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

Danni

• 32 years old
• Provider managed on JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Lodges Austudy (AUS) claim on 1 March 2023
• 9 month TGC level course beginning on 3 March 2023
• Not entitled to LTIS rate
• No employment income

Could be entitled to both JSP and AUS if:

• their provider grants a short course approval, or
• they can continue to meet their mutual obligation requirements while studying

• If Danni remains eligible, JSP appears to be most beneficial – basic rate is higher, no employment income so won’t benefit from student income test, course does not attract SSL
• If Danni does not remain eligible for JSP, AUS is the only appropriate payment
• Unless the above information has been recorded on Notes/DL, make 2 genuine attempts to contact Danni to find out their circumstances
• Record this conversation in the claim grant/reject DOC

Shaina

• 27 years old
• Receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Not entitled to LTIS
• Has short course approval
• Reports employment income of $400 each fortnight, no other income
• Lodges Austudy (AUS) claim on 14 March 2023
• 1 year TGA level course that began on 7 March 2023
• Has accepted SSLs for both study periods

• Remains eligible for JSP with short course approval
• JSP basic rate is higher
• Student income test is more beneficial than job seeker income test. Shaina’s income is under the student income free area so AUS rate would not be affected
• Compare maximum AUS basic rate to income affected JSP basic rate. Use the Payment and Service Finder if needed to compare rates
• Course attracts SSL
• Customer contact required to discuss options. Base decision on customer preference
• Record this conversation in the claim grant/reject DOC

Gertie

• 23 years old
• Provider managed on JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• No employment income
• Lives with parents
• Lodges Youth Allowance (YA) claim on 1 August 2022
• 1.5 year diploma that started on 3 July 2022
• No short course approval on AEX
• Study has been reported on PBAS

• YA basic rate is lower than JSP
• Study is over 12 months and Gertie should not be eligible for JSP from study start date, study has been accepted on PBAS reporting
• While Gertie cannot remain on JSP for a course of over 12 months, they will not be disadvantaged (e.g. JSP cancelled from study start date) where study has been accepted on any PBAS report since the study start date as part of their job seeking reporting requirements. Gertie is considered to be payable for both JSP and YA from 3 July 2022
• Qualification for JSP ceases on the date the YA claim is lodged
• Most beneficial grant date is 1 August 2022 – backdating YA to 3 July will result in a debt shell due to lower YA rate
• Record the reason for this decision in the claim finalisation note/DOC

Shannon

• 24 years old
• Provider managed on JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• No employment income
• Lives with parents
• Lodges Youth Allowance (YA) claim 26 April 2023
• 3 years bachelor’s degree that started on 28 February 2023
• No short course approval on AEX
• No study reported on PBAS

• JSP basic rate is higher than YA, but Shannon loses entitlement to JSP on 28 February 2023 as they are studying in a course over 12 months that is not on AEX or reported on PBAS
• YA can be backdated up to 13 weeks under Section 12, SS(A)A 1999, and granted from 28 February 2023
• Debt shell will be created for investigation for the difference between JSP and YA rates
• Record the reason for this decision in the claim finalisation note/DOC

Lorrae

• 34 years old
• Provider managed on JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Lodges Austudy (AUS) claim 13 July 2023
• 2 year associate degree that started on 28 February 2023
• No short course approval on AEX
• No study reported on PBAS

• Lorrae loses entitlement to JSP on 28 February 2023, as they are studying in a course over 12 months
• As the claim was lodged more than 13 weeks after the outgoing payment will cease, this claim is not considered a transfer. JSP should be cancelled from study start date and AUS assessed as a standalone new claim
• Record the reason for this decision in the claim finalisation note/DOC

Billy

• 23 years old
• Lives with parents
• Centrelink managed on Jobseeker Payment (JSP)
• Lodges Youth Allowance (YA) claim on 25 May 2023
• 3 year bachelor’s degree that started on 1 August 2022

• JSP basic rate is higher than YA, but Billy cannot remain on JSP as they are studying in a course over 12 months
• For student claim purposes, as a Centrelink managed customer, Billy is considered to have met JSP requirements up to the day before their YA claim was lodged
• YA could be backdated up to 13 weeks under Section 12, SS(A)A 1999. Billy qualifies for JSP and YA for that period. If YA was most beneficial, grant from 13 weeks before claim. If JSP is most beneficial, grant YA from claim lodgement date

Christy

• 28 years old
• Receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Single principal carer
• Reports earnings of $650 every 2nd or 3rd fortnight
• Lodges AUS claim 23 April 2023
• 2 year TSC level course that started on 1 March 2023

• Christy may qualify for both JSP (with PES) and AUS for the period 1 March 2023 to 23 April 2023
• Student income test v Principal carer income test
• Course attracts SSLs
• As it is difficult to determine what is the most beneficial decision for Christy, call the customer to explain their options and assess as per customer preference. If their preference is to stay on JSP, issue a PES claim
• Record this conversation in the claim grant/rejection DOC

Paul

• 34 years old
• Receiving Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP)
• Partner receiving JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Youngest child 3 years old
• No employment income
• Lodges Austudy (AUS) claim
• TGD level study (any length)

• As long as Paul retains entitlement to PPP, there is no benefit to transfer to AUS
• Customer contact required. Paul may want to transfer to AUS so that their partner can claim/transfer to PPP
• If Paul advises that he wants to transfer to AUS so that his partner can claim and receive PPP, transfer to AUS
• Record this conversation in the claim grant/reject DOC

Bianca

• 39 years old
• Receiving Parenting Payment Single (PPS)
• Youngest child 5 years old
• No employment income
• Lodges AUS claim
• TGB level study
• CUS has accepted SSLs for both all periods

• For as long as Bianca retains entitlement to PPS, she would be disadvantaged by transferring to AUS due to the considerably lower rate, even taking SSL into account

• Do not take lodgement of the AUS claim to mean Bianca has a preference to be transferred to AUS
• Contact Bianca. This will likely confirm that Bianca was:
• trying to claim PES, or
• didn’t realise that either PPS or AUS could be paid, not both.
  Assist Bianca to submit a PES claim
• Record this conversation in the claim grant/reject DOC
• Reject AUS COP