Contents
Emergency Maintenance Allowance : Contents

Gets a Student Loan

Getting a Student Loan (including the living cost component) does not mean the child is financially independent.

If the child continues to be the client's primary responsibility and maintained as a member of their family and financially dependent (that is the parent is meeting some of the costs for the child) the child can continue to be included in the benefit until the start of the pay period following:

  • the date they turn 18 or
  • where the child is 18 years old and continuing in education, the earlier of:
    • the date they are no longer enrolled in school or tertiary education or
    • the date the child is no longer attending school or tertiary education as required or
    • the date the child is financially independent or
    • the date the child leaves the parent or caregiver's care or
    • 31 December of the year they turn 18

Note a client getting a discretionary benefit such as Emergency Maintenance Allowance must complete a review of circumstances when a dependent child turns 18, and when the child is excluded (if they continued to be included in the client's benefit after the child turned 18).

Extra help

Where the dependent child is required to live away from home to undertake their tertiary study, the client may be able to get assistance for accommodation costs.

For more information see:

Legislation

  • Effect of child turning 18 years old subpart 18 part 2, Social Security Act 2018
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For the purposes of the review of circumstances when a child turns 18 or an 18-year-old child is no longer considered a dependent child and is excluded from a parent or caregiver's benefit, the following are discretionary benefits:

Parents and caregivers must respond to the notice and complete the review of circumstances when a dependent child turns 18 or their discretionary ...