Approved courses of study for Youth Allowance (YA), Austudy and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) 010-07010010

For the purposes of YA student, Austudy and PES, an approved course of study is one approved by the Minister for Social Services, who has the authority to approve courses and providers.

For a course to be approved, both the course content and the provider must meet certain requirements. These requirements are determined by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) or the relevant state/territory authorities. Services Australia is not involved in this accreditation process. For student payment purposes, there is no minimum duration for a course to be approved.

The National Course Approvals sub-site contains a directory of approved education providers and information about their courses.

Some institutions/providers allow students to study full-time or equivalent in courses that are usually only offered part-time for Youth Allowance and Austudy.

If the customer advises they are studying full-time in a course listed as part-time only on the institution/provider website or handbook, obtain evidence from the institution/provider stating that the customer is studying full-time.

The evidence must state the customer is studying full-time regardless of the customers study load/hours. If the evidence does not state the customer is a full-time student, then the customer is not deemed to be studying an approved course.

Customers must be undertaking an approved course of study as set out in the Ministerial Determination of Education provider and Courses to:

• satisfy the full-time study requirements for Austudy and Youth Allowance, and
• qualify for a student payment

YA, Austudy, and PES students undertaking a course, which is not approved under the Ministerial Determination, do not qualify for those payments as a student. These customers may qualify for JobSeeker Payment (JSP) or YA as a job seeker while undertaking their study if the course is a Part-time or full-time study as an approved activity for JobSeeker Payment (JSP). Small Business Training courses (as part of Self-Employment Assistance) may be approved for PES.

Only master’s courses included on the Student Assistance (Education provider and Courses) Determination (the Determination) are considered approved courses. Students enrolled in a master’s course with a specialisation are approved where the primary master’s course is approved. All other master’s courses are not considered approved, and students cannot satisfy the full-time study requirements for YA and Austudy or qualifying study for PES for those courses.

Students undertaking combined master’s degrees can be approved for student payments if the course(s) are listed in the Determination, whether as a single (combined) course or as separate courses.

Where only one of the master’s degrees is listed on the Determination, the student may still be eligible for payments while undertaking this degree if:

• the units the student is undertaking in the approved masters make up a full-time study load, and
• there is a clear start and end point, that is, a period and set of units, separating each of the master’s qualifications

These requirements are often established from the education provider's website or handbook. Where this is not clear, ask students to obtain written confirmation of the above criteria from the provider and proof of enrolment.

Some education providers deliver combined higher education qualifications (for example, bachelor’s degrees, graduate certificates, or graduate diplomas) with master’s degrees. For YA, Austudy and PES, the bachelor’s degree, graduate certificate, or graduate diploma component will be an approved course, with some of the master’s degrees also being approved.

Where the bachelor’s degree, graduate certificate or graduate diploma and the master’s degree are approved courses, treat the course as an approved combined course for YA, Austudy and PES. The approved master’s courses appear in Schedule 3 of the Course Determination Instrument - the Ministerial Determination.

Note: customers studying at more than one education provider, or two part time courses may not be eligible for student payments. See Effect on student payments of enrolment in more than one course or at more than one educational institution.

Where the master’ s component is not an approved course for YA, Austudy and PES purposes, the bachelor's component of the combined course could be approved if:

• the units the student is undertaking are accredited or recognised as being less than the master’s level
• the units the student is undertaking at less than the master’s level make up a full-time study load, and
• there is a clear start and end point, that is, a period and set of units, for less than the master’s qualification

These requirements are often established from the education provider's website or handbook. Where this is not clear, ask students to obtain written confirmation of the above criteria from the provider and proof of enrolment.

Preclusions apply to PES and Austudy students due to the full-time study requirements for these payments. YA students are not affected. See Assessing qualifying study for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) or Activity test for Austudy for further information.

A student does not qualify for PES if they have previously completed either a master’s or doctorate level course.

This includes:

• a master’s degree or doctorate or a qualification of the same standing at an Australian institution, or
• a qualification of the same standing from an overseas institution

A student does not qualify for Austudy if they have previously completed a doctorate level course (for example, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)).

A student undertaking a doctorate level course is not eligible for assistance under YA, Austudy and PES.

Note: some courses may appear to be doctoral level courses from the title, but are in fact master’s courses (for example, Juris Doctor). If in any doubt, check the current approved master’s list. The Resources page contains a link to this list.

Some unapproved master’s courses for YA, Austudy and PES contain a 'nested' lower qualification (for example, graduate certificate, graduate diploma), which are available to the student if they exit the course early.

Students are not eligible to receive YA, Austudy or PES to undertake the lower qualification part of this course unless the master’s component is also approved. Students who receive YA, Austudy or PES and who change their course to an unapproved masters with a lower exit point are no longer eligible to receive payment for that course.

Nested courses are distinct from combined courses. A nested course is defined as a single course of study where the student is enrolled in a higher-level award, which has clear exit points for receiving lower-level awards if the student exits the course early. For example, a student may be enrolled in a two-year master’s course but exits the course after 12 months to receive a graduate diploma.