Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) 010-12000000
Expand allThe Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) closed from 1 January 2004. Since December 2005 all outstanding Financial Supplement Loans (FSL) have been transferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for recovery.
This document outlines the Student Financial Supplement Scheme and all outstanding Financial Supplement Loans.
Government intent
The Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) was a voluntary loan scheme which gave eligible tertiary students the option of borrowing money to help cover their expenses while they studied. The voluntary loan was known as a 'Financial Supplement loan (FSL)'.
Students may have been eligible for FSL as a Category 1 student or as a Category 2 student.
Category 1 student
To be eligible for FSL as a Category 1 student, the student needed to be a tertiary student who qualified and was payable for one of the following primary benefit payments:
- ABSTUDY Living Allowance
- ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES)
- Austudy
- Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) PES
- Youth Allowance (YA) (students)
Note: PES has formally been known as Family and Community Services (FaHCSIA) PES and Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) PES.
A Category 1 student traded in $1 of their primary benefit for every $2 of FSL received. For example, if a student traded in $2000 of their primary benefit, they would have received $4000 of FSL for the year.
The student could have elected to trade in all or part of their basic benefit. However the minimum FSL available was $500 (requiring a trade in of $250) and the maximum FSL available was $7000 (requiring a trade in of $3500). Only the student’s basic benefit could be traded in. Add-on payments such as Rent Assistance (RA) could not be traded in.
Note: the amount the student could trade in was based on the amount of payment they would receive under the qualifying payment for the period that they were eligible in the calendar year. If the student would receive less than $250 for this period, then they would not have enough to trade in for the minimum loan of $500 and would not receive an offer.
Category 2 student
A Category 2 Financial Supplement loan (FSL) was available to dependent tertiary students who were not eligible for ABSTUDY Living Allowance (Basic Payment) or Youth Allowance (YA), but would have been eligible if not for the Parental Means Test. To be eligible for the loan, the adjusted family income had to be below the Category 2 threshold. The trade in rules do not apply to Category 2 students as there was no basic benefit/living allowance payment to trade in. The minimum loan amount was $500 and the maximum loan amount was $2000. If a student was receiving a Category 2 loan, their parents could not claim Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for them.
Note: secondary level students could not receive FSL. This was irrespective of their age or whether they were undertaking their study at a Technical and Further Education (TAFE) college.
The funds for the FSL were provided by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). When the student applied for FSL, the student entered into a loan contract with the CBA for a contract period. All loans were administered by Centrelink (now Services Australia) until the end of the contract period. At the end of the contract period, the outstanding loan was transferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The loan then became a debt to the Commonwealth and is repayable through the taxation system.
Note: the final balance on all outstanding loans will show as zero on the Centrelink system. This does not mean that the loan has been zeroed off, just that the balance has now been transferred to the ATO for recovery through the taxation system.
Contents
Rates of Financial Supplement loan (FSL)
Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) roles and responsibilities
Repayment of Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) loans
Related links
Repayment of Financial Supplement loan (FSL) after transfer to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Reissuing annual Financial Supplement loan (FSL) statements
Accessing details of Financial Supplement loans (FSLs)
Dealing with disputed Financial Supplement loan (FSL) repayments
Excess repayment of Financial Supplement loan (FSL)