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Allowable time limits
If you run out of allowable time, your student payment will stop.
The allowable time depends on the course you’re doing. We base it on the minimum time it normally takes to complete your course as a full time student.
If you’re in year 12, you have 2 attempts to complete it.
If you’re studying honours, we allow you 1 year after your degree to finish it.
| Normal length of the course | Allowable time limit |
|---|---|
| 1 year or less. | Up to twice the course length. |
| More than 1 year and at least 1 subject in the current year is a year long subject. | The minimum time for the course plus 1 year. |
| More than 1 year with no year long subjects. | The minimum time for the course plus 1 semester. |
Previous study without Youth Allowance
If you start your course before claiming Youth Allowance, your previous study in the course will count as allowable time. It doesn’t matter if you were getting a payment or not.
Studying more courses at the same level
You may be able to do a second course at the same level. If you didn’t complete your first course, you may need to complete an Activity Agreement. We base your allowable time on your current course.
If you completed a previous course, you don’t need an Activity Agreement to do more courses at the same level.
Circumstances beyond your control
You may keep getting a payment if you can’t complete the course in the allowable time due to circumstances beyond your control. To keep getting your payment, you need to be making satisfactory progress in your course. We consider whether you’re making satisfactory progress based on your situation.
Circumstances beyond your control can include if you:
- are, or have been, disabled by an illness or other medical condition
- have suffered family trauma
- have experienced a natural disaster
- had to relocate and repeat part of a course, or start again, because of education institution rules
- had to care for a family member
- have something exceptional that stopped you completing your study within the allowable time.
If you think there’s something we need to take into account, call us on the Youth Allowance students line.
Contact numbers available on this page.
Youth and students line
Use this line for help with payments for students and trainees of any age, and job seekers under 22.
There are other ways you may want to contact us.