Deferring or discontinuing study before end of course for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) 102-07020060

A student who is currently in receipt of Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) advises:

• they intend to cease study
• have already ceased full-time study, or
• will not continue into the same course in the next study period

For continuing PES students who were intending to commence study in a new course in the upcoming study period (including secondary school students who were commencing a new study level, for example, Year 10 to Year 11), see Customer will not commence full-time study.

A debt may be generated for students who fail to notify cessation of studies. There is no change to policy or process for customers advising an intention to study.

Staff must check at every contact, and update if required, a customer's:

• address (including postal address), and
• telephone details (including mobile phone numbers)

Note: if the customer has authenticated themselves via Interactive Voice Response (IVR), address details do not need to be confirmed.

Is the service officer skilled in PES Processing?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, record the details in a Fast Note.
  For PES customers - select Auto Text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Pensioner Education Supplement > PES Study Update Action DOC
  Procedure ends here

Has the student ceased full-time study due to a medical condition?

• Yes, see Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) student becomes incapacitated. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 3

Has the customer commenced an Australian Apprenticeship?

• Yes, investigate entitlement to ABSTUDY, Austudy or YA as an Australian Apprentice, see Existing recipient starts an Australian Apprenticeship. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

Is the student now studying part-time?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, and for all customers who have ceased study for any other reason, see Step 1 in Table 2

Is the customer studying at university, other than Bond University or Open Universities Australia, which has a normal period of enrolment of a year?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 9

• If a customer is studying at a university (other than Bond University or Open Universities Australia) which has a normal period of enrolment of a year, they may be able to take advantage of the aggregation of study load rules
• Aggregating is 'adding' the study load of one period to another to determine whether someone is undertaking full-time study
• Most universities will have a normal period of enrolment of a year. As such these customers would need to have an aggregated Equivalent Full Time Study Load (EFTSL) of 0.750 over the academic year to meet the 75% requirement
• Therefore, if the customer has dropped to a part-time study load in the current study period, they may be still considered a full-time student if their study load in a:
• previous study period/s or
• future study period/s

can be added together to reach an aggregated EFTSL of 0.750 over the academic year to meet the 75% requirement

• For further information regarding aggregation of study load go to Assessing study load requirements

Could the student still be considered full-time if their study load is aggregated over the full academic year?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 9

Update the student and course dates in either:

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 and if required update on the Change Education Details screen
• Student End Date field
• Course End Date field
• Select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
• Select Assess check outcome on the Entitlement (ELD) screen
• Select Finish. Record details of the update. Select Finalise

Customer First

• select the course of study from the Education Course History (EDCH) screen
• correct the student and course end dates if required
• complete the footer details and press [Enter]
• complete activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• record information regarding the decision and aggregation of study load on a DOC
  Note: assessments or any other comments must not be recorded in the Comments: field. Information recorded in the Comments: field will be displayed to customers when using the 'Manage study details' online Service. Any additional comments must be recorded on a DOC

Was the student assessed as:

• full-time under the aggregation of study load rules based on an intention to enrol into a future study period, and
• they have either not commenced by the second Friday, not enrolled at all, or have not enrolled in the required workload (so they are considered a FTS under aggregated rules), in the new study period?
• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, customer will remain qualified as a full-time student. Update the customer's record and record details of any action on a Note/DOC. Procedure ends here

Student has either not commenced by the second Friday, not enrolled at all, or have not enrolled in the required study load, in the next study period, to be considered full-time under the aggregation of study load rules.

If the customer has been assessed as a full-time student based on a future workload that they are 'intending' to enrol in, they must start the course by the second Friday after the course commences in that study period.

If they do not, they are only considered to be a full-time student (under the aggregation rules) until the first date that they became aware they would not be enrolling or commencing by the second Friday.

This date is normally taken to be the earlier of:

• the date the student contacted Services Australia, or
• day before to the day the course commenced

See Step 9 in Table 2.

For information on how to determine if the PES student qualifies for a study load concession, see the procedure(s) for the appropriate payment:

• Assessing eligibility for 66% concessional study load for PES
• Assessing eligibility for 25% concessional study load for PES

Does the PES student qualify for a study load concession?

• Yes, create a Fast Note - select Auto Text > Students, ABSTUDY and Apprentices > Pensioner Education Supplement > PES Study Update Action DOC. Select APT - SN PES National from the Transfer to: dropdown. Procedure ends here
• No, see Step 1 in Table 2

For PES:

• Code 'ISS' in the Sys: field, and:
• 'SVPES' (PES) in the Nxt: field then
• Code 'EDC' in the Nxt: field

Is the Enrolment Verification field displaying as VER (verification provided) on the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen in Process Direct or Education Course Detail (EDC) screen in Customer First?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 2

End the course of study on the EDC screen on the date the customer advised was their last date of attendance.

Tell the customer that proof of enrolment will still need to be supplied within 14 days or their Pensioner Education Supplement will be updated based on them not enrolling in the course of study at all.

Issue a written request for information notice to the customer by using the Request for Information guided procedure. See Requesting information (CLK).

• Yes, restore the record on the Benefit Action (BA) screen, and stay in the same activity. Go to Step 4
• No, customer is not eligible for payments for the course. See Customer will not commence full-time study

If not done already, update end the course of study information in either:

• Process Direct on the EDC screen
• Customer First:
• on the EDC screen and
• Education Course History (EDCH) screen

Did the student advise that they were ceasing study in accordance with their notification period (if applicable)?

Note: refer to General notification provisions for further information regarding the correct notification period for the customer's circumstances.

Customers, who contact Services Australia early and advise they are ceasing studies on a future date, have met their notification provisions.

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, either in
• Process Direct: go to the Entitlement (ELD) screen. Payments will cancel from the correct date based on the coding undertaken on the EDC screen. Note: the Date of Effect (DOE) = the date the customer ceased study. Go to Step 9
• Customer First: go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Payments will cancel from the correct date based on the coding undertaken on the EDCH screen. Note: the Date of Effect (DOE) = the date the customer ceased study. Go to Step 9

PES student has contacted Services Australia within 14 days of the date of event, or by their Report Due/EPED and:

• the date the Service Officer is actioning the record is in the same entitlement period in which the customer ceased study, or an earlier period for notification of future events, go to Step 6
• the date the Service Officer is actioning the change of circumstances is in the entitlement period following the entitlement period in which the customer ceased study, go to Step 7
• the date the Service Officer is actioning the change in circumstances is not in the entitlement period following the entitlement period in which the customer ceased study, go to Step 8

See Notification Handler (NOHL) for more information.

PES student has contacted Services Australia within 14 days of the date of event (DOV) or by the Reporting Date/EPED for stimulus customers and:

• the date the Service Officer is actioning the record is in the same entitlement period as the DOV
• the date of effect (DOE) is the same as the DOV
• In either:
• Process Direct go to the Entitlement (ELD) screen. Payments will cancel from the correct date based on the coding undertaken on the EDC screen. Note: the Date of Effect (DOE) = the date the customer ceased study. Go to Step 9
• Customer First: go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen. Payments will cancel from the correct date based on the coding undertaken on the Education Course History (EDCH) screen.
• Record on a Note/DOC the correct date the student ceased studies
  Note: assessments or any other comments must not be recorded in the Comments: field. Information recorded in the Comments: field will be displayed to customers when using the 'Manage study details' online Service. Any additional comments must be recorded on a Note/DOC.

Note: the Date of Effect (DOE) is the date the customer ceased study.

Go to Step 9.

Customer has contacted Services Australia:

• within 14 days of the date of event (DOV) or by the Reporting Date/EPED for stimulus customers, and
• the date the Service Officer is actioning the change of circumstances is in the entitlement period following the entitlement period in which the customer ceased study, that is, when the DOV was

Updated in either:

Process Direct

• Go to the EDC screen and change the Student End Date field to the same date as the Entitlement Period End Date of the entitlement period that the customer ceased study in
• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• Select Add to key fields on the Create Benefit Action table
• Benefit Type Code from the dropdown menu, select:
• Pensioner Education Supplement: EPF
• Benefit Action: CAN - CANCEL
• Reason: NAS - NOT A STUDENT
• Date of Effect: Entitlement Period End Date (EPED) + 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 the correct date the student ceased studies and the reason it has been changed is due to the notification rules
• Select Finalise
• Go to Step 9

Customer First

Access the screen by typing in the Nxt field:

• SVPES for PES

Go to the EDC screen and change the Student End Date field to the same date as the Entitlement Period End Date of the entitlement period that the customer ceased study in.

On the BA screen, code the following fields:

• Svc Rsn:
• EPF for PES
• Action: CAN

Reason: 'NAS' - not a student, with a date of effect as the Entitlement Period End Date (EPED) + 1 of the entitlement period in which the date of event occurred.

Complete the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen.

Record on a DOC the:

• correct date the student ceased studies
• reason it has been changed is due to the notification rules

Note: the Date of Effect (DOE) = the Entitlement Period Start Date (EPSD) of the period following the period that the event occurred in.

Go to Step 9.

Customer has contacted Services Australia:

• within 14 days of the date of event (DOV) or by the Reporting Date/EPED for stimulus customers, and
• the date the Service Officer is actioning the change in circumstances is not in the entitlement period following the entitlement period in which the customer ceased study, that is, when the DOV was

Payment is to be cancelled on the day after the end of the 14 day notification period or their Reporting Date for stimulus customers.

Cancel payment on the Benefit Action (BA) screen using code 'NAS' - not a student with a date of effect as the day after either:

• the end of the 14 day notification period, or
• their Reporting Date for stimulus customers

Also, go back to the EDC screen in Process Direct or the EDCH screen in Customer First and change the Student End Date: field to the last day of the 14 day notification period or their Reporting Date for stimulus customers.

Record on a DOC the correct date the student ceased studies and the reason it has been changed is due to the 14 day notification rules or their Reporting Date for stimulus customers.

Note: the Date of Effect (DOE) = the day immediately after the customer's notification period.

Go to Step 9.

Document in the Note/DOC that the student has either:

• not commenced the course in the next study period and does not want to continue to receive income support, or
• ceased studies
• Determine if the student has incurred a debt for failing to notify of ceasing studies, see:
• Raising debts resulting from a failure to report or notify (not applicable to ABSTUDY) and
• Raising debts for students and Australian Apprentices

Record details of the decision to cancel and any other action taken on a Note/DOC, including any workaround coding that has been undertaken on the EDC, EDCH, BA, and/or the NES screens relating to notification provisions (if applicable).