Payments for students under 18 years paid to student, parent or a third party 010-09010000

YA and ABSTUDY is paid to the customer, except in certain circumstances. The payee can include:

• Parent(s)/guardian(s)
• Payment Nominees, or
• Third parties

Independent

Independent students will receive payments to their own account unless they appoint a Payment Nominee.

See:

• Independence for ABSTUDY customers
• Independence for Youth Allowance (YA) customers

Dependant

Dependant customers who are under the age of 18 will have payments made to their parent/guardian(s), except in certain circumstances.

A dependent student (16-17 year old) may receive the payment, if:

• it is unreasonable for the student to live at home, or
• they do not benefit from the allowance because their parent(s)/guardian(s) are using it for other purposes, or
• their parent(s)/guardian(s) choose to have the payment made to the young person and they authorise the change. Parents can change the payment destination back at any time without explanation or reason

ABSTUDY payments will go to the student if they are:

• studying at a secondary non-school, tertiary or Masters and Doctorate level, or
• undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship

An ABSTUDY student or Australian Apprentice who are in State Care receiving Living Allowance receives their allowances direct. However, the relevant government authority (or an organisation approved by that authority) may request that payment be made to the caregiver or a person nominated by the student or Australian Apprentice, if:

• the payment of allowances directly to younger students or Australian Apprentices could jeopardise the student-carer or Australian Apprentice-carer relationship, or
• it is determined that the student or Australian Apprentice is unable to manage their own finances, for example, a student in a special school

There can only be one payment destination. Any disagreement between two parent(s)/guardian(s) as to the payment destination must be resolved. If the student is dependent on only one parent, then Services Australia will comply with that parent/guardian's request.

When a dependent YA or ABSTUDY student turns 18 years of age, the payment must be paid to one of the following:

• an account held by the student
• a joint bank account with their parents
• a Payment Nominee

ABSTUDY students approved for away from home entitlements have strict rules governing the payment of away from home rate for ABSTUDY. This includes boarding organisations receiving full student entitlements. While payments may be made to a third party, they remain the taxable income of the student. See Payments to third parties and institutions for ABSTUDY.

If the student is at boarding away from home to attend school, ABSTUDY may be paid directly to the school/hostel or private board provider. There are certain 'payees' for students in receipt of ABSTUDY Living Allowance, see ABSTUDY Living Allowance.

Note: some students who are boarding may have their payments directed to a Boarding School or Hostel that is a signatory to the ABSTUDY Hostel Agreement. However, bank details still need to be recorded for the carer or student on the Payment Destination Summary (PAS) screen so that residue/supplementary payments are paid correctly.

AIC payments are made to the applicant. The applicant can request that payments be made to the student or a third party. Third parties may include:

• a private board provider
• educational institution (for example, boarding school)
• a student accommodation provider (for example, school term hostel)
• a non-government organisation who is an approved applicant for an eligible student

AIC does not have a provision for nominee arrangements, payments to a third party on that basis cannot be made.