Completing the claim for ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (SY020) 010-05010020

ABSTUDY PES is an additional payment to help with ongoing study costs for customers receiving qualifying payments that attract ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES).

Note: if the customer is not an Australian Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and wishes to claim PES, they should complete the Claim for Pensioner Education Supplement (SY004)

Customers who already have a Services Australia record should be encouraged to lodge a claim using the ABSTUDY Claiming Tool instead of a paper claim.

Customers completing a claim through the ABSTUDY Claiming Tool can be offered a verbal declaration. Customers who do not accept a verbal declaration are required to return a signed CDF.

A customer’s acceptance to a verbal declaration is recorded in the Verbal Declaration DOC, and in the Progress of ABSTUDY claim DOC.

Note: on 28 November 2016, a verbal declaration replaced the requirement for the customer to return a signed Customer Declaration Form (CDF). All customers who complete a claim through the ABSTUDY Claiming Tool prior to 28 November 2016 may still be required to return their signed CDF. See ABSTUDY Claiming Tool process for more information.

If a customer has been in receipt of ABSTUDY, for example Living Allowance, and they have just recently begun to receive an income support payment that attracts ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), they may not need to lodge an ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (SY020) claim. Refer to Claiming ABSTUDY to determine if a new claim is required.

The First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow will automatically identify customers who may be eligible for PES. The FCSO workflow will prompt the Service Officer to issue a claim for Pensioner Education Supplement (SY004) or a claim for ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (SY020) if the customer has identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Points to note in completing the claim:

• There is a Notes booklet attached to the claim that includes information about eligibility, allowances available, commencement dates, Aboriginality, study requirements and customer rights and obligations
• All questions on the claim should be answered
• The claim must be signed by the customer
• Proof of enrolment (POE) may be required if the customer is not a school student or a student who is studying a higher education course at a university. ABSTUDY PES payments can be approved without POE however the customer must be advised they must provide POE as soon as possible. See Proof of enrolment (POE) in a course of study
• In some cases a separate statement may also be needed, for example to give reasons for a break in study or unsuccessful study or to provide further details where there is not enough space

The closing dates for PES claims differ from other benefits administered by Services Australia:

• 31 March if the course is a full year course starting before 1 April, or
• 31 July if the course starts on or after 1 July, or
• 28 days from the date of qualification if the course is less than 1 year

To ensure the student is paid from the earliest date possible they should lodge their claim by the closing dates above.

Note: different processes apply for customers experiencing vulnerability, see Intent to claim and vulnerable customers.

ABSTUDY claims and supporting documents can be lodged by using any of the following options:

• Online - Registered customers can upload their claim and any supporting documents online. For information about how to lodge documents online, see Resources
• Fax - Claims and supporting documents may be accepted by fax. The date the fax is received is considered the date of receipt for processing purposes
• Post - Claims and supporting documents may be posted using the appropriate reply paid envelope to the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing team. Look up local Processing Services details for: ABSTUDY and ABSTUDY PES
• In person - Claims and supporting documents may be lodged in person at the nearest service centre, or in remote areas, with a Centrelink field officer

ABSTUDY processing is undertaken in the ABSTUDY Smart Centre Processing teams. See Processing arrangements for ABSTUDY claims and enquiries for more information.