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You are here: ABSTUDY > 4
Study Requirements > 4.6 Attendance, Absence and Living Allowance
Adjustments
Absences from classes where attendance is a requirement of the course, will have a bearing on the student’s Living Allowance and, where relevant, Rent Assistance, Remote Area Allowance and Pharmaceutical Allowance.
This chapter covers the attendance requirements for students. It also contains the policy on approved and unapproved absences and the effect they have on the student’s Living Allowance and Rent Assistance, Remote Area Allowance and Pharmaceutical Allowance, where applicable.
Tertiary Students and TAFE Secondary Students
Tertiary students and TAFE Secondary students do not have attendances checks and so will not have unapproved absences. These students are checked for enrolment at least twice a year or as directed by the Compliance Unit.
For the purposes of ABSTUDY, secondary school students must satisfy ABSTUDY requirements test to qualify for their payment after a non-approved absence of more than five days in a term. These requirements include an activity test as evidence that the student is meeting attendance requirements. It is a written agreement negotiated between the student and the Centrelink Customer Service Officer. It is a signed record where the student agrees to attend school regularly. Other conditions may also be required.
To satisfy the requirements a secondary school student must :
An activity test breach occurs when a secondary school student does one of the following:
|
Breach |
Penalty |
| First breach in a year. (Student has had five days or more unexplained absences in a school term). | Five plus days in a term. A secondary school student will be required to enter into an ABSTUDY Activity Agreement, (see Policy Manual 4.6.2). The five days do not have to be consecutive. |
| Second breach in a year. (Student has not complied with the Activity Agreement in terms of school attendance). | A penalty of 18% of Living Allowance (Basic Payment), including Rent Assistance, Remote Area Allowance and Pharmaceutical Allowance, for a period of 26 weeks applies if Activity Agreement is breached for the first time. |
| Third breach in a year. (Student has again not complied with the Activity Agreement in terms of school attendance). | A penalty of 24% of Living Allowance (Basic Payment), including Rent Assistance, Remote Area Allowance and Pharmaceutical Allowance, for a period of 26 weeks applies. |
| Fourth and subsequent breaches in a year. (Student has still not complied with the Activity Agreement in terms of school attendance). | A penalty of 100% of Living Allowance, including Rent Assistance, Remote Area Allowance and Pharmaceutical Allowance, for a period of 8 weeks applies. |
A period during which an ABSTUDY allowance that would otherwise be payable to the secondary school student is payable at a reduced rate, or is not payable because of failure to comply with the requirements of the ABSTUDY Activity Test.
Subject to any pre-existing non-payment period or if a secondary school student commences a course, the length of an activity test non-payment period is 8 weeks. The non-payment period starts on the day on which notice is given to the secondary school student.
This applies if an activity test non-payment period applies to that secondary school student and during the whole or a part of that period
If, at the time of the commencement of an activity test reduced -payment period, the secondary school student is already subject to a pre-existing reduction period, the pre-existing reduction period is taken to end immediately before the commencement of the next activity test reduced -payment period.
The reasons for an exemption from the activity test, generally relate to circumstances that make it unreasonable for a secondary school student to satisfy the activity test and may include situations such as major personal crisis, bereavement and confinement.
For the purposes of ABSTUDY there is no Activity Test for students of compulsory school age (see 5.4.1.3). Responsibility lies with the individual State or Territory to ensure attendance requirements are complied with.
An activity agreement is a record of the agreed activities that a secondary school student will undertake to meet their activity test requirements. For secondary school students who are not full-time, these activities are formulated as an outcome of negotiations between the secondary school student and Centrelink.
Activity Agreements for full-time secondary school students are intended to lead to education outcomes. ABSTUDY recipients whole are full-time secondary students are required to enter into an Activity Agreement when the student has unauthorised absences of more than 5 days per term.
An Activity Agreement should take into account the student's individual circumstances and include suitable, achievable activities tailored to the individual student which will lead to educational outcomes. The Activity Agreement is to be approved by an Centrelink Customer Service Officer.
Secondary school students must and study full-time or qualify for a workload concession to retain their full Living Allowance and Rent Assistance, Remote Area Allowance and Pharmaceutical Allowance entitlement. For courses where attendance at class is required, secondary school students must attend classes regularly and for the full daily programme to be regarded as studying full-time.
The two types of absences for the purpose of Living Allowance calculations are:
Secondary School Students Only
Living Allowance and Rent Assistance, Remote Area Allowance and Pharmaceutical Allowance entitlement for secondary school students attending a school may be reduced if the cumulative number of unapproved absences during a term exceeds five full days (see 4.6.5.2 and 4.6.4.1).
Secondary School Students
Each secondary school student's enrolment and attendance details are to be checked at least twice a year or as directed by the Compliance Unit.
Tertiary Students and TAFE Secondary Students
Each full-time and part-time secondary student’s enrolment is to be checked at least twice a year or as directed by the Compliance Unit.
If a secondary school student resumes study after a vacation period after classes have commenced, this period of absence is to be assessed as approved or unapproved absence as appropriate depending on the circumstances of the absence (see also 7.3.5.3).
A secondary school student who discontinues in the course and subsequently resumes the same course in the same year is entitled to Living Allowance:
An approved absence is a period of absence that results from circumstances beyond the secondary school student's or applicant's control. Such absences have no affect on Living Allowance, Rent Assistance, Remote Area or Pharmaceutical Allowances.
Where a secondary school student has applied for a concession under ABSTUDY rules due to ‘circumstances beyond the secondary school students control, examples of situations that would be acceptable, include:
Note: Obviously, the above list is not exhaustive and it would be expected that the delegate would use her/his discretion to decide whether other exceptional circumstances not covered above may be considered to constitute unexpected circumstances ‘beyond the secondary school student’s control’.
The evidence required to apply the concession due to circumstances beyond the secondary school student’s control are:
Note: CSOs must obtain sufficient evidence to be satisfied that the concession can be granted on bona fide grounds. However, statutory declarations may be accepted for this purpose if it would be unreasonable, or would cause undue distress, for the secondary school student to obtain other evidence, eg death certificates.
An indication by the school in an attendance check that an absence was due to illness or other circumstances beyond the secondary school student's control may generally be accepted as sufficient evidence of approved absence.
An absence of up to 10 days or longer may be disregarded where it results from a transfer between schools if the absence is due to circumstances beyond the secondary school student’s control.
Full-time secondary school students will remain entitled to Living Allowance, Rent Assistance, Remote Area and Pharmaceutical Allowances during extended periods of approved absence unless they discontinue study.
Full-time tertiary and TAFE secondary school students will remain entitled to fortnightly allowances during an extended period of approved absence of up to eight weeks provided they:
Note: Students will be considered to have discontinued study at the end of the period as specified in the medical certificate unless they resume study or receive an additional extension as detailed below.
One only additional period of extension of entitlement may be granted if:
Note: Student will be considered to have stopped study on the last day of the period specified in the second medical certificate if they do not resume full-time study on the following day.
An unapproved absence is a period of absence that is not an approved absence. Such absences may reduce Living Allowance entitlement.
Unapproved absences include full days of absence from classes in respect of which:
If an education institution advises that a secondary school student has continuously failed to meet compulsory attendance requirements for a period in excess of two weeks without an acceptable reason, the secondary school student will be deemed to have discontinued full-time study.
If a secondary school student subsequently resumes after an extended period of unapproved absence, the provisions in 7.3.5 will apply unless the education institution retrospectively approves the period of absence.
Where retrospective approval for an absence has been granted the secondary school student will not be considered to have discontinued full-time study.
It would be expected that an education institution would only grant retrospective approval of an unapproved absence where a secondary school student:
A circumstance such as a vacation taken by the secondary school student with or without her/his family is not accepted as a circumstance beyond the secondary school student's control irrespective of whether the school approved the vacation.
A secondary school student has no entitlement to Living Allowance or Rent Assistance for a period during which s/he is expelled or suspended from school. This loss of entitlement is to be treated separately to losses due to unapproved absences, ie, entitlement should be ceased for the period of suspension or expulsion. However, if a satisfactory boarding placement can be found for a secondary school student who has been excluded from local schooling, the secondary school student is eligible for the away rate of Living Allowance in subsequent years (see 5.2.3.7).
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