To get the Student Start-up Loan, you must do all of the following:
- get at least $1 of Youth Allowance as a student, Austudy or ABSTUDY Living Allowance
- tell us your Tax File Number
- meet the study rules
- apply during the loan period and at least 35 days before your course ends.
If you’re an ABSTUDY student but you don’t get any ABSTUDY Living Allowance, you may still be eligible. This is if you get any of these payments from us:
Who can’t get it
You can’t get a Student Start-up Loan if any of the following apply:
- you don’t get Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY
- you get ABSTUDY Incidentals Allowance but you don’t get a fortnightly ABSTUDY payment
- you get the Pensioner Education Supplement
- you haven’t told us your Tax File Number
- you get a Student Start-up Scholarship paid by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- you get an Indigenous Student Success Program scholarship from the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) to help with education costs.
The scholarship from the NIAA may also be known as an Indigenous Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship.