Students in prison
Eligibility
For Student Loan purposes, a prisoner is someone who is imprisoned or detained in prison under a sentence of imprisonment or preventative detention.
Prisoners may only access the Fees and Course-Related Costs components of a Student Loan.
For a prisoner to qualify for a Student Loan, they must:
- meet all of the qualifications for a Student Loan and
- obtain approval to study from the appropriate person at the prison
Prisoners who want to claim Course-Related Costs will be sent a claim form to complete and the prison to endorse. The prison endorses the claim to ensure the items meet prison requirements, including any security restrictions.
Students who are on home detention may be entitled to Fees, Course-Related Costs and Living Costs as long as they meet the other qualifications and for Student Loans.
Short periods of custody
A student detained in custody for a short period of time can continue to qualify and their entitlement to Living Costs for this period as long as the imprisonment does not affect their ability to meet their minimum attendance and/or work requirements.
Public Protection Order
A student subject to a Public Protection Order is not 'imprisoned or detained in prison under a sentence of imprisonment or preventative detention' and therefore may be entitled to all components of a Student Loan.
Prisoners released from prison
If a student who is studying full-time leaves prison and requests Living Costs from their Student Loan, they will need to provide evidence that they are no longer in prison, for example a Steps to Freedom form.
Care and protection concerns
When a child has come into a client’s care, MSD should consider if there are any care and protection concerns.
If MSD believes any child has been, or is likely to be harmed (physically, emotionally or sexually), ill-treated, abused, neglected, deprived or MSD has concerns about the wellbeing of the child, the case must be referred to Oranga Tamariki.
MSD staff must notify Oranga Tamariki if they are aware that the child’s sole caregiver has been remanded in custody and/or sentenced to a term of imprisonment.
