Scholarships paid under Social Security Law 010-07030000

SSS and RS payments are made under the Social Security Act 1991. Services Australia administers the payment of SSS and RS to eligible students receiving:

• Youth Allowance (YA)
• Austudy (SSS only) or
• ABSTUDY Living Allowance

The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) administers the payment of SSS and RS to eligible students receiving payments under the Veterans' Children's Entitlement Scheme (VCES) or Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme (MRCEATS).

Note: a person cannot qualify for the same type of scholarship from both Services Australia and DVA for the same period.

From 1 January 2016, SSS was replaced by a voluntary Student Start up Loan (SSL), which must be repaid through the tax systems once the recipient's taxable income reaches a certain threshold. Grandfathering provisions apply for students who received a SSS before 1 January 2016 ad meet the eligibility criteria for the Scholarship payment.

The SSS payment ceased from 1 July 2017 and no customer will be paid SSS from that day even if they are grandfathered.

If a customer is deemed eligible to be grandfathered as of 1 January 2016, and no SSS was paid in 2016 or 2017, they may get back paid automatically.

RS is intended to assist higher education students with the costs of moving away from home to undertake study.

RS can be paid to students:

• relocating from regional areas to study an approved scholarship course
• relocating from city areas to study an approved scholarship course at a regional campus
• undertaking approved oversea study where the overseas study contributes to and can be credited towards a full time course in Australia

Students relocating from regional areas are paid automatically when the agency receives their family home address and campus details. All other eligible students need to provide verification of their campus location to the agency before RS can be paid. The Campus Verification Form (SY101) can be submitted through ExpressPlus, Online account or over the counter. For students undertaking approved overseas study, their portability verification documents are sufficient evidence.

Students undertaking online courses and Austudy customers cannot qualify for a Relocation Scholarship.

Note: ABSTUDY students in state care (not receiving Foster Care Allowance) are to be assessed the same way as ABSTUDY dependent students who are living away from home for the purposes of Relocation Scholarship.

Students undertaking an approved scholarship course and receiving an eligible payment may qualify for RS unless they receive a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship (CAS) for the same period.

The rate an individual is eligible for depends on:

• the regional classification of the student's family home under the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC), and
• the number of previous RS qualifying year(s) the student has undertaken

There are three different rates of RS.

See R-Y Rates and Thresholds for the current amounts of SSS and RS.

A person cannot qualify for:

• More than one SSS in the same period. This includes SSS paid under any scheme, whether paid by Services Australia or by DVA
• SSS and a Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship (CECS) in relation to the same period. This includes where the person qualifies for a CECS but does not receive a CECS payment because their CECS has been suspended
• More than one RS in the same period. This includes RS paid under any scheme, whether paid by Services Australia or by DVA
• RS and a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship (CAS) in relation to the same period. This includes where the person qualifies for a CAS but does not receive a CAS payment because their CAS has been suspended

Qualification for, or receipt of any other scholarship (that is, equity or merit-based scholarships, or Indigenous scholarships - unless they include a CECS or CAS component) does not preclude a person from qualifying for a RS or SSS in relation to the same period.

A customer may qualify for SSS and RS at the same time.

SSS and RS paid by Services Australia are entirely exempt from the Income Test.

Income from other scholarships (for example, equity or merit-based scholarships) may be regarded as income.