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Who is the ABSTUDY applicant and interim claims 010-02010030

This document outlines how to determine who should be the ABSTUDY applicant.

Determining who should be the ABSTUDY applicant

Table 1

Step	Action
1	Person wishing to claim ABSTUDY If the person wishing to claim ABSTUDY is: a correspondence nominee acting on behalf of a person wishing to claim ABSTUDY, go to Step 9 an Australian Apprentice, they will be the applicant. Go to Step 9 a student, go to Step 2 a parent/guardian of the student, go to Step 3 none of the above, go to Step 6
2	Student is the applicant Students who meet one of the following will be considered the applicant: Aged 16 years or over. See the Resources page for an example Meet independent status under ABSTUDY criteria Applying for tertiary or postgraduate study Receiving a Commonwealth Government pension, for example, Parenting Payment Single (PPS) or Disability Support Pension (DSP) Does the student meet one of the above? Yes, the student will be the applicant. Go to Step 7 No, go to Step 3
3	Parent or guardian is the applicant An ABSTUDY claim can be lodged by the parent or guardian: who has responsibility for the care and maintenance of the student, and with whom the student normally lives If there is a dispute over care, go to Step 4. Parents or guardians who meet all of the following will be considered the applicant. The student is: dependant in the care of the parents or guardians. See the Resources page for examples on shared care 15 years of age or under studying primary or secondary level studies not receiving a Commonwealth Government pension, for example, Parenting Payment Single (PPS) or Disability Support Pension (DSP) Does the student meet all of the above? Yes, the parent or guardian will be the applicant. Go to Step 9 No, go to Step 7
4	Disputes over who is the applicant Service Officers must decide who is the most suitable person to be the ABSTUDY applicant. When determining whom the most suitable person is, consider: whether the student lives with the applicant and has done so in the last 12 months whether the student lives with the applicant during vacations who is responsible for the care of the student, for example, providing food and shelter who contributes regularly and significantly to the student's living and education costs who receives Family Tax Benefit (FTB) or other allowances in respect of the student who has been awarded custody of the student If there is a dispute over who is the applicant, investigate who the most suitable person to apply is. This would generally occur where: more than one person has applied for ABSTUDY on behalf of a student, or there is doubt as to who the parent/guardian is Is there a dispute over who the applicant is? Yes, go to Step 5 No, go to Step 7
5	Determine most suitable applicant Where there is a dispute, Service Officers must decide who the most suitable person to be the ABSTUDY applicant is. This can involve: contact with both parties (with the applicants' knowledge), and/or contact with independent authorities (with the applicant’s knowledge) such as a school or welfare worker advice from the student Where difficult cases present, speak to an Indigenous Service Officer (ISO) before making the final decision. Once the applicant has been determined, go to Step 9.
6	3rd party applicant A 3rd party applicant may be: an officer of the relevant State/Territory authority, where the student is in State care and is living in an institution, or a person or official of an institution, who has care of the student, where the young person would, but for reasons of age, qualify as an orphan or as homeless Does the applicant meet one of the above circumstances? Yes, they are considered an approved applicant. Go to Step 9 No, go to Step 7
7	Claim lodgement Can the student lodge the claim? Note: a suitable reason for not lodging the claim would be exceptional circumstances such as serious illness. Yes, the student will be considered the applicant. Go to Step 9 No, go to Step 8
8	Student unable to lodge claim An interim applicant may lodge a claim for ABSTUDY on behalf of a student if they: have temporary care of the student, and can make an informed decision about the student's Aboriginality or Torres Strait Islander status, and are following the wishes of the student or parent/long-term guardian in respect of their payments Note: if a boarding school is accommodating a student, they are deemed to have temporary care of the student. Does the person meet all the above circumstances? Yes, consider them an interim applicant. They may lodge an ABSTUDY claim for the student. If a claim has: been lodged, see Table 2 not been lodged, go to Step 9 No, do not accept a claim. Advise them of the decision and record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here
9	Lodge appropriate ABSTUDY claim Advise the applicant or correspondence nominee of the appropriate ABSTUDY claim and how to lodge. For assistance, see Claiming ABSTUDY. Record details on a DOC.

Accepting an interim claim

Table 2

Step	Action
1	Assessment of applicant and interim applicant circumstances The interim applicant must explain why they are lodging the claim. Details regarding why the applicant cannot submit a claim themselves must be recorded on a: separate sheet of paper, or DOC on the student's file Is the person who is the usual applicant unable to submit a claim themselves due to exceptional circumstances such as floods, accessibility, serious illness or remoteness? Yes, go to Step 2 No, go to Step 7
2	Claim reflects what the student or parent/guardian wants Services Australia must be satisfied it is following what the student or parent/guardian would want in respect of the student's schooling. Assess the suitability of the interim claim by: discussing the circumstances with the interim applicant to determine why the particular school is recorded in the claim form checking the correct applicant and student records for any DOCs relevant to schooling circumstances contact with the school recorded in the claim form. Schools are usually aware of the students enrolling and have knowledge of the family and student's current circumstances checking if the usual applicant/parent/guardian has a nominee and if so, contacting the nominee to discuss the circumstances Note: if an assessment has been made via other means, record details in a DOC. Is the agency reasonably satisfied the interim claim reflects the wishes of the student or parent/guardian in respect of the student's schooling? Yes, go to Step 3 No, go to Step 7
3	Check required information provided Are the student and parent/guardian's details completed in the claim form? Yes, and the interim applicant is: an institution, go to Step 4 a person, go to Step 6 No, go to Step 7
4	Interim applicant is an institution Institutions may only be interim applicants for 2 types of claims: Interim claims for boarding school students Claims for the purposes of Away from Base submissions Is the institution lodging an interim claim for either of the above? Yes, and the interim applicant is: a boarding school, go to Step 5 an institution lodging an Away from Base submission, go to Step 6 No, go to Step 7
5	Interim applicant is a boarding school Only accept interim claims from boarding schools when all of the following are met: The claim is lodged in the student's first term at the school The boarding school accepts responsibility for obtaining a full claim from the applicant The institution accepts responsibility for the student's boarding and tuition fees where a complete claim is not subsequently lodged by the applicant Note: the boarding school may provide acceptance verbally or in writing. Record the acceptance of the conditions on the student's file. Has the boarding school agreed to the above conditions? Yes, go to Step 6 No, go to Step 7
6	Interim claim is accepted Tell the interim applicant: the interim claim will be accepted only ABSTUDY non-income tested allowances may be approved a full claim from the correct applicant is required as soon as possible See Processing an ABSTUDY claim. Procedure ends here
7	Assess and reject interim claim Assess and reject the interim claim. Record the decision on a DOC in the student's record. When rejecting an interim claim lodged by: a person: the rejection reason is OTH create a manual Q134 letter. In the free text field include "This decision has been made under 6.1.4 of the ABSTUDY Policy Manual" an institution that is not a boarding school: the rejection reason is OTH create a manual Q134 letter. In the free text field include "This decision has been made under 6.1.3 of the ABSTUDY Policy Manual" a boarding school: the rejection reason is OTH create a manual Q134 letter. In the free text field include "This decision has been made under 6.2.1 of the ABSTUDY Policy Manual" Procedure ends here.