ABSTUDY Living Allowance 010-02070080

If the student is or was under 16 years of age, living at home and a secondary non-school student, see Table 3.

If a student or Australian Apprentice's circumstances have changed, they can apply for Living Allowance.

Check the code in the Participation Status: field on the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen in Process Direct or Education Course (EDC) screen in Customer First for their current course.

• see Increasing study load for ABSTUDY students for any of the following codes:
• PTS (Part Time Student)
• C25 (25% concessional student)
• C66 (66% concessional student)
• procedure ends here
• LAW (Lawful Custody Allowance), go to Step 2
• FTI/API (Full time student or apprentice receiving Incidentals Only), go to Step 3
• FTS/APT (Full time student or apprentice who has not been receiving Living Allowance due to Means Tests), go to Step 9
• If the student was previously on ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (EPA), go to Step 3

An ABSTUDY customer who has 'LAW' coded in the Participation Status: field on the EDC screen has been in receipt of the Lawful Custody Award as they were in lawful custody for a period of more than 2 weeks and studying a suitable approved course.

If they are now applying for Living Allowance, they have been released.

See New claim for Crisis Payment prior to the release of a customer in prison or psychiatric confinement.

Are the customer continuing studies in their course?

• Yes, and student will be:
• continuing full time, go to Step 3
• continuing part time, see Payment of ABSTUDY when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course
• No, student will be discontinuing studies, see Payment of ABSTUDY when a student is deferring or discontinuing study before the end of the course

Note: if the customer is dependent and living at home, prior to granting Living Allowance, ensure it is more beneficial to receive Living Allowance, and not Family Tax Benefit (that is paid to the parent/guardian). See Eligibility for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) individuals.

Has the customer previously lodged an ABSTUDY claim for Living Allowance, for example, SY019 - Claim for ABSTUDY, for the current course and provided all information necessary to grant Living Allowance, for example, personal income and assets, parental or partner income, etc.?

• Yes, see Table 2 > Step 1
• No, go to Step 4

If the customer has already 'claimed' and qualifies for ABSTUDY, they do not need to lodge a new claim. Under ABSTUDY policy, they are regarded as changing awards rather than re-claiming.

Based on the customer's circumstances, they may need to provide the following additional information:

• ABSTUDY Additional Information (SY023) form. Customers can also provide answers to the SY023 questions verbally. For details of the information required, see Completing an ABSTUDY form
• For customers under 22, if it is not clear they meet the requirements for independent status without undertaking a full assessment, they must also complete a MOD JY
  See Completing Parent(s)/Guardian(s) details for the Base Tax Year and Current Tax Year (MOD JY)
• If the customer is partnered and meets requirements for a de facto relationship for ABSTUDY purposes, they must also complete a Partner Details (MOD P) form
  See Assessing the Partner details (MOD P)

The customer can lodge a completed Claim for ABSTUDY (SY019) to claim Living Allowance instead of the forms listed above.

Note: Australian Apprentices can only be converted from API (Incidentals only) to Living Allowance from their ABSTUDY grant date. All required information needs to be provided from this date until today.

Is the customer providing the required information verbally?

• Yes, for staff:
• trained in processing, go to Step 7
• not trained in processing, go to Step 5
• No, go to Step 6

The details will need to be forwarded to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing team for action.

Note: if the customer has previously received, and/or is currently receiving employment income, ask them to provide all payslips for the period to be assessed for Living Allowance. The customer should continue to supply these until the Living Allowance assessment is complete.

• For Apprentices:
• Use Fast Note - Auto Text > Student, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Update > ABSTUDY Apprentice action required
• Select Confirm
• Go to Step 7
• For Students:
• Use Fast Note - Auto Text > Student, ABSTUDY & Apprentices > Claims - ABSTUDY > ABSTUDY transfer to LA Required
• Select Confirm
• Go to Step 7

Advise the customer that eligibility for Living Allowance cannot be assessed until they return the required forms.

• Send a Request for Information (RFI) letter
• If the customer is currently employed, tell them to supply payslips for all future employment income until the Living Allowance assessment is complete
• Record details on a Note/DOC, include details of forms issued
• Go to Step 7

A customer must meet full Identity Confirmation requirements before granting Living Allowance. Additional procedures exclusive to ABSTUDY apply in some circumstances. See Identity Confirmation.

Has the customer already met the Identity Confirmation requirements for Living Allowance to be granted?

• Yes, for staff:
• trained in processing, see Table 2 > Step 1
• not trained in processing, procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 8

The customer must provide the relevant identity documents. See Requesting information.

Once the documents have been provided, see Identity Confirmation for the procedure.

For staff:

• trained in processing, see Table 2 > Step 1
• not trained in processing, procedure ends here

A customer may now be eligible for Living Allowance as their circumstance may have changed in regard to either:

• Personal Income or Assets, for information on what the customer may have to supply as proof of a reduction in income, see Coding income and assets
• Partner Income or Assets, for information on what the partner may have to supply as proof of the reduction in income see Partner Income Test for ABSTUDY customers 22 years and over or Partner Income Test for ABSTUDY customers under 22 years old, Austudy and Youth Allowance students and Australian Apprentices
• Parental Income Test, for information on what the parent/s may have to supply as proof of the reduction in income, see Increase or decrease in parental income for Youth Allowance (YA), ABSTUDY and Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC)
• Independence, for information on what the customer may have to supply as proof of independence, see Assessing independence for ABSTUDY customers

Procedure ends here.

Has the additional information including Confirmation of Identity if needed, been returned so a full assessment can be undertaken for Living Allowance?

• Yes, for:
• students, go to Step 2
• Australian Apprentices, see Table 4 > Step 1
• No:
• Tell the customer they will continue to be paid the current rate until they provide the additional information
• Eligibility for Living Allowance cannot be assessed until the required documentation is supplied. Note: there is no closing date for additional information to be provided for ABSTUDY
• Record details on a DOC
• Procedure ends here

Was the customer in receipt of an income support payment before requesting Living Allowance?

• Yes, tell the ABSTUDY customer they are eligible to receive Living Allowance from the date the income support payment ceased. Go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 3

The date the customer is eligible for Living Allowance is based on a number of factors. These are listed below:

• 'FTI' coded on EDC screen
• There is no closing date for additional information to be provided for Living Allowance to be granted. The student can choose the date they wish their Living Allowance be granted from. This date can be any date the student has been receiving ABSTUDY Incidentals from. Go to Step 4
• 'LAW' coded on EDC screen
• the customer becomes entitled to Living Allowance from the date they were released from lawful custody. Go to Step 4

Confirm all provided information has been coded from date determined in the previous step. This includes:

• Income
• Relationship status
• Assets
• Accommodation details

If the student is under the age of 22, updates may be required for:

• Parental information
• Away from home
• Independence

Has all required information been provided and coded on the student’s record?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No:
• Tell the customer they will continue to be paid the current rate until they provide the required information
• Eligibility for Living Allowance cannot be assessed until the required documentation is supplied. Note: there is no closing date for additional information to be provided for ABSTUDY
• Record details on a DOC
• Procedure ends here

To pay the Living Allowance component update the EDC screen.

When transferring from EPA to ABSTUDY Living Allowance, complete these updates in a new claim activity. See Processing an ABSTUDY claim.

Depending on the student’s circumstances, select the appropriate option below.

The customer's Living Allowance will be paid from the applicable date.

• Go to the Education Course History (EDCH) screen
• Select the applicable course displaying as 'FTI'
• Update the Participation Status field to ‘FTS’ (Fulltime student)
• Code 'C' in the Action field'
• Select Continue

Go to Step 6.

The customer’s Living Allowance will be paid from the applicable date.

• Go to the Education Course History (EDCH) screen
• Select the applicable course displaying as 'FTI' or 'LAW'
• Update the Participation Status Event Date: field to the date the customer is eligible for Living Allowance
• Code 'I' in the Action: field to insert the latest information
• Select Continue
• The EDCH screen will now display two entries for the same course
• Select the original 'FTI' or 'LAW' entry from the EDCH screen
• 'C'orrect the Student End Date to the day before the date the student became eligible for Living Allowance
• Select Continue
• Select the new 'FTI' entry on EDCH
• Change the Participation Status: field to 'FTS' (Full-time student) so Living Allowance can be paid
• 'C'orrect the Student Start Date to the date the customer is eligible for Living Allowance (same date as the Participation Status Event Date)
• Select Continue

Go to Step 6.

Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen and finalise the activity.

Record details on a DOC.

Tell the customer they must notify Services Australia of any changes to their circumstances, including study, within 14 days.

Procedure ends here.

Has a Manual Follow Up (MFU) been allocated due to a student turning 16 years of age?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 2

Is the student required to live Away from Home to study?

• Yes, see Assessing eligibility for Away from Home entitlements for ABSTUDY customers
• No, go to Step 3

To be eligible for the ABSTUDY U16 rate of Living Allowance, a student must meet all of the following:

• under 16 years of age
• studying a secondary non-school level course
• not required to live away from home to study

The student must also meet one of the following:

• reached the minimum school leaving age as defined by the relevant State/Territory education authority
• provided evidence that they have been granted an exemption by the State/Territory education authority to attend a TAFE or other non-school institution

Tell the student of the above. If required, send a request for the documentation, see Requesting information (CLK).

Has the student provided the required supporting documents if necessary, and meets the above criteria?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 7

Is the student:

• commencing secondary non-school studies, go to Step 5
• ceasing secondary non-school studies or turning/turned 16 years old, go to Step 8

Update the Independent/Homeless/Away from Home Details (NIH) screen as follows:

• Action: U16 (Under 16)
• Start/Reject Reason: PNS (ABSTUDY Under 16 Secondary non-Schooling student)
• Start Date: use the date the customer became eligible for Living Allowance while studying at SNS level

Record details on a DOC of the decision.

In Customer First, create a manual review on the Review Registration (RVR) screen. Complete the fields as follows:

• Service Reason: ABY
• Review Reason: REV (Manual Review)
• Due Date: earlier of the student's 16th birthday or the course end date
• Source: INT
• Date of Receipt: today's date
• Notes: 'ABSTUDY student has turned 16 or course end date has been reached, NIH coding must be end dated. Refer to OB 010-02070080'
• Keywords: ACTABY 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.

Procedure ends here.

The student is not eligible for the ABSTUDY U16 rate of Living Allowance.

Do not code anything on the NIH screen. The system will reject ABSTUDY under reason AGD (Doesn't meet age requirements).

Record details on a DOC outlining the reason for rejection.

Procedure ends here.

Where the student has turned 16 or is no longer studying a secondary non-school level course, the coding on the NIH screen must be end dated.

If a 'Customer turning 16' review is due, select the activity from the Activity List (AL) screen before performing the following updates.

• Go to the NIHS screen
• 'S'elect the PNS line
• Select continue
• On the NIH screen, update as follows:
• End Reason - RNS (ABSTUDY Under 16 SNS - Not supported)
• End Date - either the date the customer ceased studying at secondary non-school level, or their 16th birthday
• Finalise the activity via the AR screen

Record details on a DOC of updates made.

Australian Apprentices can only be converted from API (Incidentals only) to ABSTUDY Living Allowance from their ABSTUDY grant date.

Confirm all provided information has been coded from ABSTUDY start date, if required code the below in Process Direct:

• Income
• Relationship status
• Assets
• Accommodation details

If the Australian Apprentice is under the age of 22, updates may be required for:

• Parental information
• Away from home
• Independence

Has all required information been provided and coded on the Australian Apprentice's record?

• Yes, if the Australian Apprentice is:
• currently receiving an Income Support Payment, go to Step 2
• not currently receiving an Income Support Payment, go to Step 3
• No:
• Tell the customer they will continue to be paid the current rate until they provide the required information
• Eligibility for Living Allowance cannot be assessed until the required documentation is supplied. Note: there is no closing date for additional information to be provided for ABSTUDY
• Record details on a DOC
• Procedure ends here

If the Australian Apprentice is receiving an Income Support Payment, this payment will need to be cancelled from the current ABSTUDY grant date.

When cancelling the payment, write down the overpayment amount. This amount will need to be reduced from the ABSTUDY arrears generated in the next activity.

Select the relevant link below and make the appropriate updates:

• JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker

Once the payment has been cancelled, go to Step 3.

To pay the Living Allowance component, update the EDC screen.

The customer's Living Allowance will be paid from the applicable date.

• In the Super Key, key EDC
• Select Edit next to the row displaying the 'API' course
• Update the Participation Status field to 'APT' (Apprentice/Trainee)
• Select Save

Go to the Assessment (ELD) screen.

Was an Income Support Payment cancelled to allow ABSTUDY Living Allowance to be paid?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, finalise the activity and complete a Note. Procedure ends here

ABSTUDY arrears generated for a period that the customer was previously paid a Social Security payment must be reduced to offset the debt shell created by the cancellation of previous payment.

To manually reduce arrears in Entitlements (ELD):

• Select Assess to go to ELD
• Enter RAC in the Super Key
• Reduce each payment period displayed by the amount of the cancelled payment for each period
• Use Man Adj Reason ADJ
• After all reductions have been completed, select Update
• Return to ELD

Finalise the activity and complete a Note.

Finalise the debt shell for the precluding payment as 'no debt' with FND Reason NDC. For coding, see Finalised 'no debt' (FND) or 'zeroing' debts that are not legally recoverable.

Procedure ends here.