Rural and Remote Education Inquiry Briefing Paper
Rural and Remote
Education Inquiry Briefing Paper
Commonwealth income support
for students
Department of Education,
Training and Youth Affairs Annual Report 1997-98:
"The Government announced,
as part of the 1996-97 Budget, the introduction of new arrangements for
delivery of income support programs, including AUSTUDY, ABSTUDY and Assistance
for Isolated Children. From July 1997 Centrelink, the agency that delivers
Commonwealth services, combined the delivery of student assistance with
payments and services for young people.
"AUSTUDY ceased operation
on 30 June 1998. From 1 July1998, the Youth Allowance replaced AUSTUDY
financial assistance to students, Austudy payment (for students over the
age of 25 years) and the Pensioner Education Supplement. Policy responsibility
for these payments now rests with the Minister for Social Security. Policy
responsibility for the Assistance for Isolated Children scheme, ABSTUDY
(including the ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement and ABSTUDY Student
Financial Supplement Loan) remains with the Minister for Employment, Education,
Training and Youth Affairs."
Meg Nichols, Isolated
Children's Parents' Association (Tasmania), Hobart hearing, 5 November
1999:
"AIC is
available for eligible students but as we have mentioned not many secondary
students fulfil the geographically isolated criteria. When students are
in Years 11 and 12 Tasmanian families experience exactly the same problems
with eligibility for the Youth Allowance as was highlighted in the ICPA
federal council submission to this commission. Many families try, but
they cannot complete the required family actual means test form, because
of its complexity.
"ICPA recently
provided information about allowances available for rural and remote
students to the peak parent body in Tasmania. They were unaware of what
was available for rural students. These two instances remind us of the
fact that many families in Tasmania are not aware of the financial assistance
available to them and a small, volunteer parent association like ICPA
is ill-equipped to do the publicity. It is sad to think that there may
well be rural and remote families missing out on badly needed financial
assistance to which they are entitled or, indeed, not sending their
children on to further education because of a lack of information.
". there are many
families now that a few years ago would not have been eligible for the
Youth Allowance because of the assets test, and now may well be. The
actual means test seems to be the one that really prevents them, and
I don't know how many people in this room have actually looked at the
actual means test, but it's a really involved and complex form and it
scares so many people. There is a response that, "Oh, well, you know,
you can get your accountant to do this," but many people will not do
that sort of thing. They will not go to an accountant to get them to
fill out an application form for an allowance that they really feel
they should be able to have access to straightaway. But it certainly
is an extremely complex form, the actual means test."
In this briefing
paper you will find
- Summaries of the
following allowances
- Extracts from
submissions and other comments received
- An invitation
to share your experience
Allowance
Assistance for Isolated Children
Last
updated 2 December 2001.