How to claim

Complete the following steps to claim ABSTUDY School Fees Allowance higher rate. Before you start, check if you can get it.

If you’ve already claimed another ABSTUDY payment for you or your child, you don’t need to claim this allowance separately. We’ll assess you for School Fees Allowance at the same time.

To claim School Fees Allowance higher rate, you can:

To get School Fees Allowance for the year, you must apply by 31 December of that year.

Steps to claim ABSTUDY School Fees Allowance higher rate

  1.  

    1. Get your documents ready to claim

    You’ll need to get some supporting documents ready to help answer some of the questions in the claim.

  2.  

    2. Make your claim

    You can claim by calling the ABSTUDY line.

    Or, to submit a claim form, follow these steps:

    1. Check you’ve answered all questions.
    2. Sign and date the claim form.
    3. Attach any supporting documents.
    4. Submit your claim to us.

    You can submit your claim form in one of the following ways:

  3.  

    3. Wait for the result of your claim

    If we need more details we’ll contact you.

    We'll let you know the result of your application. If your claim is accepted, we’ll let you know:

    • when you’ll get your first payment
    • how much you’ll get.

    You can ask us to review our decision if you think we’ve made a mistake.

Contact numbers available on this page.

Centrelink ABSTUDY line

Use this line if you get or are claiming ABSTUDY – help for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and apprentices.

Monday to Friday 8 am to 5 pm

If your payment has stopped, it may be because we need your parents’ or guardians’ income information. Read more about how they can update their income details online.

If you need help with another student payment call the Youth and Students line.

There are other ways you may want to contact us.

Page last updated: 8 January 2025.
QC 64826