Assessing scholarships and mobility provisions for secondary students for ABSTUDY away from home rate 010-02060170

Dependent ABSTUDY students are normally expected to live at home while studying. Under certain circumstances they may have to live away from home and become eligible for a higher rate of assistance.

These circumstances include where the student is:

• offered an approved scholarship by a Boarding School
• offered a Third Party Indigenous Scholarship
• offered a Transition School Scholarship, or
• permanently residing in 1 of 5 designated Cape York trial sites. These sites are:
• Aurukun
• Coen
• Hope Vale
• Mossman Gorge and
• Doomadgee

Approval for the Away from Home rate of ABSTUDY due to being offered such a scholarship would be dependent on the type of scholarship.

Students receiving scholarships not fitting into 1 of the situations above will be assessed under the general provisions for scholarships. See Assessing scholarship income for the appropriate assessment for such cases.

Boarding School scholarships must meet the requirements to be approved for Away from Home entitlements.

A secondary school student may be approved for Away from Home entitlements on the basis of being offered a scholarship by a boarding school if all the following circumstances are met:

• The school is an approved secondary school offering an approved course of secondary studies
• The boarding arrangement is an integral part of the school, and
• The school contributes towards the scholarship, the greater of:
• the Boarding School Scholarship Approval Threshold amount, or
• 25% of the school's annual boarding school and tuition fees

Students that are living away from the permanent home and attend a boarding school on a weekly basis, will have the greater of the Boarding School Scholarship Approval Threshold amount, or 25% applied against their annual fees.

Note: bursaries that meet the above are considered a boarding school scholarship.

Grandfathered scholarship holders

Grandfathering provisions apply to students who were approved for ABSTUDY because they accepted an Independent Boarding School (IBS) scholarship prior to 1 January 2019. They will remain grandfathered for as long as they continue to meet the criteria under which the IBS scholarship was approved, except for the requirement to meet the Indigenous Education Consultative Board (IECB) criteria.

Note: grandfathering provisions do not apply to the Third Party Indigenous Scholarships or Transition School scholarships.

The Process page contains information relating to IBS scholarship, Boarding School Scholarships, Transition School Scholarships as well as approved Third Party Indigenous scholarships.

Third Party Indigenous Scholarships are managed and delivered by a number of provider organisations, who have contracts or funding arrangements with either the Department of Social Services or the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Services Australia has no role in assessing or determining either the scholarships or a provider organisation.

Schools or provider organisations that offer a scholarship of their own and seek for that scholarship to be approved as a Third Party Indigenous Scholarship must approach the Department of Social Services, (see Third Party Indigenous Scholarships) for approval.

Secondary school students may be approved for the ABSTUDY Away from Home provisions to enable the student to live away from the community and attend a school at another location. To be eligible for this provision, the student must permanently reside in 1 of 5 designated Cape York Welfare Reform sites. These sites are:

• Aurukun
• Coen
• Hope Vale
• Mossman Gorge and
• Doomadgee

The student must also meet all other ABSTUDY eligibility criteria.

The period for the Reform runs from 1 July 2008 until the government advises of its closure.

Approval of Away from Home entitlements on the basis of mobility provisions ceases if:

• the student's permanent home changes to a location that is outside of a designated trial site, or
• the student returns from the boarding school to live on a permanent basis in the permanent home, unless continuity of study provisions apply

Away from home rate can be claimed:

• for new customers, via the ABSTUDY Claiming Tool (ACT) or the Claim for ABSTUDY forms (SY019 and SY092), or
• for existing customers, via a statement (verbal or written) indicating the criteria under which they are seeking approval

When making an unfavourable decision, speak to the customer:

• explain the decision
• give them a chance to provide more information, and
• advise their review and appeal rights