Reporting requirements for students and Australian Apprentices 010-10000000

Students and Australian Apprentices are required to notify Services Australia of any income they receive in accordance with their notification obligations.

All Australian Apprentices must be profiled as 2 weekly reporters.

Students must be placed on 2 weekly reporting within the new claim activity, where:

• their online claim indicates that they and/or their partner (where applicable) are employed
• documents are provided indicating regular work (e.g. recent payslips or bank statements which show pay being deposited), or
• a DOC or Note on their record advise the customer and/or partner is paid employment income

Note: customers only receiving business or self employment income, are not required to be placed on 2 weekly reporting. See Recording and correcting employment income details.

Australian Apprentices are automatically profiled as 2 weekly reporters when their claim is granted. They must report any gross income paid to them, as well as the hours they have worked.

Students are able to advise online that they or their partner have commenced employment. Once they commence reporting online, they are automatically placed onto 2 weekly reporting to declare their employment income. If a customer is currently a notification reporter, they can add their and/or their partner’s employment details by selecting Report employment income under the heading 'Income and assets'. Notification reporters need to advise within 14 days if they and/or their partner (if applicable) commence work.

The Service Profiler determines how often a customer is due to report based on their employment income and circumstances.

Youth Allowance (YA) and Austudy student customers are profiled as a:

• 2 weekly reporter if they have employment income
• notification reporter if they have no employment income

ABSTUDY customers are profiled as a:

• 2 weekly reporter if they have employment income
• notification reporter if they have no employment income

If an ABSTUDY customer has continuous income recorded resulting in a nil payment of Living Allowance, they remain a 2 weekly reporter for 6 consecutive fortnights. If, at the end of the 6 fortnights, they remain ineligible for Living Allowance, they will be re-profiled as a notification reporter.

Australian Apprentices are profiled as a 2 weekly reporter, and must report any gross income paid to them as well as the hours they have worked.

Customers automatically taken off 2 weekly reporting:

• YA and Austudy students under 55 years of age who have reported no income for 20 consecutive weeks
• Austudy students age 55 and over who have reported no income for 24 consecutive weeks

Students and Australian Apprentices on 2 weekly reporting who contact Services Australia to report employment income (REI) are required to complete the transaction via self-service (online, Express Plus Centrelink App or phone self-service). See Accessing and using Centrelink self service for further information.

Genuine attempts must be made to transition customers to report via self service options before assisted reporting is completed, unless an Exception applies.

Early reporting

Early submission of Reporting Statements is usually not acceptable. There are some situations when an early report can be accepted for future processing, including:

• where arrangements are in place for national public holiday processing
• events which would result in cancellation of payment (e.g. returning to full time work)
• changing payday codes, and
• where the customer is going overseas, see:
• Youth Allowance (YA) customer going overseas
• Austudy customer going overseas, or
• ABSTUDY or ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) customer going overseas

Late reporting

Self-service can be used:

• up to 13 days after the Entitlement Period End Day (EPED)
• up to 22 days after the date of grant of a new claim

If a student or Australian Apprentice fails to report within that time, their payments will automatically cancel.

For example, a grant is finalised on 15 April and backdated to 4 February (the date the claim was submitted). The customer is issued with an initial Reporting Statement, due on 17 February. Payment will automatically cancel if the customer has not reported by 7 May, which is 22 days after the grant was finalised.

Service Profiler will automatically place customers on 2 weekly reporting, when their claim is granted and a homelessness indicator is recorded.

Homeless customers who receive Youth Allowance (Student) and have no personal or partner earnings should be taken off 2 weekly reporting.