Relocation Scholarship (RS) eligibility 010-07030020

To be eligible for RS the student must be:

• qualified for Youth Allowance (YA) or ABSTUDY Living Allowance, and
• receiving:
• at least $1 of YA basic benefit or ABSTUDY Living Allowance, or
• a nil rate of YA basic benefit or ABSTUDY Living Allowance, but continue to receive payments of either Energy Supplement or Youth Disability Supplement, and
• one of the following:
• considered dependent and eligible for the away from home rate
• in one of the categories of independent students who are disadvantaged by personal circumstances, or
• an ABSTUDY Student in State Care not receiving Foster Care Allowance.
  These students are assessed the same way as ABSTUDY dependent students who were living away from home

Students who receive assistance from Veterans' Affairs under the Veterans' Children's Entitlement Scheme (VCES) or Military Rehabilitation or the Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme (MRCEATS), may be entitled to a Relocation Scholarship (RS) from Veterans' Affairs. These students must contact Veterans' Affairs for more information. The Resources page has a link to DVA.

Does the student meet the eligibility criteria?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, student is not eligible for RS. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here

When the course started, was the student's RS family home in an Australian major city?

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

When the course started, was the student's place of study in an Australian major city?

• Yes, higher education students who study an Australian approved scholarship course overseas may receive the RS. If the customer:
• has or will commence undertaking approved study overseas that contributes to their Australian qualification go to Step 4
• has not or will not commence undertaking approved study overseas that contributes to their Australian qualification the student is not eligible for the Relocation Scholarship (RS). Code CNR (campus verification not required) in the Verification field on the RLD screen and record details in a DOC. Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 4

To qualify for RS the student must be:

• enrolled at an approved higher education provider, and
• be undertaking an approved scholarship course, and
• have a participation status code that is equal to a full-time or concessional study load enrolment (APC, C25, C66 or FTS) coded on the EDC screen, and
• intends to be studying in an approved scholarship course 35 days after qualification date in the relevant scholarship period. A student is entitled to retain the RS if exceptional circumstances have prevented them from meeting the 35 day requirement. If the system has incorrectly calculated the 35 day period, an overpayment will need to be manually calculated

Higher education students who study an Australian approved scholarship course overseas may receive the RS.

Does the student meet the eligibility criteria for RS?

• Yes, go to Step 5
• No, the student is not eligible for RS. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here

The student may receive the following payments within the period:

• YA basic benefit
• ABSTUDY Living Allowance, or
• A nil rate of either YA basic benefit or ABSTUDY Living Allowance and either
• Youth Disability Supplement, or
• Energy Supplement

Has the customer received, or will they receive one of the above payments for at least one day during the period?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, the student is not eligible for RS. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here

Has the YA or ABSTUDY student in the same period already received:

• RS (on either payment)
• RS under the VCES or MRCEATS schemes (paid by Veterans' Affairs), or
• a Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship)?
• Yes, student is not eligible for a RS. Record details on a DOC. If student has received a CAS, check the Higher Education Scholarship Details (HESD) screen for details. If CAS details have not been entered, record CAS details using the Record Tertiary Scholarship Details script Procedure ends here
• No, go to Step 7

The warning message 'W014ED - Previous Tertiary Education Details - no CAS data recorded on HESD' may appear if there are no details recorded on the HESD screen and the student may be eligible for a RS.

Has the student reached the age of independence for YA or ABSTUDY?

• Yes, go to Step 8
• No, go to Step 9

RS is not payable to a dependent away from home person once they reach the age of independence, even if they had previously been paid RS.

If an independent student who is disadvantaged by personal circumstances has reached the age of independence, they may still qualify for RS if:

• they have received it previously, and
• in the last 12 months they have not received one of the following payments:
• RS for YA or ABSTUDY
• Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship (CAS), or
• RS through Veterans' Affairs, and claims YA or ABSTUDY Living Allowance after they become independent due to age

Students aged 25 years or over cannot qualify for RS for a new course.

YA and ABSTUDY customers who reach the age of 25 and have otherwise retained eligibility for RS, may continue to receive RS until they finish their current course.

YA customer must apply for Austudy if they want to start another course after they have completed their RS scholarship course. RS is not payable for Austudy. RS is not payable to ABSTUDY customers who commence another course after they have turned 25.

See the Resources page for examples.

Has the student reached the age of independence and do they meet the independent students disadvantaged by personal circumstances criteria?

• Yes, students in this situation may continue to receive RS only until they turn 25, or until the end of their current course, whichever occurs later, see Determining minimum and maximum age for Youth Allowance (YA). Go to Step 10
• No, student is not eligible for RS. Record details on a DOC. Procedure ends here

YA or ABSTUDY customers may be temporarily granted the dependent away from home rate pending proof of independence.

A customer is considered to be independent from their YA or ABSTUDY start date if it is later found that they qualified for independence on that date.
Note: system limitations may prevent this start date from being coded in some instances.

Independent YA or ABSTUDY customers:

• do not qualify for RS unless disadvantaged by personal circumstances
• cannot choose to receive the dependent away from home rate and RS instead of the independent rate
• cannot have independence coded with a later start date to allow RS to be paid with the dependent away from home rate
  Note: the independent rate can only start from a later date:
• if the customer genuinely qualifies for independence from a later date, or
• if instructed to when following an Operational Blueprint process
• may incur an overpayment/recoverable debt if it is later determined they were independent on their YA or ABSTUDY start date

For this reason RS must not be paid to YA or ABSTUDY customers who:

• indicated they are independent for a reason that is not considered to be disadvantaged by personal circumstances, and
• not yet provided proof of independence, and
• been granted the dependent away from home rate pending proof of independence

Can the customer be paid RS?

• Yes for:
• ABSTUDY students, go to Step 10
• YA students, they meet the eligibility criteria for RS. See Relocation Scholarship (RS) Payment and Coding
• No, do not pay RS unless/until it is found that the customer does not qualify for independence and that the dependant away from home rate is the correct rate based on their circumstances. To prevent payment of RS see Relocation Scholarship (RS) Payment and Coding

ABSTUDY students must decide whether Residential Costs Option or RS is more beneficial for their particular circumstances. ABSTUDY students can receive the Masters and Doctorate Relocation Allowance and the RS in relation to the same period.

Is the student receiving ABSTUDY and the Residential Costs Option payment method in a relevant period?

• Yes, student is not eligible for RS, as student cannot receive RS for the same period. Record details on a DOC
• No, student meets eligibility criteria for RS. See Relocation Scholarship (RS) Payment and Coding