Assessing entitlement to the Long Term Income Support rate of Austudy for students or migrants studying English language courses 010-04040000

Item

Calculation method for 26 week requirement period

1

Calculation

To calculate the time in receipt of an income support payment requirement, the 39 week period needs to be identified, before the 26 weeks in receipt of a qualifying payment can be counted.

Note: the unit of 'weeks' is legislated and therefore if a customer does not meet the 26 week requirement by one day, they will not be eligible. The 26 week period is accumulative and is not required to be continuous, within the 39 week period.

Identifying the 39 week period:

• begin with the date immediately before the qualifying study or Australian Apprenticeship starts
• from this date, subtract 39 weeks (273 days)

This is the 39 week period in which the customer must have received a qualifying payment to be considered for the LTIS rate.

Counting the 26 week requirement period:

• with the 39 week period identified, count periods where the customer has not received their qualifying payment
• if the customer has not received a qualifying payment for 13 or more weeks, the customer will most likely be ineligible for this higher rate of payment
• if the customer has not received a qualifying payment for less than 13 weeks, the customer will most likely be eligible for this higher rate of payment

The following cannot be considered when calculating this 26 week requirement period:

• periods where the customer received no basic component of their payment or when they received their supplementary payments only
• periods where the customer received the LTIS student/ apprentice rate of payment

2

Calculation not required

The period of time on income support is not relevant when:

• A customer's first language is a language other than English
• The customer undertakes an approved English language course, as their second language

Item

Description

1

Example 1

Oksana has been receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP) for 4 months since arriving in Australia. English is her second language. Oksana enrols in a 1.5 year Certificate II in Spoken and Written English and lodges a claim for Austudy.

Oksana is eligible for the LTIS rate. The amount of time receiving JSP is not relevant as she qualifies for the LTIS rate as a migrant studying an English language course.

2

Example 2

Josie receives the LTIS rate of Austudy for their Bachelor of Social Work, as they received Carer Payment for at least 26 of the 39 weeks before their course began.

Josie completes their end of course review in the lead up to completing the bachelor course. Josie advises that they will move into the 2 year Master of Counselling in the next available study period. Josie continues to qualify for Austudy as a continuing/intending student and there is no break in qualifying study.

Josie is eligible for the LTIS rate for the Master of Counselling as they received a qualifying payment for 26 of the 39 weeks immediately before the start of the qualifying study (Bachelor of Social work) and there has been no break in study since starting.

3

Example 3

Ben claims Austudy on 15 February 2023 for a 26 week course beginning on 27 February 2023.

Ben had been receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP) since 9 September 2021, but JSP was cancelled on 19 December 2022 when Ben went overseas for a holiday.

The 39 week period prior to the course beginning starts on 31 May 2022. Ben has received JSP for 29 of the 39 weeks before the course began so qualifies for the LTIS rate.

4

Example 4

Henry started his 4-year Automative Mechanic Apprenticeship when he was 21. Henry left his apprenticeship early when he was 23 and started receiving JobSeeker Payment.

When Henry turns 25 he decides to restart his Automative Mechanic Apprenticeship.

Henry is eligible for the LTIS rate. The 39 week period begins immediately before Henry restarts his Australian Apprenticeship at the age of 25 as he has had a break in qualifying apprenticeships.