Usually, we pay the organisation providing the study and training course for the students or Australian Apprentice in custody. We do this as a reimbursement. We pay it to one of the following:
- corrective services
- education provider
- supplier of textbooks or materials.
Sometimes, we need to approve the essential course costs in advance. We can do this by phone or email.
If the annual costs for a student are above a certain amount, we need to approve the essential course costs in advance. This is where their annual costs are more than ABSTUDY Incidentals Allowance for a 24 week to one year course.
For example, art and photographic materials may be more than the limit. If so, we’ll need to approve the essential course costs in advance.
If you’re not sure if the allowance will cover your course costs, call the National Business Gateway line.
In some situations, we may pay the allowance to the student or Australian Apprentice. We only do this if the corrective service confirms in writing we can pay the allowance to the person studying.