Cancellation of ABSTUDY payments 102-10020020

• the student, Australian Apprentice or applicant is no longer eligibility for ABSTUDY or
• another payment is more advantageous to the student for example, FTB, or
• the student voluntarily ceases payments

As a general principle, action to cancel or suspend ABSTUDY (including Schooling A and ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement) may be taken by Smart Centre staff where:

• the student advises a change in circumstances which affects their eligibility for ABSTUDY, or
• the student voluntarily ceases payments

and

• the action does not require a complex assessment (for example, cancellation/suspension of an ABSTUDY secondary school boarder record is complex)

Where the action requires a complex assessment and cannot be resolved at the point of first contact, for example, the student has advised they have ceased studies but cannot advise their last day of attendance, smart centre staff should:

• suspend from DPT+1
• send an ABSTUDY action request Fast Note to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing Services team for follow-up. See Processing Services details for: ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES
• Create a Fast Note - select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > ABSTUDY action requests > Confirm
• Add the following details in the Fast Note:
• ABSTUDY has been suspended DPT+1: (SUS date)
• Reason payment has been suspended:
• Details of further investigation is required to determine entitlement end date: (for example, student unable to provide last day of attendance)
• Please investigate ABSTUDY entitlement end date

Is the decision to cancel ABSTUDY payments correct?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, this procedure does not apply. Record all relevant details on a DOC. Procedure ends here

Depending on the reason for the cancellation, the student's payment may cancel automatically (following the updating of information on the student's record for example, cessation of study or Australian Apprenticeship) or may need to be cancelled manually. See ABSTUDY cancellation, suspension and rejection codes for a list of which cancellation reason codes are automatic and which are manual.

• To action the cancellation manually, go to Step 3
• To action the cancellation automatically, go to Step 4

Process Direct

• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen
• Select Add. On the Create Benefit Action screen, update these fields:
• Benefit Type Code: ABY
• Benefit Action: CAN – CANCEL
• Reason: select the cancellation reason
• Date of Effect:
• Select Save
• Update the Receipt Date and Channel. Select Save
• Select Assess and address any errors/warnings
• Select Assess again then select Finish
• Record details of the update
• Select Finalise
• Go to Step 5

Customer First

• While in the student's record, access ISS by typing 'ISS' in the Sys: field and 'SVABY' in the Nxt: field and press [Enter]
• Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen and code the following:
• Record the code for the relevant ABSTUDY payment in Svc Rsn: field, using field help ('?') if required
• Type 'CAN' in the Action: field
• Record the appropriate cancellation reason in the Reason: field. For a list of codes, use field help ('?') or see ABSTUDY cancellation, suspension and rejection codes
• Record the date the event occurred (that is, the date the change in circumstances occurred) in the Event Date: field. Note: the date of effect will default to Date paid to plus one if left blank. Where the student or their partner receives Family Tax Benefit (FTB) the date of effect must be recorded as the actual date the event occurred)
• Type any relevant comments in the Notes: field
• Record the source and date of receipt in the Source: and DOR: fields

Go to Step 5.

• While in the student's record, access ISS by typing 'ISS' in the Sys: field and 'SVABY' in the Nxt: field. Press [Enter]
• Update the student's record to reflect the change in their circumstances. By doing this, the system will automatically action the cancellation

Note: the coding required to update the student's record will depend on their situation. For example, if a student has discontinued study, updating the Student End Date: field on the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen in Process Direct or Education Course Details (EDC) screen in Customer First will result in an automatic cancellation. If an Australian Apprentice has discontinued or ceased their Australian Apprenticeship, see Customer no longer an Australian Apprentice.

A manual letter may be required if a cancellation activity has been actioned manually.

Where a manual cancellation with a reason of OTH (other) is required for an ABSTUDY payment, (e.g. Payment on Advice), the correct letter (Q134) is required to be issued within the cancellation activity.

The Q134 letter must be completed within the manual cancellation activity to prevent an unnecessary Manual Follow-up (MFU) activity generating.

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 7

Create a manual letter (Q134) and include:

• Reasons for the cancellation of the ABSTUDY payment
• The date of effect
• The relevant section of the ABSTUDY Policy, and
• The recipient’s review and appeal rights

When creating the Q134 letter the Service Officer must insert the following text into the free text: field and update the correct policy reference(s) for the cancellation action:

• ‘This cancellation has been made under <1.5 and 2.4> of the ABSTUDY Policy Manual’

When prompted to select the reference to the relevant Act under which the decision was made the Service Officer must select:

• ‘This decision has been made under the Student Assistance Act 1973’

If there is a negative adjustment on the AR screen, there may be an overpayment resulting from the cancellation and the system will code a 'Y' in the Go to ASC: field. Press [Enter] to go to the Assessment Consequences (ASC) screen.

Note: Service Officers must check the Advance Payments Summary (AVCS) screen to ensure there are no outstanding advance amounts to be recovered. If an outstanding advance balance exists, the system creates an internal review which matures 21 days after the date of cancellation.

Check the Future Activity List (FAL) screen for the following ABY/AVC Advance Transfer - Advance Payment Recovery action.

Does the above FAL activity appear on the customer record?

• Yes, no further action is required regarding the advance
• No, send an ABSTUDY action request Fast Note to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing Service for the outstanding advance to be manually raised as a debt

Smart Centre Call staff should refer any resulting overpayments to the relevant ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing for action. See Processing Services details for: ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES.

Investigate if the debt is recoverable and action appropriately. For further information, see:

• Explaining and actioning negative adjustments on the Assessment Results (AR) screen, and
• Actioning an undetermined debt on the Debt Management and Information System (DMIS)

Note: if a customer has received Crisis Payment and a change has occurred, a manual reassessment of Crisis Payment may be required. For more information, see Reviewing and reassessing Crisis Payment (CrP).

For students wishing to test eligibility for FTB, see Claiming Family Tax Benefit (FTB) instalments for children in care other than a newborn or adopted child.