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Relocation Scholarship (RS) payment and coding 010-07030010

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This document outlines the process for payment and coding of the Relocation Scholarship (RS).

On this page:

Payment and coding of RS

Checking that RS payment is paid at the correct amount

Payment and coding of RS

Table 1: for service officers trained in students.

Expand table

Step

Action

1

Eligibility for RS

To determine eligibility, see Relocation Scholarship (RS) eligibility.

RS for Youth Allowance (YA) students granted the away from home rate pending proof of independence

If it was determined when assessing eligibility that the customer cannot receive RS as they have only been granted the dependent away from home rate pending proof of independence, an override is required to prevent payment of RS. Go to Step 4 > Table 2.

For students:

2

RS for students lodging a claim via the ACT

Eligibility for RS is determined by ensuring all independence questions are completed as a part of the new claim process in the ACT.

The ACT only pre-populates the latest current independence details from the student's record. These details may not include all of the student's independent circumstances used to assess RS eligibility. After selecting an RS qualifying independence reason, the ACT gathers the family home address required to assess the correct rate of RS.

To ensure a new claim is assessed with the correct details:

  • discuss all the independence questions while running the ACT
  • select all independence criteria the student meets. Students may meet more than one independence criterion
  • Processing Team: Typically done by specialised processing teams in a service centre or Smart Centre. Unless otherwise stated, staff may complete this step if they are trained. update the Regional Location Details (RLD) screen as part of the new claim process for students eligible for RS

3

Regional Location Details/Regional Details (RLD) screen

The RLD screen is used to obtain the regional classification of the student's RS family home and study location. Coding on the RLD screen helps determine:

  • eligibility for RS, and
  • rate of RS

For eligible YA (student) and ABSTUDY Living Allowance students undertaking an approved scholarship course, the RLD screen must be updated for:

  • new claims
  • change of circumstance resulting in meeting eligibility
  • change of circumstances that affects eligibility or rate, including:
    • change of campus
    • change to the RS family home address
    • any other relevant change affecting eligibility or rate
  • assessments involving a future away from home rate or a course of study commencing in the future
  • return of Verification of Campus form (SY101) or overseas study documents

Are updates on the RLD screen required?

  • Yes, go to Step 4
  • No, record details on a DOC with the reason no updates are required. Procedure ends here

4

RLD screen update

Go to the RLD screen.

Is the RLD screen update only to record the returned campus verification?

5

RLD screen - Event Date

Update the Event Date field.

For:

  • new claim assessment - the event date is the date of student claim lodgement
  • new eligibility assessment - where a current student has a change in circumstance making them eligible for RS, the event date is the date they become eligible. For example, the date they become independent due to being disadvantaged by personal circumstances
  • change of circumstances to existing RLD - for example customer changes campus or their RS family home address changes, the event date is the date the:
    • change in circumstance occurs, or
    • customer notified of the change in circumstance if the customer has not advised the date the change occurred. For example, the date the customers online account was used to provide information
  • multiple RLD entries - to determine initial qualification at the time of course commencement and record any change in circumstances for subsequent years of study, the event date is the:
    • approved scholarship course commencement date for the initial RLD entry
    • date(s) of change of circumstances for subsequent RLD entries

Note: using an event date in the future is generally not recommended. This is because a change of circumstance may occur before that date. For example, an address update made through online services may be recorded with an earlier event date prior to any future date entry. This can prevent the system from assessing the latest circumstances correctly. Some online services automatically record the date of service use or 1 January. This is acceptable for Quality On Line (QOL) or Quality Management Application (QMA) purposes.

If granting the away from home rate in the future or a course of study commences in the future, the event date is the date of assessment not the future date. The system will refer to the latest RLD entry at the time the away from home rate or course commences to determine RS entitlement.

6

RLD screen - address and year

Update the Address Reason, Year, Address Date and Address fields.

Address Reason

For:

  • a dependent student, use RSD (Relocation Scholarship: AFH)
  • an independent student (disadvantaged by personal circumstances), use RSI (Relocation Scholarship: IND/HOM)
  • a student that has not provided a family home address but only campus details use CMP (Regional Campus Detail)
  • RS assessment, do not use SSI (Self Supporting Independence) or TAP (Tertiary Access Payment)

If a new claim for a student auto-populates this field with CMP (Regional Campus Detail), both the family home address and details of at least one campus must be provided to update RSD or RSI. Request family home details from the student before updating RSD or RSI.

Note: there may be previous entries on the RLD screen in relation to past assessments, such as RSD, RSI or TAP. Do not amend previous details unless it was incorrectly recorded.

Year

Update the calendar year for which RS is being assessed.

Address Date

The address date is determined by the address reason. For:

  • RSI - the address date is 6 months prior to the commencement of their relevant course of study
  • CMP - the address date will default to course start date
  • RSD - for:
    • a new claim or new eligibility assessment, the address date will be the approved scholarship course start date
    • subsequent RLD entries, for example, change in circumstances, the address date will be the date the address actually changed or the date the information was provided

Address

It is important to determine what the address was on the address date so the system can assess qualification. The address for:

  • a dependent student, is the parental home address
  • an independent student (disadvantaged by personal circumstances), is their address 6 months before they started their current approved scholarship course

Information provided in a claim or online may be inaccurate or incorrect. To help determine the RS family home location, a check of the student's record and/or parent(s) details is also recommended. Check:

  • Address History (ADH) screen
  • Immigration data on the:
    • Travel Outside Australia (TOAS) screen
    • Immigration Advised Movements (RSIM) screen
  • Parental information via MOD JY
  • Study details on the Education Details/Education Course Details (EDC) screen

Is the RS family home located overseas?

7

Overseas RS family home

If the RS family home is located overseas the full overseas address is not required. Overseas can be entered into the Country: field on the RLD screen.

Note: when a response of No is provided to the question 'Is your family home located in Australia?' the system will attempt to load Overseas to the Country: field and the full address will not display.

Go to Step 8.

8

RLD screen - regional classification and institution

Regional classification

This is populated by the system based on the details entered in the Address fields and the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS):

  • Major City (RA1)
  • Inner Regional (RA2)
  • Outer Regional (RA3)
  • Remote (RA4)
  • Very Remote (RA5)

Institution

This field does not display in Process Direct. In Customer First it pre-populates with provider details from the EDC screen.

9

RLD screen - campus coding

Service officers can obtain campus codes from the National Course Approvals sub site.

Update:

  • Campus 1 field, for approved study:
    • at an Australian institution: a valid campus code for the institution
    • overseas: OS - Overseas Campus
    • where the RS family home was located overseas at the time of course commencement enter 'regional placement'. This will assess the student as being qualified for RS and not pay the regional rate in relevant subsequent years
  • Campus 2 field, only if the student is attending more than one campus or location

The regional classification of the campus location will be determined from what is entered. If the campus is overseas, it is treated as a regional Australian campus. The regional rate will apply if the student's family home is not in a major city area within Australia.

Is the campus located overseas?

10

Overseas campus updates

Recording campus as overseas will result in the campus being treated as a regional area. It can also result in student being qualified to receive RS, this is a different qualification assessment to assessing the RS family home location at the time of course commencement.

If the student qualifies for RS as a result of studying overseas, in a separate activity create another RLD screen entry with:

  • Event date: future end date of Customer Advised Travel Details (RSCD) screen OFS coding + 1 day
  • Address Date: same date as Event Date
  • Campus 1: valid campus code for study when they return to Australia

This ensures the overseas entry will not remain indefinitely and the student is not overpaid.

11

Campus location requirements on RLD screen

Campus Rgn Vrfn Code field in Process Direct or Ver field in Customer First.

Update to:

  • CNR (campus verification not required) if the RS family home address is in a location classified as:
    • inner regional, outer regional, remote or very remote
    • an Australian major city and their study location is in an area classified as an Australian major city
  • CVR (verification required) if the RS family home address is in a location classified as an Australian major city and their study location is in an area classified as regional

Campus verification is required for students whose RS family home is classified as being in an Australian major city location and:

  • all or part of their course in a given year is at a campus or practical placement in a non-major city (inner regional, outer regional, remote, or very remote) location within Australia, or
  • they are studying overseas as part of their approved Australian course

Is campus verification required?

12

Campus verification required

In Customer First, the Ver field will auto-populate CVR when the campus has been entered.

In Process Direct, key CVR in the Campus Rgn Vrfn Code field. This will automatically:

  • issue a SY101 requesting verification of study location
  • create a review (RS1) to mature 29 days before 21 February each year
  • create a second review (RS2) to mature in 6 months if verification has not been provided when the RS1 review matures

If campus verification is not received by the end of the RS2 review, the field will automatically default to CNP.

If the SY101 is not automatically issued to the customer:

  • manually print a SY101 and send to the customer. See the Resources page for a link to Online forms, or
  • advise a copy of the SY101 can be downloaded from the Services Australia website

Until CLV is updated in the Campus Rgn Vrfn Code or Ver field, RS will not be paid to students:

  • whose RS family home address is in a major city location in Australia, and
  • studying at a regional or overseas campus

For students approved to study overseas, verification can be obtained from the documents provided for their portability assessment.

Is campus verification provided?

13

Campus verification provided

Check that the education institution on the form matches the details on the EDC screen, and the campus matches the campus code recorded on the RLD screen.

Update the Campus Rgn Vrfn Code or Ver field on the RLD screen. If the information:

  • verifies approved study at an overseas campus, use CLV (campus location verified)
  • matches the coding on the EDC screen, use CLV
  • does not match the coding on the EDC and/or RLD screens, make updates to record the provider on the SY101 form first, then use CLV

If eligible, this update will pay RS.

14

Finalising the RLD screen

Process Direct - Provisional data will pre-populate on the RLD screen. Service officers can:

  • Edit and Delete provisional data
  • Select Add to add a new line
  • Select Save

Customer First:

  • Source: and Receipt Date: fields, as appropriate
  • Action: field, as appropriate:
    • I to insert
    • C to change
    • D to delete
  • Press [Enter] or select Continue

If the customer's address does not generate a Regional Classification, it may be necessary to enter details in the Latitude and Longitude fields. In Process Direct selecting the Data Search Prompt Data Search Prompt in either the Address Latitude or Address Longitude boxes will populate results in both. If service officers need to enter the latitude and longitude manually, see the Latitude and longitude task card on the Resources page.

Check that the RS payment is paid at the correct amount. See Table 2.


Checking that RS payment is paid at the correct amount

Table 2: for service officers trained in students.

Expand table

Step

Action

1

Amount of RS issued by the system

Service officers must take care to ensure the student receives the correct rate of RS.

See the Resources page for:

Note: breaks in away from home coding on the Independent/Homeless/Away from Home Details (NIH) screen can incorrectly result in the system paying the higher rate or regional rate of RS when only the lower rate is payable.

Has the system issued the correct amount?

2

Manual override of incorrect RS payment

If the system issues the incorrect amount, manually change the amount on the One Off Payment (OOP) screen.

To Amend the rate of RS

Process Direct:

  • From the Entitlements (ELD) screen, go to the OOP screen
  • In the One Time Payment field, correct the rate of RS
  • Select the appropriate Change Reason Code, then select Update
  • The RS payment will be updated to the correct amount

Customer First:

  • Select ('S') the RS activity on the Activity List (AL) screen and go to the OOP screen
  • Correct the rate of RS and press [Enter]
  • The RS payment will be updated to the correct amount

Is the override being actioned within a new claim activity?

  • Yes, and:
    • error E054D - Customer must be CUR on ABY, YAL or AUS - Student must be receipt of ABY, YAL or AUS to be granted a Relocation Scholarship occurs, go to Step 3
    • otherwise, go to Step 9
  • No, go to Step 9

3

E054D warning in a new claim (NCL) activity

If the following warning occurs E054D - Customer must be CUR on ABY, YAL or AUS - Student must be receipt of ABY, YAL or AUS to be granted a Relocation Scholarship, an override must be performed.

In the NCL activity:

  • go to the Higher Education Scholarship Details (HESD) screen and key the following:
    • Type: ORS
    • Receives: Y
    • Start Date: 1 January of the RS year
    • End Date: 31 December of the RS year
  • when all other required updates are made, finalise the NCL activity without payment of RS

After finalising the NCL activity:

  • go to the HESD screen and delete the manual ORS entry. This will prompt the RS payment of the incorrect higher amount
  • complete the Source and Receipt Date fields as appropriate
  • go to the OOP screen from the Assessment Results (AR) or ELD screen
  • on the OOP screen correct the rate of RS and press [Enter]
  • the RS payment will be updated to the correct amount
  • finalise the activity and record details on a DOC

Procedure ends here.

4

RS incorrectly issued to a non-qualified student

Review the RS automatic payment conditions table on the Resources page. If the coding is correct and the system has or will incorrectly issue the RS to a non-qualified student:

  • go to the HESD screen and key the following:
    • Type: ORS
    • Receives: Y
    • Start Date: 1 January of the RS year
    • End Date: 31 December of the RS year (leave blank if coding the override for a customer being granted the dependent away from home rate pending proof of independence)

Has this action resulted in an overpayment?

5

Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship (CAS)

The RS is not payable for the period if the student:

  • received a CAS in the 12 months immediately before the date they qualify for an RS, or
  • qualified for a CAS during that period but did not receive it only because their CAS was suspended, for example, due to the student failing to meet CAS performance requirements in a preceding period

If RS has been paid for the same period, go to Step 6.

Otherwise, go to Step 9.

6

Overpayment of RS

An overpayment must be raised if a student receives an RS and subsequently ceases to qualify for the RS.

Usually, the whole amount of the RS is raised as an overpayment. However, if the student receives a higher rate of RS than they were eligible for, the overpayment is the difference between the 2 amounts. See Scenario 3 in the Manual adjustments to system issued RS payments table on the Resources page.

If the incorrect higher rate has already been paid, for:

When an RS debt is raised

A debt may be raised for the whole amount of RS paid for a time when:

  • YA or ABSTUDY Living Allowance was not payable to the student throughout a period (whether or not they were qualified for YA or ABSTUDY Living Allowance at that time)
  • the student received an RS payment because they proposed to undertake an approved scholarship course in a period, however they:
    • do not start to undertake that course (this does not apply if the Secretary is satisfied that the student was prevented from starting the course due to exceptional circumstances beyond the person's control), or
    • are not undertaking that course at the end of 35 days after the course commences in the relevant study period, or
    • are not undertaking that course at the end of 35 days after their qualification date for the RS
  • a reassessment reduces a student's entitlement to YA or ABSTUDY Living Allowance during the entire period so that only Rent Assistance (RA), Pharmaceutical Allowance (PhA) or both were payable. Any RS they received in relation to that period is a debt

This is not a full list of RS debt reasons.

7

System creates potential debt

The system may create an RS overpayment based on:

  • coding on the EDC screen
  • the default study start date, where applicable

Before raising or actioning a debt, check:

  • the student's actual start date
  • whether the student is studying in an approved scholarship course on day 35 from qualification date in the period

Do not rely on the default study start date, it may not reflect the student's actual start date for the current semester/study period.

If the debt should not have been created:

  • clearly document the record so the debt team can review the circumstances
  • update the HESD screen to prevent duplicate RS payment for the same period:
    • Type: ORS
    • Receives: Y
    • Start Date: 1 January of the RS year
    • End Date: 31 December of the RS year

Go to Step 9.

8

RS payment not displaying

For students receiving:

  • ABSTUDY, the Payment Summary (PS) screen will display all RS payments for the student until the end of course (or end of RS qualification if earlier)
  • YA, the PS screen will only display the RS payments that occur in the next 2 pay periods. Check the Future Activity List (FAL) screen for the future scholarship qualification date. The FAL activity will mature on the Action Date and pay RS if the student meets all the qualification criteria at that time. Otherwise, a new FAL activity will be created for the student's next Entitlement Period End Day (EPED) to determine eligibility

If there is no FAL activity, check that the requirements in the RS automatic payment conditions table on the Resources page have been met. If the details recorded are correct, the record may need to be reassessed to generate payment.

Go to the Benefit Action (BA) screen and update the following fields:

  • Benefit: YAL
  • Action: REA
  • Effect Date: today's date
  • Source and Receipt date as appropriate

If the reassessment activity does not trigger payment of RS, go to the Higher Education Scholarship Details (HESD) screen and update the following fields:

  • Type: ORS
  • Receives: N
  • Start Date and End Date leave blank
  • Action: as 'I'nsert

Go to Step 9.

9

Complete the update

For new claims, continue to assess the claim. In the finalisation Note/DOC, include any information used to support the decision.

For non-new claims when all required updates are made, complete:

  • In Process Direct:
    • Select Assess and address any errors/warnings on the Errors (SWE) screen
    • Select Assess
    • Select Assess again, then select Finish
    • Record details of the update and outcome of the RS on the Finalise Note
    • Select Finalise to complete the transaction
  • In Customer First:
    • Complete the Source: and Receipt Date: fields, if required
    • Finalise the activity on the Assessment Results (AR) screen
    • Create a DOC using Fast Note and record reason(s) for the update and outcome of the RS