatically

If the customer asks about transfer to JSP, see Student to job seeker transfers.

Procedure ends here.

If the YA recipient is under 18 years of age and does not have a study exemption, then their payment will cancel automatically when the activity is finalised. In any other case, payments must be cancelled manually.

In Process Direct:

• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• Select Add New and key fields on the Create Benefit Action screen:
• Benefit Type Code: YAL
• Benefit Action: CAN - CANCEL
• Reason: NST - not a full time student
• Date of Effect: the Student end date + 1 day
• Select Save
• Key the Receipt Date and Channel. Select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
• Select Assess
• Select Finish. Record details of the update. Select Finalise

In Customer First:

• Code a cancellation on the Benefit Action (BA) screen using code 'NST' (not a full time student), ensuring the Effect Date field is coded with the Student end date +1 day
• Finalise activity on the AR screen
• Record details on a DOC

Procedure ends here.

If the customer wants to:

• transfer to JSP, see Student to job seeker transfers
• claim further payment as a student, go to Step 8
• claim another payment type:
• finalise the activity on the Entitlement (ELD) screen in Process Direct or AR screen in Customer First
• identify if the customer is eligible for income support and other products and services, and direct the customer to claim online
• procedure ends here

If the customer wants to claim further payment as a student, check if they have reached the maximum age of Youth Allowance.

If the customer:

• has turned or will turn 25 years of age before their new course starts, see Changing or correcting course of study for Youth Allowance, Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement students
• procedure ends here
• wants to claim further payments for a new course, see Coding new study details
• wants to change or correct their study details, see Changing or correcting course of study for Youth Allowance, Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement students

Procedure ends here.