ABSTUDY Additional Assistance 010-02050130

The student/Australian Apprentice must meet one of the following:

• They are eligible for ABSTUDY Living Allowance and all of the following apply:
• it is unfair or harsh to limit assistance to ABSTUDY entitlement
• their circumstances are unique or apply to a limited group. The grant of Additional Assistance will not result in inconsistent delivery of benefits
• covering the costs of the study or training program will assist to overcome the hardship
• the customer’s circumstance is not a result of negligent or imprudent actions by the customer, and
• a more appropriate source of assistance is not available from any other private organisation, Commonwealth or State Government agency, or
• They are:
• changing their residential college before the end of their contract and have incurred additional accommodation charges, and
• unable to negotiate removal or reduction of the charges with the college, and
• at risk of withdrawing from study due to financial hardship
• They meet one of the independent criteria for students without parental support:
• Orphanhood
• Parents unable to exercise parental responsibilities
• Unreasonable to Live at Home
• Special Adult Status
• Returning to an Indigenous community
• Non-custodial parent granted under parenthood
• Previous Lawful Custody (only secondary students aged 18 or over qualify under this criterion), and
• All their ABSTUDY entitlements (apart from small residual payments) are paid direct to a board provider including during school vacations, or
• They are single, and eligible for ABSTUDY:
• under other Independence criteria applicable to single students - see Assessing independence for ABSTUDY customers, or
• as a student who was in State Care, and are no longer in State Care because of their age, and not in the care or custody of a parent or other person, and
• all their ABSTUDY entitlements (apart from small residual payments) are paid direct to board provider. Students will need to demonstrate they have no access to financial support during the school vacations, or
• They qualify for the Away from Home or Away from Base criteria and have been impacted by an emergency or disaster situation
• An approved non-student traveller or an Away from Base student is requesting assistance with the travel costs of one or more of their dependent children

While general advice based on information provided by the customer can be given over the phone, the customer should test their eligibility, particularly in cases of discretionary decisions.

Do any of the above apply?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 10

Check if any of the following apply to the customer:

• the student is in the process of changing residential colleges before the end of contract and has incurred additional accommodation charges
• the student meets one of the special independence criteria for students without parental support (mentioned in Step1), or
• the student is single and eligible for ABSTUDY:
• under other Independence criteria applicable to single students - see Assessing independence for ABSTUDY customers, or
• students who were in State Care, and they are no longer because of their age, and are currently not in the care or custody of a parent or other person
• and all ABSTUDY entitlements (apart from small residual payments) are paid direct to a board provider including during school vacations. This means no access to financial support as would normally be provided by parent(s)/guardian(s) or other family members

Do any of the above apply?

• Yes, see Table 2, Step 1
• No, go to Step 3

Is the customer claiming additional assistance due to an emergency or disaster situation?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 4

If the customer is claiming Additional Assistance:

• Due to the approved student or non-student traveller requesting assistance with the travel costs of 1 or more of their dependent children, see Non-student travellers for ABSTUDY. Procedure ends here
• For any other reason, the customer will need to submit a claim verbally. Record details on a DOC. Include all of the following:
• a description of circumstances relating to customer's study/training program which have caused financial difficulty
• a statement of customer's or family's fortnightly income and expenditure
• corroborative evidence of the appropriate situation, for example, from education institutions, boarding establishments, welfare agencies
• an indication of the amount of assistance that is needed, go to Step 6

The customer may need to provide evidence to support income and expenditure item claims.

If the customer is not eligible for Away from Home, or Away from Base entitlements, and impacted by an emergency or disaster situation, go to Step 9.

Department of Social Services (DSS) will assess all other claims on a case-by-case basis. When a claim for Additional Assistance (Emergency) is submitted, Service Officers must:

• escalate the claim via email to ABSTUDY travel team. Record a Fast Note on the customer's record - select Auto text, use Students, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Claims - ABSTUDY > Additional Assistance (emergency) requested
• ensure the following information is included in both:
• advising the claim has been accepted and escalated for assessment by DSS
• a description of how the emergency or disaster situation has impacted the student’s or apprentice’s ability to undertake study or training
• an indication of the amount of assistance that is needed
• details of individual student/s or apprentice/s impacted (CRN, name, emergency contact)
• details of the applicant
• details of whom the assistance is to be paid to

Evidence is required to assess Additional Assistance (Emergency):

• Confirmation of emergency or disaster event via verbal confirmation, or through reputable website
• Confirmation of costs (such as: a statutory declaration, written confirmation from a Provider, or an invoice)

When DSS provide the outcome decision, go to Step 6.

Reject or approve the claim and advise the customer of the outcome.

If decision is to:

• grant, go to Step 7
• reject, advise the customer of the decision and their review and appeal rights. Go to Step 10

The amount of Additional Assistance will be set at the lesser of that amount required to:

• meet the cost of the factor associated with the customer's study/training program which has contributed to financial difficulties, or
• overcome the hardship, that is, address the imbalance between income and essential expenditure

Additional Assistance may be provided in the form of:

• a regular supplement to an allowance the customer is entitled to (taxable), or
• a once only payment which will overcome the hardship (non taxable)

Where Additional Assistance for emergencies is to be made to a third party, see Payments to third parties and institutions for ABSTUDY. Procedure ends here.

• On the Supplementary Education (EPSP) screen, update the following:
• Institution: field - should default from the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen in Process Direct or the Education Course Details (EDC) screen in Customer First, if there is only one current course, or as per the selection from the Customer Study Details (EDCH) screen in Process Direct or Education Course History (EDCH) screen in Customer First
• Event Date: field - record either the processing date, or the date the selected course is current. Note: any Additional Assistance regular supplement payments will start from this date
• Payment Type: field - key 'ADD'
• Reason: field - key either 'EXC' (exceptional circumstances) or 'ABL' (away from base Living Allowance)
• Amount Claimed: field - key the amount the student is claiming for
• Amount Paid: field - record the amount which is to be paid to the customer
• Payee: field - key 'CUS' (customer)
• Claim Details: field - record details which are relevant to the customer's situation relating to the payment they are claiming. Note: this is an optional free text field
• Frequency: field - record details to reflect the frequency the Additional Assistance payment is to be paid (that is, either 'ONE' (one off) or '2WE' (fortnightly)
• End date: field - record the last date for '2WE' (fortnightly) payments (if relevant)
• Record details on a DOC, or for Additional Assistance (emergency), annotate the Additional Assistance (emergency) requested DOC on the customer's record. Either DOC must include the following:
• Relevant ABSTUDY policy reference
• Claim outcome (when DSS advise of their decision): Grant/Reject
• If rejected, reason for rejection
• Amount paid
• Paid to
• Q999 issued: Yes/No
• APM: 99.2
• Issue a Q999 to the customer, applicant, or third party to advise of the decision. It must include the appeal paragraph and the ABSTUDY policy reference. See Resources for text.

Procedure ends here.

Customer is not eligible for Additional Assistance.

Service Officers must:

• Record details on a DOC, or for Additional Assistance (emergency), annotate the Additional Assistance (emergency) requested DOC on the customer's record. Either DOC must include the following:
• Relevant ABSTUDY policy reference
• Claim outcome (when DSS advise of their decision): Grant/Reject
• If rejected, reason for rejection
• Amount paid
• Paid to
• Q999 issued: Yes/No
• APM: 99.2
• Contact the customer/applicant or third party to advise of the outcome or decision, including appeal rights.
• Issue a Q999 to the customer, applicant or third party to advise of the decision. It must include the appeal paragraph and the ABSTUDY policy reference. See Resources for text.

Procedure ends here.

A claim for Additional Assistance will not be required in all cases.

ABSTUDY Smart Centre will identify students meeting one of the special independence criteria for students without parental support (listed in Step 1, Table 1). They will not need to lodge a claim. Confirmation that they have no access to financial support will be established by their Centrelink record.

Note: students who continue to meet one of the special independence criteria without parental support can qualify for Additional Assistance during school holidays (subject to personal income test). ABSTUDY Living Allowance and other boarding related payments will continue to be paid directly to their board provider. A social worker assessing continued eligibility of a student under the UTLAH criteria will look at any financial support the student receives. If that financial support is determined as not continuous or reliable and does not affect eligibility under the UTLAH criteria, the student's qualification for Additional Assistance is not affected as long as they meet the other requirements.

Single students eligible for ABSTUDY under other independence criteria or those who were in State Care (but no longer in State Care only because of their age) will need to lodge a claim each year.

• The claim needs to include confirmation they have no access to financial support from parent(s)/guardian(s), other family members or other sources during school vacations
• For students formerly in State Care, their claim will need to show they:
• have no access to financial support and
• are not in the care or custody of a parent or other person during school vacations

The amount of Additional Assistance for customers if approved, is paid at an equivalent rate of the following entitlements:

• Living Allowance
• Rent Assistance and/or
• Remote Area Allowance

That they would otherwise be entitled to for the relevant vacation period(s) during the academic year they are not residing at the boarding provider (school or hostel). Any leftover payment of the above allowances that is made to the customer will be deducted from the amount or rate of Additional Assistance that is paid.

Check whether the customers meet the eligibility conditions for Additional Assistance in Table 2, Step 1.

Reject or approve the claim and advise the customer of the outcome.

If decision is to

• grant, go to Step 5
• reject, tell the customer of the decision and their review and appeal rights. Go to Step 8

In the case of customers who meet one of the criteria in Step 1, their Additional Assistance rate is paid at a rate equivalent of the following entitlements:

• Living Allowance
• Rent Assistance
• Remote Area Allowance
• Energy Supplement and/or Pharmaceutical Allowance

This is the same rate they would otherwise be entitled to (that the boarding provider receives). See Away from home rate for ABSTUDY.

Additional Assistance rate is paid for relevant vacation period (s) during the calendar year they are not residing at the boarding school or hostel.

The payment period of Additional Assistance starts when the student has left the boarding provider's care for vacation periods. This normally occurs within the last few days of the term. The period will end on the day the student returns to the boarding provider. A beneficial interpretation is used in determining the period the student is not in the boarding provider’s care.

The rate of Additional Assistance is subject to the personal income test applicable to:

• Living Allowance
• Rent Assistance (RA)
• Remote Area Allowance (RAA)
• any other income affected boarding related components being paid to the board provider

See Personal Income Test and Income Bank for ABSTUDY, Austudy and Youth Allowance (YA) students and Australian Apprentices.

Any residual payment of these allowances that is made to the student will be deducted from the amount or rate of Additional Assistance payable.

For students who meet one of the criteria in Step 1, their Additional Assistance rate is paid:

• in advance as single instalments for the period of the (three) short vacations that they are not boarding, and/or
• fortnightly in arrears for the period of the long vacation (For example from 1 January to the commencement of boarding in term one and from the end of boarding in term four to 31 December)

Additional Assistance paid as a:

• regular supplement is taxable
• once only payment is non-taxable

• On the Supplementary Education (EPSP) screen, update the following:
• Institution: field - should default from the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen in Process Direct or the Education Course Details (EDC) screen in Customer First, if there is only one current course, or as per the selection from the Customer Study Details (EDCH) screen in Process Direct or Education Course History (EDCH) screen in Customer First
• Event Date: field - record either the processing date, or the date the selected course is current. Note: any Additional Assistance regular supplement payments will start from this date
• Payment Type: field - key 'ADD'
• Reason: field - key 'EXC' (exceptional circumstances)
• Amount Claimed: field - leave blank
• Amount Paid: field - record the amount which is to be paid to the customer
• Payee: field - key 'CUS' (customer)
• Claim Details: field - record details which are relevant to the customer's situation relating to the payment they are claiming. Note: this is an optional free text field
• Frequency: field - record details to reflect the frequency the Additional Assistance payment is to be paid (that is, either 'ONE' (one off) or '2WE' (fortnightly)
• End date: field - record the last date for '2WE' (fortnightly) payments (if relevant)
• Note: if a system issue is identified, escalate to Local Peer Support (LPS)
• For students who meet one of the criteria in Step 1, in Customer First create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen and complete the fields as follows:
• Service Reason: ABY
• Review Reason: REV (Manual Review)
• Due Date: 2 business days prior to the next vacation period
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'Check eligibility for Additional Assistance for school vacation period XX/XX/XXXX. See OB 010-02050130 for assessment.'
• Keywords: BOARDER and URGENT
• Workgroup: leave blank
• Position: leave blank
• Transfer to Region: ABS
• The review will mature on the Due Date coded in the RVR activity. Workload Management will allocate the review for manual action
• Issue a Q999 to the customer, applicant, or third party to advise of the decision. It must include the appeal paragraph and the ABSTUDY policy reference. See Resources for text

Go to Step 9.

Customer is not eligible for Additional Assistance.

Issue a Q999 to the customer, applicant, or third party to advise of the decision. It must include the appeal paragraph and the ABSTUDY policy reference. See Resources for text.

While general advice based on information provided by the customer can be given over the phone, the customer should test their eligibility, particularly in cases of discretionary decisions.

Record details on a DOC.