Austudy Payment is a Commonwealth Government of Australia income support payment for

students A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

above the age of 25 years of age, paid under the

Social Security Act 1991 The Social Security Act 1991 (SSA) is an act passed by the Parliament of Australia in 1991 to provide for the payment, to eligible people in Australia, certain pensions, benefits and allowances, and for other related purposes. The SSA was enacted ...

. It commenced operation on the 1 July 1998. Students below the age of 25 years are paid

Youth Allowance Social security, in Australia, refers to a system of social welfare payments provided by Australian Government to eligible Australian citizens, permanent residents, and limited international visitors. These payments are almost always administer ...

. In general, to qualify, one must be an Australian resident, over 25, and studying full-time at an approved education institution. However, students who were receiving

prior to turning 25 and are still pursuing the same course of study continue to receive

until they finish (or otherwise terminate) their course. Unlike

, Austudy Payment customers are considered independent from their parent/s and are not subject to the Parental Income Test, Family Assets Test and the Family Actual Means Test. From 1 July 1998 to 31 December 2007, Austudy Payment recipients were not entitled to Rent Assistance. As a result of the 8 May 2007 Federal Budget Announcement, the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

legislated to provide Rent Assistance as a supplementary payment to eligible recipients from 1 January 2008 Like most Australian Government

Department of Human Services (Australia) Services Australia, formerly the Department of Human Services and before that the Department of Social Security, is an executive agency of the Australian Government, responsible for delivering a range of welfare, health, child support payment ...

payments, administered under the

Centrelink The Centrelink Master Program, or more commonly known as Centrelink, is a Services Australia master program of the Australian Government. It delivers a range of government payments and services for retirees, the Unemployment, unemployed, f ...

master program, Austudy Payment is subject to a personal and/or partner income and assets test. From 1 April 2010, eligible higher education Austudy Payment recipients, became eligible for a

Student Start-Up Scholarship A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

for each semester of higher education study, at an approved

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...

institution in Australia. This scholarship has not been made available to students studying

Vocational Education Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an in ...

or Secondary School level courses.

References

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External links

Austudy

Welfare in Australia 1998 introductions Education finance in Australia

See also

References

External links