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

For a page containing links to course listings, TAFE, University and Private Provider links, and other course approval information, see the National Course Approvals sub-site.

To be eligible to receive a student payment customers must be undertaking an approved course of study with an approved provider.

An approved course can be of any duration, as specified for the course.

The mode of the study is not important if it is approved. Courses can be taken internally, externally, online and through home schooling.

The link between course and provider is important. For example, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions are approved education providers, but this does not mean that all TAFE courses are approved. A TAFE usually offers a wide variety of courses from hobby courses for example, belly dancing which is not an approved course to vocational courses for example, Certificate IV in Information Technology, which is an approved course.

Approved master’s Courses

Master’s level courses approved for student payments:

• are listed in Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2019 (legislation.gov.au) and
• Approved master’s Courses for Austudy, Youth Allowance and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES). The list contains the provider’s name and course title that a student must be enrolled in to be eligible for payment

Note: course codes are not used to assess if a course is approved. If the course name matches exactly to the approved Masters list, then the course is approved.

Combined Master Courses

If a student is undertaking a combined master’s course (for example, a Master of Business and Master of Accounting), this course is approved, provided both courses are listed either as a combined course or separate courses in the Determination.

Previously approved masters

The Approved Masters courses for Austudy, Youth Allowance and Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) lists courses which are currently approved for student payments.

Students remain eligible for payment until the end of their course if:

• there is no break in study
• they are already undertaking a course which was approved when they began the course, and
• they are receiving a student payment

Check previous versions of the Determination to find records of previously approved courses. If there is any doubt, create a referral to a CALO. See Referrals to Course Assessment and Liaison Officers (CALOs).

For courses approved between 12 October 2011 and 8 June 2021, see both Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2009 and 2019.

The National Course Approvals sub-site contains links to all universities in Australia and other higher education providers including:

• All University and higher education provider codes
• links to provider websites where semester and term dates are located
• specific course information on each provider's page
• details of approved or unapproved courses, and
• course with unusual characteristics

Most universities are self-accrediting and can approve their own courses. Most other higher education providers are accredited by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and must submit their courses for accreditation. In addition to being self-accredited or with TEQSA, all courses must also meet the policy guidelines for Services Australia student payments.

Some universities and higher education providers are also TAFEs and/or Registered Training Organisations (RTOs, also known as private providers) as well. Make sure to select the correct provider code for these combined providers, so the correct scholarship payment and level of study is applied.

See the Resources page of Assessing study load requirements for a list of how many hours are considered full-time for TAFE courses in each state. The full-time load varies from state to state.

The National Course Approvals sub-site lists:

• all TAFE and provider codes
• details of approved or unapproved courses, and
• courses with unusual characteristics

It does not list all approved TAFE courses, as there are too many to list individually.

Approval requirements

Approval can be given for a TAFE course:

• leading to an accredited award (other than a TAFE Statement of Attainment)
• listed under their scope of registration on the National Register on VET in Australia at Training.gov.au, and
• starting with:
• Certificate I
• Certificate II
• Certificate III
• Certificate IV

Approval for courses leading to TAFE Statement of Attainment

For approval, all units of the course must be accredited.

Non-approved courses

Non-Award or Statement of Attendance are non-approved courses for student payments.

To be an approved course of study for YA student, Austudy and PES:

• Vocational Educational Training (VET) courses at diploma level or higher must be:
• a course approved for the VET Student Loan (VSL), and
• provided by an approved VSL provider
• Higher education diploma courses must be:
• undertaken with an approved/authorised provider offering the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)

Diploma course no longer approved after 1 January 2018 but commenced prior

If the customer started a Diploma course before 1 January 2018, that is no longer approved under the above requirements and they receive a payment, the payment will continue until:

• the end of the course, or
• there is a break in the customers entitlement including a break in study

Private providers are listed in the National Tertiary Institution Directory in the A-Z Index at top of each page of the National Course Approvals sub-site.

Most private providers are Registered Training Organisations and must maintain their registration on the official National Register on VET in Australia, Training.gov.au.

Both the provider and course must be listed to ensure it is approved and being delivered in the appropriate way to enable the student to qualify for a student payment.

Create a CALO referral where the student is attending their course, if unable to find:

• the provider on the listing, or
• the course on the private provider page

See Referrals to Course Assessment and Liaison Officers (CALOs).

Not all secondary schools are listed on the National Course Approvals and Educational Institutions sub site because of the considerable number of schools.

To find a secondary school code, access the CODES screen in Customer First and search in the Educational Institutions Summary.

In Process Direct search codes in left of the Education Institution ID in EDS field.

If the school is:

• listed, it is approved
• not listed, create a CALO referral. See Referrals to Course Assessment and Liaison Officers (CALOs)

Secondary schooling is state based in Australia and may differ considerably. Check the Secondary Schools in Australia page at the National Course Approvals sub-site for local education and training structures in Australia.

If a student advises they are studying alternative secondary education not at the secondary school premises, create a CALO referral to make sure they qualify for a student payment. See Referrals to Course Assessment and Liaison Officers (CALOs).

If seeking assistance from a CALO, see Referrals to Course Assessment and Liaison Officers (CALOs).

If the CALO must request course details from an external provider, they must allow the provider 14 days to respond. Student claims should be streamed to allow for this 14 day turn around. The CALO will try to obtain the course details as soon as possible to assist claim timeliness.

In the interim, if a student contacts Services Australia about the progress of their claim, document the record and advise them:

'Your course has not yet been assessed as meeting eligibility requirements for a student payment. The provider has been asked to provide information to Services Australia to determine if the course meets these requirements. We will be able to progress your claim once we have received this information'

Where an education provider seeks assistance from a CALO Services Australia staff should follow processes to make a query on the education provider's behalf. See Referrals to Course Assessment and Liaison Officers (CALOs). CALOs provide a service to education providers and Service Officers to determine if a provider and course meets the eligibility requirements for payments administered by Services Australia.

The CALO:

• investigates the course details and provides advice to the staff member initiating the enquiry
• assesses and lists courses by approved private providers

If unable to find a provider in the A-Z directory in the National Course Approvals sub-site, and/or the course is not yet listed with that provider, create a referral to a CALO. See Referrals to Course Assessment and Liaison Officers (CALOs).

See Training.gov.au.