Find out your eligibility for a Centrelink payment
Centrelink is a government agency that provides welfare payments to eligible students who meet the requirements.
The Centrelink payments that students at Macquarie can claim include:
- Youth Allowance (students up to 24 and job seekers up to 22)
- Austudy (students aged 25+)
- JobSeeker (job seekers 22+)
- Abstudy (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students)
Youth Allowance
Eligibility
To get Youth Allowance you must be:
- a full-time student studying an approved course. If you need to study part time due to a health condition or disability, you can request Youth Allowance while enrolled part time. You will need to provide Centrelink with evidence from a medical professional which confirms that you are not able to study full time due to a health condition of disability. Contact the Welfare Service for more information.
- aged 16 to 24
- an Australian resident for two years or more.
For more information, visit the Centrelink's Youth Allowance page.
Payment rates
Centrelink uses income and assets tests to work out how much Youth Allowance you can get. If you earn a salary from work, or other income, you must declare this, and it may reduce how much Centrelink payment you receive.
For more information, view the Payment Rate table.
How to claim
View the following steps to claim your Youth Allowance payment.
Austudy
Eligibility
- 25 or older
- a full time student in an approved course. If you need to study part time due to a health condition or disability, you can request Youth Allowance while enrolled part time. Contact the Welfare Service for more information.
- You earn less than the income test and assets test limits.
View the full conditions of Austudy.
Payment rates
Centrelink uses an income test and an assets test to work out how much you can get. If you earn a salary from work, or other income, you must declare this, and it may reduce how much Centrelink payment you receive.
For more information, view the Payment Rate table.
How to claim
View the following steps to claim your Austudy payment.
JobSeeker
Eligibility
JobSeeker Payment replaced Newstart Allowance when it stopped in March 2020.
To get JobSeeker Payment you need to meet some rules. These include:
- you’re between 22 and 66 years
- you meet the income and assets tests
- you meet residence rules.
View the full conditions of Jobseeker.
You can usually only study part time, if you are receiving an unemployment payment.
Payment rates
We pay the JobSeeker Payment every two weeks. The amount you get depends on your personal situation. If you earn a salary from work, or other income, you must declare this, and it may reduce how much Centrelink payment you receive.
How to claim
View the following steps to claim your JobSeeker payment.
Abstudy
If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander student, you may be eligible for Centrelink Abstudy payments.
For more information, visit the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students page.
More information
Apply
If you plan on applying, make sure that you have set up a myGov account, provided your identification documents, and started a claim. You can finish your claim as soon as you are enrolled in units.
Remember to check how many units you need to study to meet the requirements of your payment.
If you are eligible for a Centrelink payment, make sure that you apply for a Macquarie scholarship.
Avoid a debt
Make sure you understand the requirements for a payment, and always keep a record that you have declared your income (or keep a record if a system failure prevented you from declaring your income).
Further support
If you have a question, or need help applying, you can contact the Welfare service at Student Wellbeing.
If you have a problem with a Centrelink payment, you can contact the Welfare service at Student Wellbeing, or the Welfare Rights Centre.