Assessing and coding a transfer to Austudy or Youth Allowance (YA) student claim from another payment 010-20020548

A claim must be lodged for Austudy or YA if the customer wants to transfer to either of these payments.

The Re-claim or Transfer for Austudy or Youth Allowance (SY089) paper claim is no longer accepted.

The transfer date for an Austudy or YA claim depends on a customer's circumstances and the payment the customer is transferring from. It may be the date the claim is lodged, the day after previous study ended, the study start date or date paid to plus 1 day, depending on payment qualification and what is most beneficial for the customer. See:

• Activity Test for Austudy
• Youth Allowance student full-time study requirements

Sometimes, a customer may qualify for Austudy or YA as a student and another income support payment at the same time.

In some cases, customers receiving qualifying payments for Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) may apply for Austudy or YA by mistake, instead of Pensioner Education Supplement. It may be more beneficial to remain on the existing payment. See Identifying the most beneficial payment for students or Australian Apprentices.

When a transfer without a break from another payment to Austudy or YA occurs, the same fortnight end-date is maintained, but the day the payment is received may change.

Eligible customers may receive payments or concession cards from the date they submit a completed claim, unless they are identified as vulnerable. See Intent to claim and vulnerable customers.

Austudy or YA customers are automatically entitled to a Health Care Card (HCC). When transferring from a current payment with a HCC, the system automatically determines which concession card is the most beneficial to the customer.

If a customer currently holds a Low Income Health Care Card (LIC) or another type of concession card, the customer can continue to use the card until the expiry date or until they receive an HCC.

Customers transferring from YA (job seeker) keep their current HCC and receive a new card when it expires.

Under the New Employment Services Model (NESM), study information will no longer appear in a customer's Job Plan. Job seekers can self-declare study through their Workforce Australia Online account. Self-declared study information can be viewed on the Point Based Activation Summary (PBAS) Dashboard in Process Direct. Employment Service Providers may approve study for short courses. This can be viewed on the Activity and Exemption Summary (AEX) screen.

Generally, a person who is studying full-time should test their eligibility for a student payment. However, some short courses of less than 12 months may be approved where the:

• job seeker is unlikely to find work with their existing skills, and
• course will enhance their immediate employability

Full-time study in a short course will preclude a job seeker from qualifying for JSP only where:

• they have been advised by their provider that their full-time study will not meet their mutual obligation requirements, and
• the job seeker is not willing to undertake other approved activities, such as job search, to meet their requirements

Job seekers who no longer qualify for JSP will be advised to claim YA (student) or Austudy. As there may be no indication of a short course approval being declined on their record, customer contact will be required to determine which payment is appropriate and payable.