Quick answer. Austudy, Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY are Centrelink payments that help with your living costs while you study, not discounts on your course fees. Austudy is for full-time students aged 25 and over, Youth Allowance is for full-time students under 25, and ABSTUDY is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. All three are means tested, paid every fortnight, and generally need you to be studying an approved course at an approved provider. Services Australia decides who qualifies.
If you’re thinking about retraining, the cost of study isn’t only the course fee. It’s also the weeks or months you spend studying instead of working as much. That’s the gap these payments are designed to help with. This guide explains how Austudy, Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY work in 2026, who can get them, whether online and vocational study counts, and how they sit alongside your course fees.
It covers the living-cost payments. If you want to understand how the course fee itself can be funded, read our guide to government funding for VET courses. And if you’re on a pension or another income-support payment already, the Pensioner Education Supplement may apply instead.
Income support is not the same as course funding
It’s worth being clear about this early, because the two are often confused.
- Course funding is about the course fee itself: a Free TAFE place or a state subsidy can reduce the fee, while a VET Student Loan lets you defer it and repay the loan later. It changes what you pay, or when you pay it.
- Income support is money paid to you to help cover rent, food and bills while you study: Austudy, Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY. This is about your living costs.
A payment like Austudy doesn’t reduce your course fee. It’s paid into your bank account each fortnight, and you decide how to use it, including putting some of it toward your fees if that helps. You can be eligible for one, both, or neither, depending on your situation and your course.
Who can get Austudy?
Austudy is the main payment for adult students. To get it you generally need to be:
- 25 or older, and an Australian resident
- studying full time in an approved course (more on what “full time” and “approved” mean below)
- under the income and assets limits Services Australia sets
The full-time rule is the one that catches people out. Austudy doesn’t have a part-time pathway, so if your study load drops below the full-time threshold, the payment usually stops. The current criteria are on the Services Australia Austudy page, which is the authority on eligibility.
If you’re under 25, you’d look at Youth Allowance instead.
Youth Allowance for students under 25
Youth Allowance is the equivalent payment for full-time students aged 24 and under (and some apprentices). The structure is similar to Austudy: you need to be studying an approved course at an approved provider, meet the study-load rules, and pass the income and assets tests, which for younger students can include a parental income test. The detail is on the Youth Allowance for students page.
ABSTUDY: for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
ABSTUDY is the payment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and it replaces Youth Allowance or Austudy if you’re eligible. ABSTUDY Living Allowance follows the same full-time study rule as the other two, but ABSTUDY is more flexible in one important way: it has options the others don’t.
- If you study part time, Austudy and Youth Allowance generally won’t pay, but ABSTUDY may still help through the ABSTUDY Part Time Award or Incidentals Allowance.
- ABSTUDY also includes its own version of the Pensioner Education Supplement and other supports.
So for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander learner studying at a lighter load, ABSTUDY can sometimes pay where Austudy can’t. The eligibility rules are on the ABSTUDY page, and it’s worth talking to the ABSTUDY line about your specific course and study load.
ABSTUDY vs Austudy: what’s the difference?
The short version: same idea, different audiences and a bit more flexibility.
Youth Allowance fills the gap for students under 25 who aren’t claiming ABSTUDY. You can only get one of these payments at a time.
Can you get these payments while studying online?
Yes. Studying by distance or online doesn’t rule you out. Services Australia is explicit that you can study by distance education, as long as it’s an approved course with an approved provider. What matters is the course and the provider, not whether you attend a campus.
The study-load rule still applies, though. You need to be enrolled at a full-time load (or the concessional load that applies in your situation) for Austudy, Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY Living Allowance. For vocational courses, the provider is the one that defines what a full-time load looks like, so it’s worth confirming your enrolment load before you claim.
What counts as an “approved course”?
This is the part most people miss, and it’s where a lot of confusion sits.
To get any of these payments, your course has to be an approved course at an approved education institution. Approved courses are set out in a government determination and approved by the Minister for Social Services. Approval isn’t automatic for every certificate or diploma, so the safest step is to check your specific course with Services Australia before you rely on it.
There’s also a specific rule for diploma-level study and above. For a diploma, advanced diploma or higher vocational qualification to count toward Austudy, Youth Allowance or the Pensioner Education Supplement, the course and the provider both need to be approved for VET Student Loans (VSL). In practice that means a diploma only counts for these payments if it’s a VSL-approved course at a VSL-approved provider. Certificate IV and lower-level courses aren’t tied to VSL in the same way.
Because this rule depends on the exact course and provider, don’t assume. The approved courses and education providers page explains how it works, and Services Australia can confirm whether your course qualifies.
How much can you get?
There’s no single figure, because all three payments are means tested and the amount depends on your circumstances: your age, whether you’re single or partnered, whether you have children, and whether you live at home. Rates are reviewed and indexed during the year, so they change.
As a guide, the maximum goes up if you’re older, have dependent children, or live away from the family home, and it’s lower for younger students living at home. ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance sit in a similar range to Austudy, with some rates higher for older students. The maximum rates are indexed more than once a year, so rather than quote a figure here that would date quickly, check the current amount for your situation using the tools below. Your own figure depends on your income, assets and circumstances.
For an accurate number for your situation, use the Services Australia Payment Finder or the “how much you can get” page for your payment (Austudy, Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY). Whatever the figure, it’s paid fortnightly, and it’s yours to use for living costs while you study.
How to claim
- Check your eligibility and confirm your course is approved on Services Australia.
- Get your enrolment confirmed, and ask your provider for a proof-of-enrolment letter.
- Submit your claim through myGov, linked to Centrelink.
- Once approved, your payment arrives every fortnight.
Studying with Hader Institute
Hader Institute is a nationally recognised training provider (RTO 45162) delivering courses online across Australia. Whether one of these payments applies to you depends on your course, your study load and your personal circumstances, and that’s a decision Services Australia makes, not us. What we can do is give you the enrolment documentation Centrelink asks for, and help you understand your study load before you claim.
Income support is separate from your course fee, and our fees are designed to be manageable on their own. Our nationally recognised courses are interest free and can be paid in small fortnightly amounts, starting from around $48 a week for a Certificate IV, so you can spread the cost over the length of your study rather than paying upfront.
Want to talk it through? Speak with our team about the right course and study load for your situation, and we’ll point you to the Services Australia steps for any payment you want to check. You can also browse our nationally recognised courses to find one that fits.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Austudy and Youth Allowance?
Austudy is for full-time students aged 25 and over. Youth Allowance is for full-time students under 25. The eligibility rules are similar, but you can only receive one payment at a time, and the income tests differ.
Can I get Austudy for an online course?
Yes. Distance and online study can qualify, as long as you’re studying an approved course at an approved provider and meeting the full-time study-load rule. Services Australia decides whether your specific course qualifies.
Does a diploma qualify for Austudy?
Only if the diploma is approved for VET Student Loans and offered by a VSL-approved provider. You don’t need to actually take out a VET Student Loan to qualify; only the course and provider need to be approved for it. For diploma level and above, that VSL approval is what makes the course count toward Austudy, Youth Allowance or the Pensioner Education Supplement. Certificate IV and below aren’t tied to VSL in the same way.
What’s the difference between ABSTUDY and Austudy?
Both help with living costs while you study. Austudy is for students 25 and over; ABSTUDY is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and offers more flexibility, including part-time options that Austudy doesn’t have.
How much is Austudy?
It’s a means-tested fortnightly payment, so the amount depends on your age, relationship status, whether you have children and where you live. The maximum rates are indexed more than once a year, so rather than quote a figure that dates quickly, check the current amount for your situation with the Services Australia Payment Finder.
Does Centrelink pay my course fees?
No. Austudy, Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY help with living costs, not course fees. Your course fee is a separate question: a Free TAFE place or state subsidy can reduce it, while a VET Student Loan lets you defer it and repay the loan later.
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