Student intending to undertake a course at Honours level 010-07010190

A customer has contacted Services Australia because they have completed, or are about to complete, a Bachelor level degree and intend to undertake study at the Honours level.

Has the customer undertaken any other Bachelor level study, not including the course which is the prerequisite for the intended Honours course?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 3

Did the customer complete their Bachelor level study in the minimum time?

• Yes, see Step 5 in Table 2
• No, go to Step 4

If the customer is not currently receiving a student payment, then the customer will need to provide their academic transcript to determine if there are allowable time issues.

If the customer is currently receiving a student payment, check the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen in Process Direct or the Education Course Details (EDC) screen in Customer First to verify previous study and determine if there are allowable time issues.

Record details on a Note/DOC.

See Step 1 in Table 2.

A customer would be eligible to be paid to undertake the Honours course where:

• the Honours course is associated with their bachelor degree, and
• the Bachelor degree is an approved course, and there are no allowable time issues

Is the customer currently in receipt of one of Services Australia payments for students?

• Yes, go to Step 4
• No, go to Step 3

If the customer is not currently in receipt of a student income support payment, they must make a new claim for assistance.

Note: the exception is for customers under 22 years of age receiving Youth Allowance (YA) as a job seeker. These customers may transfer to YA (Student), so a new claim is not required. See Youth Allowance (YA) job seeker or Australian Apprentice returning to full-time study.

There is no transfer process for a customer claiming ABSTUDY. These customers must make a new claim. See Claiming ABSTUDY.

A customer currently receiving payment as a job seeker would remain a job seeker until the Honours course starts and would have to satisfy the undertaking full time study requirement as a job seeker until that date - see:

• Satisfying the activity test for customers who are intending to study for Austudy
• Satisfying the full-time study requirements for customers intending to study for Youth Allowance (YA)

If coding education details as part of the new claim, go to Step 4.

Check the Customer Study Details (EDC) screen in Process Direct or the Education Course Details (EDC) screen in Customer First and/or academic transcript provided by the customer to determine if there are allowable time issues. For more information see:

• Assessing satisfactory progress for Youth Allowance (YA) tertiary students
• Assessing satisfactory progress for tertiary students for Austudy
• Determining progress and duration of assistance for ABSTUDY
• Assessing satisfactory progress and allowable time for tertiary students for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)

If there are no allowable time issues and the customer is able to be paid to undertake the Honours course, go to Step 5.

If the customer has met or exceeded their allowable time, the customer is not eligible to be paid a student payment to do the Honours course. Consider appropriate action on the customers record:

• rejection of new claim go to Step 5
• cancellation of current payment
• transfer to another payment

Procedure ends here.

An Honours course of study is considered to be an extension of the pre-requisite course, only where the pre-requisite course is specified and related to the Honours. (For example, Honours in Arts, where completion of a Bachelor of Arts at the same education provider is specified as a mandatory entry requirement to the Honours in Arts course).

Where the pre-requisite course for the Honours is any undergraduate study (or other approved study), the Honours is not considered to be an extension of that pre-requisite study.

Go to Step 8, if the student is:

• not undertaking their honours study immediately following the prerequisite course at the same education provider, or
• studying an honours course that is not directly related to the prerequisite course

If the student:

• has or will complete a course which is specified as a pre-requisite course, and
• the Honours will be undertaken immediately following completion of the pre-requisite course, and
• it is with the same education provider

Record the details on the EDC/EDCH screen in either:

• Process Direct, go to Step 6
• Customer First, go to Step 7

• Go to the EDC screen
• Select the Edit icon on the current line and complete the following fields on the Change Education Details screen:
• Course Level: will remain as the current Bachelor course level. See Defining levels of tertiary study
• Allowable Time End Date: see Allowable Time End Date
• Course End Date: end of duration of combined prerequisite and Honours study
• Student End Date: end of duration of combined prerequisite and Honours study
• Course Id: the pre-requisite course ID, or if the customer is currently studying the Honours component, or will commence study in the Honours component in the next study period, record the Honours course ID
• Course Name: add with Honours after the current course title
• Select Save
• Complete the Receipt Date and Channel. Select Save
• Select Assess. Address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
• Select Assess
• Select Finish. Record details of the update. Select Finalise
• Procedure ends here

• Go to the EDCH screen
• Select the current student line and complete the following fields on the EDC screen:
• Course Level: will remain as the current Bachelor course level. See Defining levels of tertiary study
• Allowable Time End Date: see Allowable Time End Date
• Inst Course End Date: end of duration of combined prerequisite and Honours study
• Student End Date: end of duration of combined prerequisite and Honours study
• Institution Course Code: the pre-requisite course ID, or if the customer is currently studying the Honours component, or will commence study in the Honours component in the next study period, record the Honours course ID
• Comments: add with Honours after the current course title
• Complete Receipt Date, Source and Action. Select Continue
• Finalise the activity via the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Procedure ends here

Customers need new EDC line to be coded for the duration of the Honours component if they:

• are not undertaking their honours study immediately following the prerequisite course at the same education provider, or
• are studying an honours course that is not directly related to the prerequisite course

For more details, see Coding new study details and Coding ABSTUDY education details.

The following Course level must be completed on the EDC screen, as either:

• HGA where the prerequisite bachelor degree is a Level A course, or
• HGB, where the prerequisite bachelor degree is a Level B course. For more details, see Defining levels of tertiary study

Finalise the activity:

In Process Direct

• Select Assess. Address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
• Select Assess. Check outcome on the Entitlement (ELD) screen
• Select Finish. Record details of the update. Select Finalise

In Customer First

• Go to the Assessment Results (AR) screen
• Record details on a DOC