ABSTUDY, Means Tests: Chapter 61 - Personal Income Test, Limits and Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank

The Personal Income Test is applied for any period where the ABSTUDY customer is 16 years of age or over and eligible to receive Living Allowance. Income is assessed on a fortnightly basis.

Australian Apprentices who are aged under 16 years of age and meet the independent status criteria will have the personal income test applied and assessed on a fortnightly basis. 

Australian Apprentices are required to report their income on a fortnightly basis.  Where an Australian Apprentice does not report their income their ABSTUDY entitlement may be stopped.

An ABSTUDY student or Australian Apprentice can have income up to the Income Free Area amount of $236 per fortnight, plus the balance of their Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank for the fortnight, without affecting Living Allowance entitlement.

61.2.1 Effect of Personal Income

A student’s or Australian Apprentice's income affects their fortnightly entitlement to Living Allowance as follows:

• if the student’s or Australian Apprentice's income is less than or equal to $236.00 a fortnight, there is no effect on Living Allowance entitlement;
• if the student’s or Australian Apprentice's income is between $236.01 and $316.00 a fortnight, the Living Allowance entitlement is reduced by 50 cents in the dollar; and
• if the student’s or Australian Apprentice's income is greater than $316.00 a fortnight, the Living Allowance entitlement is reduced by 60 cents in the dollar.

The following rules apply to the Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank:

• if the student or Australian Apprentice commences receiving ABSTUDY Living Allowance, balance of Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank commences at nil;
• in any fortnight where the student’s or Australian Apprentice's income is less than the Income Free Area, the difference between the two is credited to the Income Bank;
• the maximum Student Income Bank balance that can be saved is $6,000;
• the maximum Australian Apprentice Income Bank balance that can be saved is $1,000;
• the Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank is not reset unless a student or Australian Apprentice becomes ineligible for ABSTUDY Living Allowance;
• where a student or Australian Apprentice becomes ineligible for ABSTUDY Living Allowance, the Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank balance is set to nil;
• where a student’s or Australian Apprentice's eligibility for Living Allowance is subsequently restored on a continuous basis, the Student Income Bank Balance is reinstated.

The following table shows how the Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank operates when a student or Australian Apprentice has ordinary income in a fortnight.

Customers transferring from a FaCS payment eligible for Working Credit to ABSTUDY are able to transfer their Working Credit balance to their Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank. The maximum Working Credit balance is $1000.

1 Working credit = $1 Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank

The following table list all the possible carryover situations.

Note: there is no provision to carry over Student or Australian Apprentice Income Bank balance credits between Youth Allowance, Austudy and ABSTUDY. Customers transferring from ABSTUDY to a payment attracting Working Credit can carry over a balance of up to $1000 of Income Bank credits to their Working Credit balance.