Austudy

To lodge an Austudy claim, you must be an Australian resident and be in Australia on the day you lodge your claim.

To be paid Austudy, you also need to have been in Australia as an Australian resident for at least two years. There are some exceptions.

To qualify as an Australian resident, you must be living in Australia as:

• an Australian citizen or
• the holder of a permanent resident visa or
• a New Zealand citizen who:
  • was in Australia on 26 February 2001 or
  • was in Australia for 12 months in the two years immediately before that date or
  • was assessed before 26 February 2004 as 'protected'.

If you qualify for Austudy, you may also be able to get Rent Assistance or other benefits.

The Austudy payment rates listed below are a guide only. The personal income test. and assets test will be used to work out how much you can get.

The special rates below apply if you are long-term unemployed and starting full-time study in a course of 12 months’ duration or more.

You are considered long-term unemployed if you do not have a dependent child and have received an income support payment (other than a student payment) for at least 26 out of the last 39 weeks.

Your income affects the amount of payment you receive for ABSTUDY, Austudy or Youth Allowance. An income test works out what you will be paid.

Read more about the personal income test for ABSTUDY, Austudy or Youth Allowance.

As an Austudy customer, you can earn up to $400 per fortnight before tax, before your payment is affected.

Income between $400 and $480 reduces your fortnightly payment by 50 cents in the dollar.

Income above $480 reduces your payment by 60 cents in the dollar.

Liquid Assets

Your payment will be affected if your liquid assets equal or exceed $3,000 (single) or $6,000 (couple or single with dependants).

If your liquid assets are above this amount, there will be a liquid assets waiting period. This means that you may not receive a payment immediately. We will let you know how long you have to wait before you can be paid, which can be up to 13 weeks depending on:

• the amount of your liquid assets and
• whether you are a member of a couple
• whether you have dependent children.

As an applicant for Austudy you will be assessed against an income and assets test.

The parental means test does not apply to Austudy. However, if you have a partner, your partner’s income and assets will affect your payment.

Your previous studies may affect your eligibility for Austudy.

Doctorates are not approved courses for Austudy.

You may be eligible for Austudy or Youth Allowance as a student if you are completing an approved course at an approved institution.

Read more about approved courses

To receive Youth Allowance as a student, you must be studying an approved course at an approved institution. In most cases, you need to be undertaking a full-time study load.

Read more about study loads

The length of time you are allowed to receive Youth Allowance will depend upon your course and personal circumstances.

Read more about allowable time

If you qualify for Austudy, you may be entitled to other payments and services such as:

The easiest way to claim Austudy is online. The online claim will take you through a series of questions, such as your study details, income and assets and accommodation circumstances. If there are exceptional circumstances why you cannot claim online, please contact us.

Read more about how to claim Austudy

You need to tell us if your circumstances change when you are receiving Austudy. For example, you need to tell us if:

• you reduce your study or training workload or
• you stop studying or
• you change your address or
• you leave Australia or
• your income changes.

You need to let us know within 14 days in case this affects your Austudy payment, because:

• if you don't tell us about the changes you may find yourself in debt, and
• if you are overpaid benefits, you will probably have to pay the money back, and
• if you deliberately do not tell us about changes, you could be charged with fraud, and
• a recovery fee may be imposed if you give us incorrect information about your employment income.

If you are working while receiving Austudy, you must report your employment income to us every two weeks, even if you have a fortnight when your income is zero.

We will send you a Reporting and Income Statement every three months. This will tell you your reporting dates for the next three months, what information you need to provide to us and the balance of your income bank.

If you report your income by 5.00 pm on your reporting day, you will receive your payment the next working day. To report your income:

• refer to our Online services  page or
• call 13 EARN (133 276), to access the phone self-service option, or
• call 132 490, to talk to a Customer Service Officer, or
• fax or mail a completed income-record form to your nearest DHS Service Centre or
• visit your nearest DHS Service Centre.

If you have been receiving Austudy continuously for at least three months and meet other eligibility requirements, you may be able to receive part of your payment in advance as a lump sum, called an Advance payment.

There are rules about getting your payment when you leave Australia.

Read more about payments paid while outside Australia

You can authorise another person or organisation to deal with us on your behalf and receive your Centrelink payments under a correspondence or nominee arrangement.

Read more about someone to deal with us on your behalf