Chapter 101 - Crisis Payment

Crisis Payment is a payment designed to assist new and existing ABSTUDY customers who are in severe financial hardship  through circumstances such as domestic violence, flooding and house fire, as well as those customers who need to re-establish themselves in the community after having been in prison or psychiatric confinement. 

To qualify for Crisis Payment, the claim must be made in Australia and the following criteria must be met:

• the student or Australian Apprentice must be qualified for one of the following ABSTUDY Awards:
  
• Schooling B Award; or
• Tertiary Award; or
• Masters and Doctorate Award; and
  
• the student or Australian Apprentice is in receipt of at least $1 of ABSTUDY Living Allowance, and
• the student or Australian Apprentice is in severe financial hardship the day on which the claim for Crisis Payment is made; and
• the student or Australian Apprentice is under extreme circumstances forcing departure from home; or
• the student or Australian Apprentice is a victim of domestic violence but remaining in their home; or
• the student or Australian Apprentice is a released prisoner or from psychiatric confinement.

101.2.1 Extreme circumstances forcing departure from home

A student or Australian Apprentice is qualified for a crisis payment if:

• the student or Australian Apprentice has left ,or cannot return to , his or her home because of an extreme circumstance; and
• the extreme circumstance makes it unreasonable to expect the student or Australian Apprentice to remain in, or return to, the home; and
• the student or Australian Apprentice has established, or intends to establish, a new home; and
• at the time the extreme circumstance occurred, the student or Australian Apprentice was in Australia; and
• the student or Australian Apprentice contacts Centrelink with their intent to claim within 7 days of the extreme circumstance occurring and then lodge the claim within 14 days of contacting Centrelink.

Note: Crisis Payment may also be payable to an alleged or actual perpetrator of domestic violence who has been removed from the family home by police following an instance of alleged or actual domestic violence and who cannot remain in, or return to the home for legal reason.  It must be verified that the perpetrator actually lived with the victim in the family home immediately before being removed from the family home by police.

101.2.2 Remaining in home after removal of family member due to domestic or family violence:

• the student or Australian Apprentice has been subjected to domestic or family violence, in Australia, by a family member of the student or Australian Apprentice, and at the time of the domestic violence the student or Australian Apprentice was living with that family member; and
• after the family member has been removed or leaves the student’s or Australian Apprentice’s home because of the domestic violence, the student or Australian Apprentice remains in their home; and
• the student’s or Australian Apprentice’s home is in Australia; and
• the student or Australian Apprentice notifies Centrelink within 7 days of the circumstance occurring and then lodges the claim within 14 days of the circumstance occurring.

101.2.3 Release from gaol or psychiatric confinement:   

• the student or Australian Apprentice is released from gaol, or from psychiatric confinement, after at least 14 days as result of having been charged with committing an offence; and
• the student or Australian Apprentice must make a claim for Crisis Payment no more than 21 days before their release or within 7 days after their day of release.  This includes release from overseas prisons provided the person returns to Australia and claims within 7 days of release.

101.2.4 Social work assessments

All Crisis payment claims related to domestic or family violence must be referred to a Centrelink Social Worker for determination.

101.2.5 Claim in Australia

A claim for Crisis Payment must be made in Australia

101.2.6 Number of Payments allowed

For Crisis Payment claims in respect of extreme circumstances or domestic or family violence, the student or Australian Apprentice is entitled to up to four Crisis Payments in any 12 month period including payments under ABSTUDY and those under the Social Security Act 1991.

There is no limit on the number of Crisis Payment claims in respect of prison or psychiatric releases.

An ABSTUDY Crisis Payment is not payable to a student or Australian Apprentice in respect of an extreme circumstance or release from goal or psychiatric confinement if the student or Australian Apprentice is qualified for a Crisis Payment under the Social Security Act 1991 in respect of the same circumstance.

Crisis Payment is paid in addition to the student’s or Australian Apprentice’s ABSTUDY Living Allowance. The amount paid is equal to one week's payment at the maximum basic rate of the ABSTUDY Living Allowance to which the customer is entitled.

The rate of Crisis Payment does not include any add-on payments such as Rent Assistance, Pharmaceutical Allowance or Remote Area Allowance.

101.4.1 Payment frequency

Crisis Payment is made as a one-off payment which is equal to one week’s payment at the maximum basic rate of the ABSTUDY Living Allowance to which the customer is entitled.

101.4.2 Payee

The payee for Crisis Payment will be the student or Australian Apprentice.

101.4.3 Taxation Status

For details of the tax status of Crisis Payment, see Chapter 5 Taxation.

101.4.4 Overpayments

Where payments in excess of entitlement have occurred, refer to Chapter 3 Overpayment and Recovery of Allowances to determine what a recoverable debt is and from whom this amount should be recovered.