ABSTUDY School Fees Allowance (SFA) at home rate (Group 1) 010-02050100

The student must:

• meet the eligibility criteria for Schooling A Award
• be enrolled in and attending studies at a secondary school (or primary school where eligible under the Schooling A Award). SFA (Group 1) is not payable for secondary studies through a tertiary institution

SFA (Group 1) remains payable within the year of study when:

• the applicant was qualified for Schooling A allowances, and
• loses eligibility because the income support payments stop, (or their Health Care Card expires) before the student starts secondary studies

SFA (Group 1) is not payable when the applicant does not have care of the student when they start their studies in the calendar year and SFA (Group 1) has already been paid to the previous applicant that did have care of student when they started their studies.

SFA (Group 1) eligibility is automatically calculated and paid as part of a customer's new claim for ABSTUDY Schooling A Award. See Claiming ABSTUDY.

The rate is affected by the date of their birthday. If the student is:

• turning 16 before 1 July in the year of study, the rate is 50% of entitlement
• younger than 16 on 30 June in the year of study, the rate is 100% of entitlement

The rate is automatically calculated.

ABSTUDY Schools Fee Allowance Group 1 (at home) rates.

Payments may be made to:

• the school, or
• the applicant if requested

SFA (Group 1) paid to the school on behalf of a student

If the SFA (Group 1) is paid to a school, no debt is raised on the school if it:

• does not charge a compulsory fee to all students, or
• charges no fee

The school will have costs associated with each student, even if they do not charge parent/guardian an amount for school fees.

Services Australia pays the full amount to a school.

When the ABSTUDY school fee paid to a school is in excess of the amount charged by the school, the Department of Education expects the school to spend the excess school fee amount on Indigenous education. These costs can include:

• school excursions, camps or trips
• Aboriginal Student Support and Parent Awareness (ASSPA) sanctioned projects
• Indigenous reference material for libraries

If the SFA (Group 1) is paid to a school for a student who:

• did not start their study, the school will refund the payment to Services Australia
• started study, but later attends another school, no further SFA (Group 1) can be paid for the period for which payment has already been made:
• Some states or territories allow individual schools to negotiate a transfer of a pro-rata SFA (Group 1) between the schools. This is a voluntary arrangement between the schools involved
• Services Australia has no authority over schools to pass on SFA (Group 1) and should not offer any advice

Where the SFA (Group 1) has not yet been paid, the applicant can request the SFA (Group 1) be forwarded to either the previous or current school.

SFA (Group 1) paid to the applicant

SFA (Group 1) can be paid to the applicant. If SFA (Group 1) has been paid to the applicant, and the student does not start study for the year, the applicant must refund the full amount to Services Australia.

A problem exists for customers who are turning 16 between 1 January and the first SFA (Group 1) payment date in late January.

The SFA (Group 1) payment is not released for new ABSTUDY Schooling A customers or continuing students. See the Process page for further information about a workaround.