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You are here: ABSTUDY > 4 Study Requirements > 4.2 Schooling Award Study

4.2 Schooling Award Study

• 4.2.1 Where Can Students Study?
  • 4.2.1.1 Approved Institutions
  • 4.2.1.2 Secondary School
  • 4.2.1.3 Special Schools
  • 4.2.1.4 What is a "Secondary Course"
  • 4.2.1.5 Victorian Special Schools
  • 4.2.1.6 Action by Course Approvals Officers
  • 4.2.1.7 Statements from School Principals
  • 4.2.1.8 Students not Eligible for ABSTUDY
  • 4.2.1.9 Study at More Than One Institution
  • 4.2.1.10 Concurrent Secondary School Study and TAFE Study
  • 4.2.1.11 Home Schooling Arrangements
• 4.2.2 Attendance and Workload
  • 4.2.2.1 Schooling Workload
    • 4.2.2.1.1 Full-time Study
    • 4.2.2.1.2 Part-time Study
    • 4.2.2.1.3 Full-time Criteria
    • 4.2.2.1.4 School Based Apprenticeships/Traineeships
  • 4.2.2.2 Progress
    • 4.2.2.2.1 Progress
    • 4.2.2.2.2 Reasonable Time
    • 4.2.2.2.3 Approval of an Extension

Introduction

To be eligible for ABSTUDY Schooling Award, students must meet certain study criteria.

This chapter covers the education institution, level and workload requirements for secondary study.

4.2.1 Where Can Students Study?

4.2.1.1 Approved Institutions

Approved education institutions for Schooling Award are:

• government schools including those offering distance education/ correspondence courses;
• non-government education institutions offering primary, ungraded, secondary or special courses accredited by the relevant State or Territory education authority;
• senior secondary colleges; and
• TAFE institutions.

4.2.1.2 Secondary School

A secondary school is a school in Australia or on Christmas Island or Cocos (Keeling) Islands that is:

• a government secondary school, or
• a non-government school that is not conducted for the profit of a person and is recognised as a secondary school:
  • under State or Territory law,
  • for the payment of government capital or recurrent grants, or
  • for the payment of government grants or bursaries to the students.

4.2.1.3 Special Schools

To be eligible for ABSTUDY Living Allowance or Pensioner Education Supplement, as applicable, students at special schools are required to:

• study at an approved special school, ie, a school conducted primarily for students having a mental or significant physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability that is:
1. a government school, or
2. a non-government school that is recognised as a school:
   1. under the law of a State or Territory, or
   2. for the payment of government capital or recurrent grants, or
   3. for the payment of government bursaries or allowances to its students; and
• undertake study that the State/Territory education authority, non-government education authority or school Principal has stated, in writing, to be at secondary level

Where a student is studying in a course not approved for the purposes of ABSTUDY, the student’s family may be eligible for an allowance under AIC.

4.2.1.4 What is a "Secondary Course"

Neither the Determination of Education Institutions and Courses under sub section (51)(i) of the Students Assistance Act 1973 nor the ABSTUDY policy guidelines define what is a "secondary course" at a special school. Given this, a special school programme would be accepted as a "secondary course" for ABSTUDY purposes where an education authority determines the course to be secondary.

Centrelink Customer Service Officers are not expected to assess the level of study undertaken by individual students attending special schools. This assessment appropriately rests with an education authority, usually the relevant State/Territory or non-government education authority, as appropriate or, in some cases, the school Principal.

4.2.1.5 Victorian Special Schools

Advice from the Victorian Department of Education is that all students of secondary age at its special development schools, special schools or equivalent schools are regarded as undertaking secondary courses. All students who otherwise qualify for ABSTUDY Living Allowance or PES can be regarded as being of secondary age.

Note: There is a Centrelink Course Approvals Officers in each State/Territory who can provide confirmation on whether or not an individual school is an approved special development school.

4.2.1.6 Action by Course Approvals Officers

Where a State/Territory education authority or non-government education authority has not advised their position regarding the status of courses undertaken by special school students, the ABSTUDY course approvals officers should contact the education authority to ascertain whether the authority can provide a general statement advising that particular schools or type of schools provide secondary courses and that a particular type or age of student undertake such a course.

A general or blanket statement from an education authority will obviate the need to contact individual school Principals to confirm a student’s status and ensure consistency of ABSTUDY assessments within each State/Territory. For non-systemic non-government schools it may be necessary for the Principal to be contacted about the status of a student.

4.2.1.7 Statements from School Principals

While a general or blanket statement about the status of special school students may be able to be obtained from the relevant education authority, where this is not possible, a written statement from a school Principal will be necessary and should generally be obtained prior to ABSTUDY payments commencing.

As special schools would cater for students with a range of disabilities, it will not necessarily be the case that all students attending a particular school will be undertaking secondary-equivalent study. Because of this, and where there is no general or blanket statement from the relevant education authority available, the study programme undertaken by students applying for assistance will need to be individually confirmed by Principals.

Where a Principal advises that a student is of "secondary age", or undertaking "a modified curriculum" or study at, for example, "Year 11", the Principal should be asked to simply confirm that the student is undertaking a secondary course.

Where advice is given by a school Principal contrary to education authority advice that a student is 'secondary', the advice of the authority should take precedence. There should be few, if any, cases where conflict arises.

4.2.1.8 Students not Eligible for ABSTUDY

Generally, students 16 years of age and over, who are undertaking a course at a special school that is not ‘secondary’ for ABSTUDY purposes are likely to have a more substantial intellectual disability and therefore qualify for the Disability Support Pension. Thus, income support should normally always be available to students from needy families. Any cases where the student:

• is not receiving a Disability Support Pension; and
• is ineligible for ABSTUDY assistance because they are not undertaking an approved course,

should be referred to the Student Assistance Team, Youth and Students Customer Segment Team, Centrelink ABSTUDY Unit before the student is assessed as ineligible for assistance.

Also, where a State/Territory education authority or Principal advise that students are doing study other than at secondary level but consider that ABSTUDY should be available, details of the concern should be forwarded to the Centrelink ABSTUDY Unit for consideration.

4.2.1.9 Study at More Than One institution

A secondary student may study at more than one institution, providing her/his total workload is full-time. Full-time workload can be confirmed by the school or institution.

4.2.1.10 Concurrent Secondary School Study and TAFE Study

Senior secondary schools and TAFE colleges are increasingly offering the opportunity for students to gain greater exposure to vocational education while studying towards their Year 12 qualification. Such study aims to increase participant’s employment skills levels on leaving the secondary sector.

The following are to be treated as ‘secondary’ students even though some TAFE level study may be undertaken in conjunction with secondary subjects:

• secondary students who choose to take TAFE study outside of any formal arrangement between their secondary school and a TAFE college; and
• students whose TAFE or other vocational study may simply be credited to, or enable the student to enter, a TAFE course after secondary schooling is completed (ie the student is not formally enrolled in a TAFE qualification course at the same time as completing the secondary study). This is generally the case for students undertaking study under Australian Vocational Certificate arrangements and those in ‘Year 13’ type study.

4.2.1.11 Home Schooling Arrangements

To receive ABSTUDY, students are required to study at an approved education institution in an accredited award. It is not intended that assistance be provided to families who choose to withdraw their children from a formal school setting without consideration of the requirements of the relevant State/Territory education authority for the granting of education qualifications.

However, ABSTUDY can be made available for home-based schooling where the relevant State/Territory Government school education authority has given specific approval for an individual student to undertake home study and the authority confirms that the study is full-time and conforms with, and will be accredited towards, the secondary qualification accredited by that authority.

In the absence of education authority approval, ABSTUDY should be available for home schooling only where the student is:

• formally registered at a secondary school recognised for ABSTUDY purposes;
• studying accredited subjects; and
• undertaking a workload deemed to be full-time by the school.

4.2.2 Attendance and Workload

To be eligible for ABSTUDY Schooling Awards, students must meet certain attendance requirements.

This topic covers the workload and attendance requirements.

4.2.2.1 Schooling Workload

4.2.2.1.1 Full-time Study

A student must study full-time in the approved course to be eligible for assistance under an ABSTUDY Schooling Award unless s/he meets the criteria for a workload concession (see 4.4).

4.2.2.1.2 Part-time Study

Part-time schooling students who are 18 years or older at 1 January, may be eligible for assistance under the ABSTUDY Part-time Award.

4.2.2.1.3 Full-time Criteria

Students are considered full-time if they:

• attend school daily;
• do not attend school daily but have been approved by the relevant State/Territory education authority to study course work at home (original or certified copy of State or Territory approval must be provided) (see 4.2.1.5);
• do not attend school daily but study course work at home which is:
  • set by the school,
  • supervised regularly by the school, and
• the study mode is approved by the school

Note: This study mode will only be approved because of injury, illness or other circumstances beyond the student's control.

• study a course at TAFE or similar institution or by distance education/ correspondence and undertake at least three-quarters of the accredited amount of full-time work; or
• qualify for a workload concession (see 4.4).

4.2.2.1.4 School Based Apprenticeships/Traineeships

ABSTUDY students in years 11 and 12 who are involved in full-time secondary schooling and attending TAFE for one or two days a week on a traineeship are eligible for full ABSTUDY benefits. Any payment under the traineeship agreement is treated as personal income under the Income Bank rules. For example, the Toowoomba TAFE Certificate in Salon Practice Apprenticeship and the Clontarf Traineeships in West Australia.

4.2.2.2 Progress

4.2.2.2.1 Progress

There are no progress rules under the ABSTUDY Schooling Awards for school students. However, students undertaking secondary studies through a TAFE or similar institution are eligible for assistance providing they can complete the approved course of study within a reasonable time.

4.2.2.2.2 Reasonable Time

The table below defines what constitutes a reasonable time for different secondary courses studied at a TAFE or similar institution.

Note: These do not apply to students attending a school.

Note: The student’s eligibility should be measured at the start of the academic year, and at that date, the student must have studies less than the maximum time limit allowed. A student may continue to be eligible for ABSTUDY until the end of the academic year, even where s/he will have studied more than the maximum limit by the end of that academic year. That is, previous study is only measured against the reasonable time once a year, at the start of the year.

4.2.2.2.3 Approval of an Extension

The delegate may approve the extension of an award for up to one year beyond the reasonable time duration specified above if:

• the student’s progress has been impeded by physical, psychiatric or intellectual disability or other circumstance beyond her/his control (see 4.6.4.2); and
• the education institution recommends in writing that the student continues the course and indicates that the student is expected to complete the course this year.