ABSTUDY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The Australian Government helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to study by providing a number of allowances and benefits.
The amount of allowances that can be paid to the student may depend on many factors such as income and whether they are full-time or part-time. Generally, ABSTUDY fortnightly allowances for full-time students aged 22 or over work out to be about the same as Newstart Allowance.  For full-time students aged under 22, they are about the same as Youth Allowance.  ABSTUDY allowances for part-time students don’t depend on their income or the income of other family members.

Important notice, all student enrolling within Batchelor Institute must be in receipt of/or have submitted an ABSTUDY Claim for the year of enrolment for the exemption of Course Fees.

For more information about these allowances, other assistance that may be available, and claiming ABSTUDY, go to on the Department of Human Services website or phone 1800 132 317.

• ALLOWANCES FOR PART-TIME STUDENTS

  The following ABSTUDY allowances may be available to part-time students;

  • ABSTUDY Incidentals Allowance Students may be eligible for the ABSTUDY Incidentals Allowance regardless of whether they are studying part-time or full-time. This payment does not have an income test. This is a one-off payment and the amount of Incidentals Allowance depends on how long the student studies in the year.
    If the student is employed any financial assistance they get from their employer for their study may affect whether they can get ABSTUDY.
    If the student is on the Community Development Program (CDP) they may get the ABSTUDY Incidentals Allowance only if their part-time study is not a compulsory activity in their Job Plan and not part of their Mutual Obligation Requirements of their Centrelink income support payment, ie Newstart Allowance, Youth Allowance or Parenting Payment. They should discuss this with the CDP provider in their community.
  • ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) and Incidentals Allowance A student who is doing at least 25% of the full-time study load in their course may get ABSTUDY PES on top of their Parenting Payment Single, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment or Special Benefit for a single parent. ABSTUDY PES may also available if a student studies full-time.

• ALLOWANCES FOR FULL-TIME STUDENT

  A number of ABSTUDY allowances can be paid to full-time students. The main allowance, Living Allowance, is means tested.

  Students are considered full-time in a vocation education and training course in the Northern Territory if their enrolment is 11 hours a week or more. Payment of allowances for full-time study can be made if the student is enrolled in 75% or more of this or a minimum 8.25 hours a week.

  A student may still be eligible for ABSTUDY allowances for full-time study where their study load is below 75% (or 0.375 EFTSL) because they have a substantial disability or due to a decision by the education institution. There is a ‘reasonable time’ and ‘limits of assistance’ on how long a student can receive ABSTUDY allowances for full-time study in a tertiary or secondary (non-school) course.

  The following ABSTUDY allowances may be available to full-time students:

  • ABSTUDY Incidentals Allowance This is a one-off payments and the amount of Incidentals Allowance depends on how long the student studies in the year.
  • ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) A student who is studying full-time or doing at least 25% of the full-time study load in their course may get fortnightly ABSTUDY PES on top of their Parenting Payment Single, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment or Special Benefit for a single parent.
  • ABSTUDY Living Allowance

  This fortnightly payment depends on the income of the student and if they:

  • have a partner, the partner’s income and the student and partner’s joint assets
  • are not considered independent by ABSTUDY, the income of their parents or carers
  • are considered independent by ABSTUDY, their own assets.

  A full-time student may also be eligible for the following ABSTUDY allowances:

  • Rent Assistance
  • Remote Area Allowance
  • Masters and Doctorate allowances