Need help with living-away-from-home costs or tertiary fees? Our handy guide below will help you navigate the range of government allowances and educational assistance schemes designed to support students in need of financial assistance.
This guide will also provide some information about Raymont Residential College’s sibling discounts, scholarships and bursary. We’ve also provided a brief summary of some of the university scholarships that are available.
Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC)
The Education Assistance Scheme (EAS) at QTAC can help students who have experienced circumstances which negatively affect their most recent studies. If eligible, you may get OP or rank adjustments that improve your chances of getting a university offer. If you are eligible for the financial hardship category, you may also get financial assistance from your chosen university including scholarships or bursaries.
There are several Education Assistance Scheme categories:
- Financial hardship
- Home environment and responsibilities
- English language difficulty
- Personal illness or disability
- Educational disruption.
The criteria for the financial hardship category is available at the EAS financial hardship category. Details concerning household income thresholds are available at Income Thresholds.
It is important for students to complete this process as soon as possible as it can provide an improved OP/rank position. If your circumstances meet the QTAC criteria, you will receive an updated student profile which makes you a higher priority for a range of university scholarships. Some universities such as the University of Queensland require recognition through the EAS financial hardship scheme when considering students for equity, access or financial hardship scholarships.
Government support
You may meet the criteria for a range of government allowances including Youth Allowance, the Government Relocation Scholarship or ABSTUDY.
Youth Allowance
Youth Allowance is the provision of financial assistance to eligible students who are 24 years or younger. There are a number of general eligibility criteria:
- 18 to 24 years and studying full-time, or
- 16 to 24 years and doing a full-time Australian apprenticeship, or
- 16 to 17 years and independent or needing to live away from home to study
To be considered a student in full-time study you must be undertaking 75 per cent of a standard full-time study load. At times it can be wise to reduce your load from a standard four subject program to three subjects if the subjects are particularly difficult, you are adjusting to a new environment or language, or you have been unwell. As long as you are doing 75 per cent of a full-time study load, your Youth Allowance will not be impacted.
Centrelink provide an extremely helpful Youth Allowance estimator. This allows you to enter your personal circumstances (including your parents income) to determine if you are eligible and if so, the payment you would be entitled to receive.
Payment rates for the Youth Allowance are available online. At present the maximum payment rate for a single student without children, living away from a parent’s home, is $462.50 per fortnight.
Note: You may have a part-time job and continue to receive Youth Allowance. However, your Youth Allowance will start to decline (reduced youth allowance) once your part-time earnings exceed $437 per fortnight.
The Department of Human Services provides an example of an 18-year-old student who has moved from a small country town in Queensland to study in a city-based university. The government considers this student to still be dependent but eligible for both Youth Allowance and a Relocation Scholarship. More information is available here.
If you are entitled to Youth Allowance, you may also be entitled to a Government Relocation Scholarship. The criteria for this includes:
- being a dependent student, or
- have a special reason why you’re independent
You must have to move to, or from, a regional or remote area within Australia to study and get at least $1 of:
- Youth Allowance as a student
- ABSTUDY Living Allowance, or
- Energy Supplement
If your family home is in a regional or remote area and you have had to move to Brisbane for university study, you could be entitled to up to:
- $4,626 in the first year you need to live away from home to study
- $2,314 per year in the second and third years
- $1,156 per year after that.
ABSTUDY
ABSTUDY is a group of payments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students or apprentices. To get ABSTUDY you must be all of the following:
- Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian descent
- identify as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australian
- accepted as such by the community in which you live or have lived
- an Australian citizen and normally live in Australia
- covered under one of the seven ABSTUDY Awards, and
- be studying an approved course or doing an Australian Apprenticeship
One of the seven awards covered by ABSTUDY is the Tertiary Award. This provides financial support to tertiary students and apprentices including living allowance, incidentals allowance, rent assistance, remote area allowance, pharmaceutical allowance and a relocation scholarship.
The ABSTUDY Living Allowance is provided to eligible students and apprentices. You must meet the ABSTUDY Tertiary Award requirements and your parental income is assessed to determine if you are eligible.
Note: some ABSTUDY allowances are not subject to a means test, including the Incidentals Allowance and Relocation Allowance. More information is available via the income and assets test (correct as at 1 August 2018).
ABSTUDY Residential Costs option
The ABSTUDY Residential Costs option can help eligible students manage the costs of living away from home to study. The Commonwealth Government will pay for certain costs including:
- accommodation
- meals, if provided
- laundry charges, and
- other compulsory fees
To be eligible for the ABSTUDY Residential Costs option, you must be receiving the ABSTUDY Living Allowance as part of the ABSTUDY Tertiary Award.
AUSTUDY
AUSTUDY is a Commonwealth Government allowance for students who are at least 25 years old. More information is available here.
CENTRELINK CONTACT: Information about these government allowances is available from Centrelink on 132 490.
Brisbane University Scholarships
Brisbane-based universities provide an array of scholarships and financial assistance. This includes support for students with financial hardship and for academic and sporting excellence. The following information provides a very brief summary of a small number of relevant university scholarships. Please be aware that each university offers many more scholarships than what is described below but we hope that these will provide an idea of the sorts of possibilities that are available. At the bottom of each university section there is a hyperlink to other scholarships which will enable you to see the full range of scholarships available to undergraduate students entering that particular university.
Examples of some of the available scholarships include:
Queensland University of Technology (QUT):
- Tim Fairfax Regional and Remote Scholarship for students struggling financially from regional or remote areas in Queensland or Northern Territory. Worth $7,500 for up to four years.
- Vice Chancellor’s Academic Scholarship: 90 academic-based scholarships worth $30,000 each and 15 scholarships worth $10,000 each.
- Kinder Collis Learning Potential Scholarship for female students who are struggling financially. Worth $3,500 for one year.
- BDO Learning Potential Fund Scholarship for students studying business, law and justice who are struggling financially. Worth $3,500 for one year.
- Senex Energy Learning Potential Scholarship for students from a financial hardship background. Worth $5,000 for one year.
- Howes Family Learning Potential Fund Scholarship for students from a financial hardship background. Worth $5,000 for one year.
- Creed Family QUT Learning Potential Fund Scholarship for students from a financial hardship background. Worth $5,000 for one year.
- Other QUT Scholarships: There are another 50 or more scholarship options for undergraduate students studying at QUT including support for financial disadvantage, elite sport and academic excellence
University of Queensland (UQ):
- UQ Academic Excellence Scholarships: Up to 150 scholarships awarded each year ranging from $60,000 over five years to $6,000 for one year.
- UQ Link Scholarship for students managing financial hardship, worth $3,000 for each of three years.
- UQ Aspire Financial Hardship Scholarships for students managing financial hardship, worth $4,500 for one year.
- Rural Bank Scholarship: This scholarship provides successful students with $5,000 to assist with accommodation, course costs and study materials.
- Other UQ Scholarships: There are up to 60 additional scholarships awarded to new undergraduate students every year.
Griffith University:
- Indigenous Commonwealth Education and Accommodation Scholarships: Worth up to $22,000 for a maximum of eight payments.
- George Alexander Foundation Scholarship to assist students who can demonstrate academic merit with the cost of their accommodation. Worth $22,500.
- Other Griffith Uni Scholarships there are more than 30 additional scholarships that students can apply for.
Australian Catholic University (ACU):
- ACU Equity Scholarship for students from financial hardship, worth $2,000.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Accommodation Scholarship: This scholarship covers the cost of accommodation and includes the full cost of rent for the minimum duration of your course.
- Edmund Rice Education Scholarship: An equity-based scholarship worth up to $6,750 for three years.
- ACU Academic Excellence Scholarship for high-achieving students, worth up to $5,000 for one year.
- Other ACU Scholarships: Several other equity and merit-based scholarships are also available.
Note: There is no limit to the number of scholarships for which you may apply. While the list above is most relevant to those dealing with financial hardship, there are plenty of other scholarships for which you should apply. You may be entitled to two or more scholarships if you meet the set criteria.
Raymont Residential College
Sibling discounts: Siblings living at Raymont are eligible for a 5 per cent discount on their college fees.
Raymont scholarships/bursary: Raymont Residential College currently offer two scholarships (academic excellence scholarship and christian leadership scholarship) and a bursary for financial hardship.
