ABSTUDY eligibility and requirements 010-02000000

ABSTUDY Allowance and Benefits

Schooling A Award

Schooling B Award

Tertiary Award

Part Time Award

Testing and Assessment Award

Masters and Doctorate Award

Lawful Custody Award

Additional Assistance

Yes

Yes

Yes

Additional Incidentals Allowance

Yes

Yes

Assistance to pay student contributions (formerly HECS) or tuition fees

Yes

Away From Base assistance

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Energy Supplement

Yes

Yes

Yes

Fares Allowance

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Incidentals Allowance

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Lawful Custody Allowance

Yes

Living Allowance

Yes

Yes

Yes

Pensioner Education Supplement

Yes

Yes

Yes

Pharmaceutical Allowance

Yes

Yes

Relocation Allowance

Yes

Relocation Scholarship

Yes

Yes

Yes

Remote Area Allowance

Yes

Yes

Rent Assistance

Yes

Yes

School Fees Allowance

Yes

Yes

School Term Allowance

Yes

Thesis Allowance

Yes

ABSTUDY Allowance

Tertiary Award

Lawful Custody Award

Additional Assistance

Yes

Energy Supplement

Yes

Incidentals Allowance

Yes

Lawful Custody Allowance

Yes

Living Allowance

Yes

Rent Assistance

Yes

Award

Type of study

Age Requirement

Benefits Payable

Schooling A (primary study)

Full-time Primary

14 or more years of age at 1 January in the year of study and living 'at home'

• School Fees Allowance
• School Term Allowance

Schooling A (secondary study)

Full-time Secondary

15 years or younger and 'at home' or not approved for the Away from Home rate or independent rates.

• Away from Base assistance for distance education/correspondence students to attend residential schools
• Fares Allowance in order to attend Away from Base activities
• School Fees Allowance
• School Term Allowance

Schooling B (primary study)

Full-time Primary

• 16 years of age and over; or
• 15 years of age and in State Care; or
• Under 16 and has already completed the final year of primary school and has moved Away from Home to undertake secondary schooling but instead needs to repeat the final year of primary school at another location that offers both primary and secondary schooling

• Additional Assistance
• Fares Allowance (FAA)
• Living Allowance
• Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Pharmaceutical Allowance (PhA)
• Remote Area Allowance (RAA)
• Rent Assistance (RA)
• School Fee Allowance

Schooling B (secondary study or secondary non-school study)

Full-time Secondary School or Secondary Non-school

For secondary school students:

• 16 years of age or over, or
• 15 years of age and in State Care, or
• under 16 years of age and entitled to the Away from Home rate or an independent (ABSTUDY) rate

For secondary non-school students:

• reached the minimum school leaving age for their State/Territory, or
• been granted an exemption by the State/Territory education authority to attend a non-school institution

The following students do qualify for the Schooling B Award but are not entitled to Living Allowance. Customers should consider applying for the Schooling A Award:

• under 16 years of age, and
• living in the parental home, and
• studying a secondary non-school course (SNS), and
• are not entitled to the independent or living away from home rate of ABSTUDY

• Additional Assistance
• Away from Base assistance
• Fares Allowance (FAA)
• Incidentals Allowance (where the student is 18 years or over at 1 January in the year of study)
• Living Allowance
• Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Pharmaceutical Allowance (PhA)
• Remote Area Allowance (RAA)
• Rent Assistance (RA)
• School Fees Allowance (School students only)

Tertiary

Full-time Tertiary Student, or

Australian Apprentice (apprentice or trainee)

Minimum school leaving age or have an exemption to enter Tertiary study or Australian Apprenticeship

• Additional Assistance
• Additional Incidentals Allowance (students only)
• Away from Base assistance (students only)
• Fares Allowance (students only)
• Incidentals Allowance
• Living Allowance
• Pensioner Education Supplement (students only)
• Pharmaceutical Allowance (PhA)
• Relocation Scholarship
• Remote Area Allowance (RAA)
• Rent Assistance (RA)

Part-Time (secondary study)

Part-time Secondary

18 years of age or older at 1 January in the year of study

• Away from Base assistance
• Fares Allowance (FAA)
• Incidentals Allowance

Part-time (post-secondary study)

Part-time post-secondary

No minimum age requirements

• Away from Base assistance
• Fares Allowance (FAA)
• Incidentals Allowance

Testing and Assessment

Tertiary Institutions

No age restrictions

• Away from Base assistance
• Fares Allowance to attend the Testing and Assessment activity

Masters and Doctorate

Masters and/or Doctorate level study

Minimum school leaving age or have an exemption to attend TAFE/Tertiary institution.

• Additional Assistance
• Additional Incidentals Allowance
• Assistance to pay Commonwealth Supported Places commitment or compulsory course fees
• Away from Base assistance
• Incidentals Allowance
• Living Allowance
• Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
• Relocation Allowance or Fares Allowance
• Relocation Scholarship
• Thesis Allowance

Students in Lawful Custody

Secondary, post-secondary, tertiary studies or full-time Australian Apprentices (apprentices or trainees)

No minimum age requirements.

• Away from Base assistance. Note: this is not payable to Australian Apprentices
• Lawful Custody Allowance

Institution

Course

National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA)

Department of Social Services has advised all NAISDA courses are exempt from the time limit of testing and assessment programs.

Example

Scenario

1

Studying a Diploma course

Barbara is enrolled and successfully undertaking the Diploma in Community Management and Development at Curtin University. Barbara wants to apply to enter the University of Western Australia's (UWA) Law programme. UWA conduct an approved testing and assessment programme each January for an intake into the Law programme.

Barbara is eligible for assistance to undertake the testing programme. Even though currently studying a tertiary level course, a Diploma course does not indicate the academic ability to undertake a Bachelor of Law programme.

2

Studying a Bachelor course

Isaac has successfully completed one year of a Bachelor of Arts degree at Monash University. Isaac hopes to commence a Bachelor of Medicine degree at the same university. Isaac must first undertake a testing and assessment programme to determine academic ability to undertake the course.

Isaac is eligible for assistance to undertake the testing programme for the medicine course. Although already successfully completing one year of study at the Bachelor level, the content of the Bachelor of Arts studies does not necessarily indicate an ability to successfully undertake the science and maths-based curriculum of the Medicine degree.

3

Changing course of study

Anna has completed one year of a Bachelor of Science degree at University of Queensland, studying mainly maths and physics-based units. After spending the summer break doing work experience for a construction company, Anna decides to instead study a Bachelor of Engineering programme at the University of Sydney.

The University of Sydney requires Anna to undertake a testing activity before admission to the Engineering course is approved. It is unclear why this testing activity would be necessary to determine Anna's academic suitability to undertake the course, as Anna has already studied in a similar field at a Bachelor level.

The University of Sydney provides a letter confirming Anna's academic ability to undertake the Engineering degree cannot be assessed from the previous study because Anna gained only pass-grades in units while doing the Bachelor of Science degree. The letter explains Anna needs to be tested to ensure the more rigorous demands of the Engineering program can be met. Anna is therefore assessed as eligible to undertake the testing programme for entry to the Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Sydney.