The purpose of the ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement is to provide help and so encourage certain disadvantaged Indigenous pensioner groups, such as sole parents and people with disabilities to take up study by providing a supplement to the pension to assist with ongoing expenses associated with full-time or part-time study.
To qualify for the ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement, the following criteria must be met:
- in receipt of one of the following payments made under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986:
- invalidity service pension; or
- carer service pension; or
- income support supplement; or
- partner service pension, if the partner receives invalidity service pension; or
- war widow/ers pension under Part II of the Veterans' Entitlements Act, if the widow/er has a dependent child; or
- defence widow/er's pension under Part IV of the Veterans' Entitlements Act if the widow/er has a dependent child; or
A customer is eligible for the ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement while in receipt of Newstart or Youth Allowance, as a job seeker, in the following circumstances:
- The person receiving Newstart or Youth Allowance (job seeker):
- has a partial capacity to work; and
- on the day (being a day occurring on or after 1 July 2006) immediately before the person last qualified for Youth Allowance or Newstart, was a transitional DSP applicant and was receiving a disability support pension; and
- on that day ceased to be qualified for that disability support pension because he or she no longer had a continuing inability to work within the meaning of Section 94
of the Social Security Act 1991 (Qualification for disability support pension-continuing inability to work); and
- on that day was qualified for a Pensioner Education Supplement in relation to a particular course of education or study; or
- The person receiving Newstart or Youth Allowance (job seeker):
- is the principal carer of at least one child and is not a member of a couple; and
- on the day (being a day occurring on or after 1 July 2006) immediately before the person last qualified for Youth Allowance or Newstart, was receiving a pension single; and
- on that day ceased to be qualified for a Parenting Payment because he or she no longer had a Parenting Payment child for the reason that his or her youngest dependent child had turned 8; and
- on that day was qualified for a pensioner education supplement in relation to a particular course of education or study;
and the person has:
- at all times since that day, been qualified both for:
- a Youth Allowance or Newstart; and
- a Pensioner Education Supplement in relation to that particular course of education or study; and
- at no time since that day, either undertaken fulltime study or been an Australian Apprentice under a Youth Allowance student or ABSTUDY Living Allowance.
A student does not qualify for ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement where the student:
- receives a Language, Literacy and Numeracy Supplement (LLNS) under a Language, Literacy and Numeracy Programme (LLNP); or
- receives Pensioner Education Supplement under the Social Security Act 1991.
Australian Apprentices do not qualify for Pensioner Education Supplement.
There are different rates of ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) depending upon the student’s circumstances:
The full rate of ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement is payable in the following circumstances:
- Disability Support Pension paid under the Social Security Act 1991; or
- an invalidity service pension paid under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986; or
The half rate of ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement is payable for a concessional study-load, other than those listed in 81.3.1, who is enrolled in at least 25% of the normal full-time study-load for his/her course.
A student is entitled to receive the 1999 rate of ABSTUDY PES in the following circumstances:
- s/he was in receipt of ABSTUDY PES in 1999; and
- s/he has received ABSTUDY PES continuously since 1999; and
- the student has studied his/her current course of study continuously, without a break in study since 1999; and
- the 1999 maintained rate of ABSTUDY PES is more beneficial to the student than the rate s/he would otherwise receive.
Entitlement to the maintained rate ceases when any of the following occur:
- the student completes the current course of study; or
- the student ceases to undertake the current course of study, e.g. changes to a new course that is not considered to be part of the current course of study; or
- the student has a break in study; or
- the 1999 maintained rate of ABSTUDY PES is no longer more beneficial to the student than the rate s/he would otherwise receive.
Once a student ceases to be entitled to the maintained rate of ABSTUDY PES, s/he may not re-qualify for the maintained rate should his/her circumstances change.
For the purposes of determining entitlement to the maintained rates of ABSTUDY PES, a current course of study includes:
- regular undergraduate courses;
- articulated courses, such as those where a series of courses can be linked to count for a higher qualification;
- a continuing course in the same field of study undertaken at different institutions or at a different campus;
- natural progression, such as:
- a Bachelor of Laws and Letters followed by a Graduate Diploma of Legal Studies; or
- an access or bridging course undertaken as a prerequisite entry to a tertiary qualification; or
- a series of certificate level courses in the same field of study; or
- a Bachelor degree that is a prerequisite for a Graduate degree; or
- a Bachelor degree followed by an Honours year or Masters qualifying year followed by a Masters.
For the purposes of determining entitlement to the maintained rates of ABSTUDY PES, a student is considered to have had a break in study if, with the exception of vacation periods, s/he was not enrolled in and undertaking the current course of study at any time since 1999.
A student is considered to not have had a break in study where exceptional circumstances beyond the student's control prevented him/her from enrolling in the current course of study. These exceptional circumstances include:
- medical grounds;
- personal circumstances; or
- academic requirements or course availability.
ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) rates are not indexed.
ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement is calculated on a daily rate and paid fortnightly in arrears.
The payee for ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement is the student.
For details of the tax status of the ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement, see Chapter 5 Taxation.
ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement is not subject to means testing.
The entitlement periods for ABSTUDY PES are the same as for Living Allowance, as set out in Chapter 73 Living Allowance Entitlement Periods.
The exception is an ABSTUDY PES student who is enrolled in a course of more than 30 weeks duration and who completes the course any time after 15 September of that year. In this circumstance, the entitlement end date for ABSTUDY PES is 31 December of that year.
Where payments in excess of entitlement have occurred, refer to Chapter 3 Overpayment and Recovery of Allowances to determine what is a recoverable debt and from whom this amount should be recovered.