Relocation Scholarship (RS) payment and coding 010-07030010

The RS is intended to help students with the cost of establishing accommodation away from their usual home to undertake qualifying higher education studies.

See Relocation Scholarship (RS) eligibility for more information.

There are 3 rates of RS:

• higher rate
• regional rate
• lower rate

The rate a student is eligible for depends on:

• the number of RS qualifying year(s) the student has undertaken, and
• the regional classification of the RS family home

See Rates and thresholds for the current amounts.

The higher rate of RS can only be paid once and is determined by calculating the number of RS qualifying year(s) the student has undertaken, and (if applicable) the number of years the student has received an RS precluding payment.

An eligible student will receive the higher rate of RS if:

• they have not previously received an RS or an RS precluding payment, and
• the student does not have a previous RS qualifying year(s)

Exception: a student who has previous RS qualifying year(s) may still receive the higher rate of RS if the first time that a student was both studying an approved scholarship course, and required to live away from home or independent due to personal circumstances was less than 6 months before the student's current RS qualification date.

See Rates and thresholds for the current amounts.

The regional rate cannot be paid more than twice and is determined by the regional classification of the RS family home location and calculation of the student's RS qualifying year(s).

An eligible student will receive the regional rate of RS if they have 1 or 2 (but no more than 2) previous calendar years where:

• the year is considered a RS qualifying year or they received a RS precluding payment and
• their RS family home is located in an area classified as non-major (inner regional, outer regional, remote, or very remote) according to the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)

See Rates and thresholds for the current amounts.

The lower rate is paid to students who qualify for RS and:

• they are in their fourth and subsequent year(s) of study, or
• the RS family home is/was in a major city location and they have provided verification of study location in a regional location, or
• initial qualification rules were satisfied in relation to when their course of study commenced and in a subsequent year of the course the RS family home and study locations are both in major city locations

See Rates and thresholds for the current amounts.

Latest RLD screen entry used to determine rate:

Prior to 2 December 2017, where a Regional Location Details (RLD) screen entry was not recorded for a subsequent year of study the system was paying the lower rate of RS.

A change was made as part of 2 December 2017 Major ICT Release resulting in the most recent RLD screen entry being used to determine the rate of RS payable. This change was retrospectively applied, which resulted in some students being eligible to receive arrears payments for the difference in rates (lower vs regional) – for example. $1,068 (2015), $1,084 (2016), $1,095 (2017).

To ensure the correct rate of RS is calculated, the following information must be recorded on the Regional Location Details (RLD) screen:

• the regional classification of the RS family home, and
• the regional classification of the student's study location(s)

This coding on RLD is mandatory for Youth Allowance (YA) (Student) and ABSTUDY Living Allowance students undertaking an approved scholarship course. The coding will help determine a student's eligibility for the RS as well as the correct rate of scholarship to be paid.

If a student resides in a major city but their study location is located outside of a major city, verification of this must also be recorded on the RLD screen.

The Resources page contains links to the Student Regional Area Search Tool and Google maps, and an attachment to determine the latitude and longitude of a student's home address.

There is no claim form for RS. It is usually paid automatically to eligible students. However, some students will need to provide appropriate verification of their study location before RS can be paid.

If a student is required to provide verification of their campus location, RS will not be paid until they provide appropriate verification and the RLD screen has been updated.

RS is not payable unless the student is receiving Youth Allowance (YA) (Student) or ABSTUDY Living Allowance.

A person is considered to be receiving YA or ABSTUDY Living Allowance or Energy Supplement if at least $1 of basic benefit is payable in the period.

Subject to the above:

• for new claimants of YA and ABSTUDY Living Allowance, RS is usually paid with their first income support payment after grant, as long as all qualification criteria are met
• for continuing students RS is usually paid late February or early March each year
• for new claimants and continuing students who are required to provide verification of their study location, RS is paid on the student's next normal payday after the receipt of completed Verification of Campus form (SY101) and subsequent update of the RLD screen

RS is paid to the same bank account as the student's YA or ABSTUDY Living Allowance payment.

RS payments are:

• not taxable or means tested
• income managed at 100% for income managed students
• not included when calculating a student's advance payment entitlement
• not treated as income for social security purposes

An RS debt may be raised only if a student had no entitlement to an RS for the period the payment was made.

If a person is found to have been ineligible for RS in relation to a particular RS period, the full amount of the RS paid for that period must be raised as a debt. It is not possible to raise an RS debt for a proportional amount, except when raising a debt for the difference between higher and lower rates of RS.

Before raising an overpayment, Service Officers must check the actual start date of study or the date Youth Allowance (YA) or ABSTUDY was granted (if the student was qualified for payment after they commenced their course) and work out whether the student was undertaking study on day 35.

RS is not payable:

• If RS qualification requirements are not met. This includes potentially independent students who are yet to provide proof of independence (unless they are disadvantaged by personal circumstances). See Relocation Scholarship (RS) eligibility
• If at the time of course commencement, the student's RS family home is in a major city area and the study location is also a major city location
• If, where required, the student fails to provide verification of their non-major city study location

When making an unfavourable decision, speak to the customer:

• explain the decision
• give them a chance to provide more information, and
• advise their review and appeal rights