(Students and Australian Apprentices) - a living allowance payment plus a range of supplementary benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students aged 16 years or older.

Higher education students receiving student payments may also be eligible to receive the Student Start-up Scholarship or Student Start-up Loan (opens in a new window) and the Relocation Scholarship (opens in a new window).

Please note: From 1 January 2016, the Student Start-up Scholarship is no longer available to new student payment recipients (Youth Allowance (student), Austudy or ABSTUDY Living Allowance) undertaking higher education. Students instead may apply for an income contingent loan, called a Student Start-up Loan.

Students are required to repay the Loan once their income exceeds the minimum repayment threshold, currently at $54,126 for 2015-16. Payment arrangements are managed by the Australian Taxation Office in the same manner as the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) debts. Repayment of the Loan is delayed until after any HELP debt is completely repaid.

Students who have previously received a Student Start-up Scholarship or Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship and remained continuously in receipt of student payments, will continue to receive the Student Start-up Scholarship until coming off student payments.