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Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Guidelines 2022
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Turn the raw legal text into a practical explanation grounded in Higher Education Support (Other Grants) Guidelines 2022.
Higher education provider to provide information to students (1) A higher education provider must provide, in writing, information about the Commonwealth Prac Payment program to each student of the provider that the provider anticipates will become an eligible prac student in relation to an eligible prac unit to be delivered by the provider, as soon as practicable after the student enrols in the unit. (2) The information must include details of students’ eligibility for payments under the program, and how to apply for those payments. Payments to students who satisfy means test etc. (3) Subject to subsection (9) and section 87, a higher education provider must pay an amount equal to the weekly Austudy rate to each eligible prac student who has applied for payments under the Commonwealth Prac Payment program in relation to each week that: (a) the student: (i) participates, or has participated, in a mandatory placement for an eligible prac unit of the provider for the number of hours advised by the provider for that week, consistent with subsection (8); or (ii) participates, or has participated, in a mandatory placement for a course of study in midwifery known as a continuity of care placement which prevents the student from being able to maintain paid work due to the need to ensure their availability during the placement; and (b) satisfies subsection (4).
Note: If a provider does not make payments under this subsection in a year that at least equal the provider’s student prac payments amount for the year, its grant amount for the year is reduced under subsection 83(3).
(4) An eligible prac student satisfies this subsection if: (a) the student is in receipt of an income support payment (within the meaning of subsection 23(1) of the Social Security Act 1991); or (b) the student is in receipt of a tertiary education allowance paid under sections 3.3, 3.5, 3.6 or 3.6A of the Veterans’ Children Education Scheme (an instrument made under subsection 117(3) of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986); or (c) the student is in receipt of a tertiary education allowance paid under sections 3.3, 3.5 or 3.6 of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme 2004 (an instrument made under subsection 258(5) of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004); or (d) the student is in receipt of an amount identified as a ‘Living Allowance’, which has been appropriated under subsection 55A(1) of the Student Assistance Act 1973; or (e) the student: (i) in the four study period weeks immediately prior to the student commencing their mandatory placement, or in the four study period weeks immediately prior to the student applying to the provider for the payments under the Commonwealth Prac Payment program (whichever is earlier), worked on average more than 15 hours a week; and (ii) earned, derived or received an income (including amounts of scholarships from the Commonwealth, States and Territories) of less than $1500 per week before tax, on average over that period. Payments to exceptional circumstances students (5) Subject to subsection (9) and section 87, a higher education provider must pay an amount equal to the weekly Austudy rate to each eligible prac student who has applied for payments under the Commonwealth Prac Payment program in relation to each week that the student is an exceptional circumstances student.
Note 1: The effect of section 83 is that payments under this subsection will be made out of the student prac payments amount of the grant.
Note 2: The Minister has the power under subsection 41-25(2) of the Act, to impose further conditions on grants, including conditions on the number of students that a higher education provider can be satisfied are exceptional circumstances students, or that the provider cannot be satisfied that a student is an exceptional circumstances student if doing so will result in the provider paying amounts in relation to ‘exceptional circumstances students’ above a certain amount.
Timing of payments to students (6) Unless conditions imposed on the provider under subsection 41-25(2) of the Act provide otherwise, a higher education provider must make a payment to a student under subsections (3) or (5) by the later of: (a) the end of the month in which the student applied for payments under the Commonwealth Prac Payment program; and (b) the end of the month in which the last day of the week to which the payment relates occurred. (7) The higher education provider must inform the department if the provider becomes aware that they will not be able to make a payment to a student in the timeframes specified in subsection (6).
Note: The notification by the provider under this subsection will give the Minister the opportunity to consider whether to exercise the power to impose conditions under subsection 41-25(2), to enable the provider to make a payment to a student outside of the timeframes specified in subsection (6).
Advice to students about hours in their mandatory placement for a week (8) For the purposes of subparagraph (3)(a)(i), a higher education provider must advise the student of the number of hours the student must participate in their mandatory placement in each week, and those hours must total an average of 30 hours or more a week for the duration of the placement. When a higher education provider must not make a payment to a student for a week (9) A higher education provider must not make a payment to a student for a week under subsection (3) if: (a) the week to which the payment relates commences before 1 July 2025 but includes 1 July 2025; and (b) subparagraph (3)(a)(i) applies to the student; and (c) counting only the days in the week starting on 1 July 2025, the number of hours the student participates, or participated, in a mandatory placement for the week is less than the number of hours advised by the provider under subsection (8).