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You are here: ABSTUDY > 4
Study Requirements > 4.1 Approved Courses of Study
To be eligible for ABSTUDY allowances, students must meet certain requirements regarding courses of study.
This chapter covers approved and non-approved courses of study and education institutions.
A mainstream course is a course available to all members of the Australian community.
All mainstream courses approved under the 'Determination of Education Institutions and Courses' No 1999/2 (see Appendix 2) are also approved for ABSTUDY. The determination does not specify full or part time courses.
It should be noted that the Determination of Education Institutions and Courses addresses only courses that are offered as (or can be regarded as) full-time courses. A mainstream course may still be approved for ABSTUDY if it meets all approval criteria except that it cannot be classified as a full-time course (see 4.1.1.3). Students undertaking such courses, however, can be approved only for part-time entitlements.
DIFFERENT TO YA/AUSTUDY PAYMENT FOR AWAY-FROM-HOME ENTITLEMENTS.
Indigenous special courses of study are courses developed with course content designed specifically for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Indigenous special courses of study may be approved subject to the course meeting course requirements below:
Note: Where there is an equivalent mainstream course, Indigenous special courses are to be approved as the mainstream course. Approval of Indigenous special courses should be undertaken in conjunction and agreement with the Senior ABSTUDY Customer Service Officer (CSO).
A course approved under 4.1.1.1 or 4.1.1.2 in previous paragraphs may be classified as a full-time course if it is:
A course offered by an institution only as a part-time course may be classified as a full-time course if the institution can define a full-time workload which meets one of the above criteria.
Students undertaking courses that may be classified as full-time courses may be assessed for full-time student entitlements, subject to their workload and eligibility for workload concessions (see 4.3.2.2).
A course must be regarded only as a part-time course if:
Students undertaking such courses can be approved only for part-time entitlements. Workload concessions cannot be applied to such courses.
An accredited secondary school course means a course accredited as a secondary course by the authority responsible for the accreditation of those courses in the State or Territory in which the course is conducted. These courses are approved as ‘schooling’ courses under ABSTUDY.
An accredited vocational education and training course means a course accredited as a vocational education and training course by the authority responsible for the accreditation of those courses in the State or Territory in which the course is conducted, and conducted by a Registered Training Organisation, which includes TAFEs, secondary school, non-government institution, and in some circumstances, a higher education institution.
These courses may be ‘schooling’ or ‘tertiary’ courses under ABSTUDY, depending on their content. Mainstream TAFE courses are defined in the ‘Determination of Education Institutions and Courses’ No. 1999/2 in Appendix 2 of the ABSTUDY Policy Manual.
Where institutions do not specify a TAFE level (this will particularly be the case in respect of non-government institutions offering vocational education and training courses), the Course Approvals officer must refer to course documentation such as a course prospectus in addition to the Determination at Appendix 2 to assess whether a course should be classified as a ‘secondary’ or a ‘tertiary’ course.
An accredited higher education course means a course that is:
These courses are approved as ‘tertiary’ courses under ABSTUDY.
Where a course includes both secondary and tertiary subjects, it should be determined to be either a secondary course or a tertiary course according to the criteria set out in Policy Manual - 4.2.1.4 for Schooling study and 4.3.1.5 for Tertiary study.
The New Apprenticeships Access Programme (NAAP) provides pre-vocational training and support and assistance for job seekers who experience barriers to skilled employment. Its primary focus is to assist disadvantaged job seekers to obtain and successfully participate in a New Apprenticeship. Secondary outcomes include full or part-time employment and further education and training
The structure of some qualifications includes modules (or sometimes short courses) which can be undertaken on a stand alone basis, but also link together to result in a complete qualification or a part-qualification with a Statement of Attainment award. The length of time to achieve a qualification, which may for example also include bridging programmes, will vary according to individual requirements and delivery arrangements. Also see 4.1.1.8.
Students enrolled in and undertaking parts of a qualification should:
these students can get ABSTUDY for 12 calendar months/full calendar year or to the end of the course for longer articulated short courses.
See 4.1.4 Study Through Open Learning Australia.
The Australian Quality Training Framework is the nationally agreed quality arrangements for the vocational education and training system. It includes standards for the registration and audit of training organisation and for the issuing of qualifications.
Registered Training Organisations and qualifications and courses meeting the Framework requirements are listed on the National Training Information Service (http://www.ntis.gov.au/). Registered Training Organisations must have the qualification/course listed in their scope of registration to enable them to issue the qualification or a related Statement of Attainment.
To ensure that students are not disadvantaged by taking courses offered under the Framework (or by using the flexibility available not to commit themselves to undertaking the longer course), ABSTUDY time limits are applied to allow the student either:
whichever is the greater.
Note: This refers to mainstream courses only and cannot be applied when assessing Indigenous special courses for approval.
An approved course may be studied by:
A short course is one not more than 30 weeks in duration, ie the first and last days are not more than 30 weeks apart. This period includes any holidays and vacations.
Students doing short courses are normally paid only from the start to the finish of the course.
Special rules apply for students who are undertaking successive short courses as part of an overall qualification, that is, ‘articulated’ short courses (see 4.1.1.7 and 4.1.1.8).
A late starting course is not a short course, but is one which:
Students studying in late starting courses are normally paid only from the start of the course, that is, from the beginning of the pay period which includes the first day of the course.
A full year course is a course that:
Students studying in full year courses normally study for the whole academic year. See 7.3.5.1 for the period of entitlement which applies.
The following courses are not approved for ABSTUDY:
Note: This does not apply to study programmes undertaken by students in lawful custody (see 5.7.1.3), Access Programme courses (see 4.1.3) or articulated short courses under the National Framework for Recognition of Training (see 4.1.1.4);
A course is considered to be comprised wholly of Away-from-base activities where there are no course work requirements in addition to the Away-from-base activities.
A course is considered to be comprised substantially of Away-from-base activities where there are minimal course work requirements in addition to the Away-from-base activities.
Courses are not considered to be comprised substantially of Away-from-base activities where there is an ongoing requirement for students to undertake course work throughout their study period, both during and between the Away-from-base activities. Such courses may then be approved if they meet the requirements of 4.1.1.1 or 4.1.1.2.
The Commonwealth Government provides pre-vocational training, support and assistance to job seekers who experience barriers to skilled employment to:
Commonwealth funding under the New Apprenticeships Access Programme (NAAP) is provided to cover only course related costs (participants are not required to meet any course fees or charges). As all course costs are paid, students undertaking NAAP courses are not eligible for Incidentals Allowance.
However, no direct financial assistance is provided to participants under the Programme and students can apply for ABSTUDY assistance other than Incidentals Allowance.
The New Apprenticeships Access Programme is tailored to meet the individual needs of the participant and as such, courses will vary in content and duration from student to student. There will be no established standard course (however, NAAP courses cannot exceed 26 weeks duration).
As it would be administratively cumbersome and time-consuming for each ABSTUDY applicant’s course to be individually approved, it has been decided that NAAP courses be generically approved.
The following details should be considered in relation to scheme eligibility.
New Apprenticeships Access Programme courses are tertiary level courses.
NAAP courses should be considered to have nominal class contact of 20 hours a week (the minimum required for short TAFE-type courses and Indigenous special courses). This value should then be used as the benchmark for assessing whether or not an ABSTUDY applicant meets the scheme’s workload rules:
NAAP courses run for a maximum of 26 weeks. Eligible ABSTUDY students can only be paid assistance for the actual duration of their course (ie, from the beginning of the pay period which includes the first day of the course, up to the end of the pay period which includes the last day of the course). Not all students will be required to study for the full 26 weeks. Students must give information on the length of their course in the ABSTUDY claim form.
"Open Learning" is available through Open Learning Australia (OLA) which is a broker of distance education from a number of institutions throughout Australia. It is committed to accessible, flexible delivery of quality education and provides study units from the Vocational, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Professional sectors.
Open Learning is coordinated by Open Learning Australia, which is located in Melbourne. Students register with Open Learning Australia to undertake a particular unit; the institution responsible for the selected unit is then contracted to offer that unit to the student.
At this stage, the student becomes the responsibility of the relevant institution, and must meet the normal student obligations associated with that institution in respect of advice of changes in circumstances (cessation of study, changes in address, etc).
Note: An Open Learning student may register for units at one or more of the participating institutions.
Open Learning students do not formally enrol in a degree course at a specific institution.
Institutions offering particular Open Learning units are responsible for assessing registered students at the conclusion of each study period. Results of assessments are forwarded by the institution to Open Learning Australia for entry onto its data base.
Participating institutions are committed to accepting successfully completed Open Learning units as credit towards appropriate qualifications/degrees that students may wish to enter at a later date.
Note: Assessment for Open Learning students is identical to that for internal students.
OLA has arranged for Centrelink Customer Service Centres to be placed on the mailing list for updates of available units. ABSTUDY Managers should contact the OLA direct if updates are not received or address details change.
Contact: Open Learning Australia
Level 6 30 Collins Street
Melbourne Victoria 3000
PO Box 18059
COLLINS STREET EAST VIC 8003
Telephone: (03) 9903 8900
Fax: (03) 9903 8966
There are four Open Learning study periods in a year, each extending over 13 weeks. For 2002, these are:
For Undergraduates:
| First study period | From 05 March 2002 to 01 June 2002 |
| Second Study Period | From 04 June 2002 to 31 August 2002 |
| Third Study Period | From 03 September 2002 to 30 November 2002 |
| Fourth Study Period | From 03 December 2002 to 01 March 2003 |
For Postgraduates and Professional Studies:
| Session 1 | From 26 February 2002 to 12 June 2002 |
| Session 2 | From 16 July 2002 to 30 October 2002 |
| Session 3 | From 03 December 2002 to 02 March 2003 |
Generally, university level units offered by OLA have a credit weighting of 1/8 or 0.125 of a normal full time workload for single units or 1/4 for double units or a weighting of 0.25.
Units with a credit weighting of 0.25 will generally run for two consecutive study periods of thirteen weeks each.
OLA also offers Vocational Education and Training (VET) modules. For ABSTUDY purposes the normal full time workload for an OLA student undertaking VET modules is 214 hours in a single study period.
University level units Students will normally need to register in and undertake at least two single Open Learning units in any one study period to receive assistance.
Units with a credit weighting of 0.125 will be identified by a 2 number unit code, (eg PSY11) and will generally run for one study period of 13 weeks. Generally a student would need to register in and undertake at least 2 of these units within any one study period to receive assistance.
Units with a credit weighting of 0.25 are identified by a 3 number unit code, (eg FRE112) and will generally run for two consecutive study periods of thirteen weeks each, but can range up to 39 weeks. Generally a student would need to register in and undertake at least 1 additional unit in a study period to receive assistance for that study period.
VET modules
Students who undertake OLA VET modules equivalent to 160 hours per study period may be eligible to receive assistance.
Note: The unit registration of students over two or more study periods is not averaged across the study periods.
Mary registers for three units in the first study period and one unit in the second. Mary is ineligible for assistance in the second study period as she is part-time. Her workload is not averaged to 2 units per study period.
The workload concessions for sole parent pensioners and students with disabilities also applies to Open Learning students. Students meeting the requirements of the concession can receive assistance as long as they study at least 25% of the normal full-time workload, ie one university level unit , or VET modules equivalent to 54 hours in a study period.
Open Learning study is to be treated as study in a ‘full year’ course. The assessment of entitlement periods will not significantly differ from that for conventional university full-year courses. The following tables set out the periods for which ABSTUDY can be paid in 2002 to students who meet the workload and other eligibility requirements including the requirements concerning commencement date of assistance, (see 7.3.5.1).
The following table sets out payment periods for student undertaking two units in a study period.
|
If the student studies two units in a study period: |
then ABSTUDY can be paid for the period*: |
|---|---|
|
four and one (across two calendar years) |
1 January to end of study period 1 |
|
one and two |
1 January to end of study period 2 |
|
one, two and three |
the full year |
|
one, two, three and four |
the full year |
|
two and three |
beginning of study period 2 to 31 December |
|
two and three and four |
beginning of study period 2 to 31 December |
|
one, three and four |
study period 1 and from beginning of study period 3 to 31 December |
|
three and four |
beginning of study period 3 to 31 December |
Note 1: Students studying in the 4th study period must have their situation assessed for the 2003 period/year to be paid after 31 December 2002.
Note 2: Consideration must be given to whether there has been a break in study, see Policy Manual - 7.3.5.4.
Assistance is also available to students who undertake at least two university level units in only one study period, or in two non-consecutive study periods. In these cases assistance is restricted to the actual duration of the study period/s involved.
The following table sets out payment periods for students undertaking three or more university level units in a study period.
|
If the student studies three units in a study period: |
then ABSTUDY can be paid for the period: |
|---|---|
|
one (only) |
1 January to end of study period 1 |
|
one and two |
the full year |
|
one, two and three |
the full year |
|
one, two, three and four |
the full year |
|
one and three |
the full year |
|
one, three and four |
the full year |
|
one and four |
1 January to end of study period 1 and beginning of study period 4 to 31 December |
|
two (only) |
beginning of study period 2 to 31 December |
|
two and three |
beginning of study period 2 to 31 December |
|
two, three and four |
beginning of study period 2 to 31 December |
|
two and four |
beginning of study period 2 to 31 December |
|
three (only) |
beginning of study period 3 to 31 December |
|
three and four |
beginning of study period 3 to 31 December |
|
four (only) |
beginning of study period 4 to 31 December |
Note 1: Students studying after 31 December 2002 in the fourth study period must have their situation reassessed for the 2003 period/year.
Note 2: Consideration must be given to whether there has been a break in study, see Policy Manual - 7.3.5.4.
Eligible students can receive assistance for study in the relevant exam period/s. Examinations are generally held during the weeks following the end of the Open Learning study periods. However, some institutions delay exams until later in the year. ABSTUDY is payable for examination periods and for ease of administration these are considered to be the three weeks immediately following the end of the relevant study period.
Eligible students can receive ABSTUDY up to and including the last day of the exam period. These dates are listed below:
|
Study period |
Exam period |
|---|---|
|
one |
5 June 2002 to 18 June 2002 |
|
two |
4 September 2002 to 17 September 2002 |
|
three |
4 December 2002 to 17 December 2002 |
|
four |
5 March 2003 to 18 March 2003 |
Note: *See 4.1.5.16 Students continuing study into 2003 from the fourth study period of 2002.
For ABSTUDY purposes, it is not necessary for students to register for Open Learning study for study periods in advance. The continuation of assistance from one study period to the next is based initially on the student’s stated intention to study in the next period in the required number of units and later confirmation of their formal registration (see Policy Manual - 7.3.8.3. Payment commences).
Note that the OLA does not require students to register for study in more than one study period at the same time. While it will accept registration for multiple periods, OLA recommends to students that it is in their best interests to register only in one or two study periods at the same time.
Payments should continue unbroken into the next study period if the proposed workload is acceptable, but will again be subject to confirmation of formal registration for that period.
Note 1: Local arrangements should be made to ensure review of entitlements towards the end of each study period, and timely follow-up to avoid gaps in payment.
Note 2: CSO nominated paragraph S90 may be used for this purposes:
“For payments to continue beyond the current study period, you must provide proof of continued registration with Open Learning Australia. The Official notification of registration must be supplied within four weeks of the commencement of each study period this year.”
Care should be taken in requesting confirmation of enrolment. For example, students who undertake three university level units in the second study period do not have to study in the third period for payments to continue through to 31 December 2002. However, a student who undertook two university level units, or VET level study, in the second study period would need to study in the third period to get assistance to 31 December 2002.
The fourth study period for 2002 starts on 3 December and extends through to 1 March 2003. Students studying in the fourth study period of 2002 can only receive ABSTUDY for 2002 up until 31 December 2002. To receive assistance in 2003, students will have to complete the applicable Centrelink form for continued payment. Where this is done, and eligibility is maintained for the duration of the fourth period, payment can be made for the period 1 January to the end of the fourth examination period. Students must register for the required number of units/modules in the first study period of 2003 for payments to continue after this time.
To receive full benefit, the following application closing dates apply to Open Learning students (unless extenuating circumstances apply):
|
If student first applies for ABSTUDY for study period: |
then the closing date for the application is: |
|---|---|
|
one |
18 February 2002 |
|
two |
19 May 2002 |
|
three |
18 August 2002 |
|
four |
17 November 2002 |
There may be cases where students enrol as conventional internal or external students, and also undertake one or more Open Learning units.
In the first instance, eligibility should be assessed for each form of study. The student would be eligible if the normal workload requirement is met in either the conventional course or in Open Learning study.
Where an institution accepts Open Learning study as part of the student’s primary course, the amount of work in both modes of study may be combined. The student must provide a letter from the academic registrar (or equivalent officer) of the institution confirming that the successful Open Learning study will be credited towards the student’s primary course. Note that a single university level unit of Open Learning study would equal 0.125 of a full-time HECS semester load.
See also 4.1.5.7 Eligibility minimum workload
A ‘semester’ refers to the usual half-year teaching period. It does not directly cover Open Learning study periods.
As a general rule Open Learning students who have had a break of more than two study periods can be considered to have had a break of more than one semester.
As vacation periods are disregarded when calculating the length of the break in study, a student studying in any one study period, would have to miss, (or study part-time without a concession), all or part of the next two study periods before being considered to have had a break in study of more than one semester.
The Open Learning Deferred Payment Scheme (OLDPS) is available for all undergraduate university units offered through OLA. It lets OLA students defer the payment of their OLA fees by taking out a loan with the Commonwealth Government. The scheme is similar to the HECS applicable to university study and the repayment arrangements are the same.
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