The personal assets test does NOT apply to:
- dependent customers; OR
- farm assets if the customer or their partner has a current drought relief exceptional circumstances certificate.
ABSTUDY Living Allowance is not payable if the combined assets of the customer and partner, if the customer is partnered, exceed the personal assets test limits.
Different limits apply depending on whether the customer is single or partnered, and whether the customer is a homeowner or non-homeowner.
Refer to “A Guide to Australian Government Payments 
” for limits.
A homeowner is a customer who has, or whose partner has:
- a right or interest in the place they occupy, AND
- the right or interest gives them reasonable security of tenure.
A customer who has sold their principal home is still a homeowner if:
- the principal home was sold in the last 12 months, AND
- the customer intends to use some or all of the proceeds to acquire another principal home within 12 months.
A customer is a non-homeowner if they cannot be defined as a homeowner. Customers who are non-homeowners can have a higher value of assets before considered ineligible for means-tested benefits.
Assets hardship provisions can apply where the customer is:
- in severe financial hardship, AND
- unable to sell or borrow against an asset.
In these circumstances, the customer and partner’s assets can be disregarded for the purposes of the Personal Assets Test.