Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AUSTUDY REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1992 NO. 24

STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 24

AUSTUDY Regulations (Amendment)

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Higher Education and Employment Services

Parent legislation

The present Regulations are made under section 56 of the Student Assistance Act 1973.

The Act provides the legislative authority for the AUSTUDY scheme, which pays financial assistance directly to students or their parents.

The present regulations

The present regulations make two corrections to drafting errors relating to the rule dealing with the effect on a tertiary student's previous study on eligibility for assistance under AUSTUDY:

•       the word "only" is inserted into the regulations dealing with the previous study rule. This change clarifies that a student must meet the previous study rule to qualify for assistance, although satisfying the rule is not sufficient in itself and the other scheme rules must also be met;

•       the rule is also amended to change "is not longer" to "is less", so that the student does not qualify for assistance if the length of his or her previous studies is equal to the applicable benchmark (the benchmark is the minimum duration to the student's course, with a possible extension of an additional year or semester).

Commencement

The proposed regulations take effect on gazettal.

Notes on the amendments

Notes on the Regulations are attached.

Notes on regulations

1.       Amendment

The Statutory Rules amend the AUSTUDY Regulations.

2.       Regulation 41 (Previous study: time spent on a course)

Regulation 41 of the AUSTUDY Regulations deals with the effect of a tertiary student's previous studies on eligibility for living allowance. The regulation compares the duration of past studies of the same level as the student's current course with a benchmark based on the minimum duration of the current course (the benchmark is the minimum duration to the current course, with a possible extension of an additional year or semester).

2.1

The word "only" is inserted into regulation 41 to clarify that a student must meet the previous study rule to qualify for assistance, although the student's meeting the rule is not sufficient in itself and other scheme rules must also be met.

2.2

Regulation 41 is amended to modify the provision that an allowance is payable if the duration of the previous studies "is not longer than" than the stipulated benchmark.

The amendment changes the eligibility test to refer to "is less", so that if the length of the student's previous studies is equal to the applicable benchmark, the student does not qualify for assistance.

3.       Regulation 43 (Previous study: combined courses)

Regulation 43 of the AUSTUDY Regulations deals with a tertiary student whose current course forms an approved combined course if taken concurrently with the student's previous course (or with a course equivalent to the student's previous course). The student's eligibility is subject to the same rule as in regulation 41, except that the benchmark for the student's studies is based on the length of the combined course, not on the duration of the student's current Course.

As with the amendment made by regulation 2.1, the word "only" is inserted into regulation 43 to clarify that a student must meet the previous study rule to qualify for assistance, although satisfying the rule is not sufficient in itself and the other scheme rules must also be met.