Use the Student Regional Area Search service to check if your family home qualifies as one of the following:
- inner regional
- outer regional
- remote
- very remote.
You may be independent if all of the following apply:
- your parental home is in an inner regional, outer regional, remote or very remote area
- you need to move away from your parental home to study
- you’ve worked enough to be independent
- your parents meet the parental income test for rural and remote areas.
If you’ve left secondary school there are 2 ways you can be considered independent through work, either you’ve:
- worked for 15 hours or more a week for at least 2 years
- earned at least 75% of the National Training Wage Schedule within 14 months.
We don’t look at any work you did before you left secondary school.
You may need to give proof that you meet these requirements. You may need to give us one or more of the following:
- a letter from your employer saying what time periods you worked and how many hours you worked each week
- payslips from your employer that say what hours you worked each week.
See if you’re considered independent using the check independence through work history tool.
Parental income test for rural and remote areas
Your parents or guardians must have a combined parental income of less than $160,000 in the appropriate tax year. There's also an extra $10,000 added to the parental income limit for each of your eligible siblings.
Your parents or guardians need to provide their income details using the Advise Parental Income online service.
If they're unable to access it, they will need to complete the Parents or guardians additional details for Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY form.
Eligible siblings are any of your siblings under 22, unless they are one of the following:
- living away from home and are, or have been, a member of a couple
- living away from home and have, or have had, a dependent child
- getting Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY or Disability Support Pension as an independent person because it’s unreasonable for them to live at home
- in state care.
Calculate your parental income
You can pick which financial year you use to calculate parental income. You can choose from 1 of 3 financial years, whichever is most beneficial for you. A financial year is from 1 July-30 June. It can be any one of the below financial years.
Pre-gap tax year
The Pre-Gap tax year is the financial year that ended before you started your employment. For example, if Luke started work on 15 February 2023, he would need to supply his parents’ or guardians’ income for the 2021-22 financial year.
Base tax year
The base tax year is the financial year that ended before the calendar year that you’re eligible for payment. For example, if Luke is eligible for payment from 2 April 2024, he would need to supply his parents’ or guardians’ income for the 2022-23 financial year.
Post-base tax year
Post-base tax year is the year following base tax year. We can only use this tax year where your parents’ income has had a significant decrease that is likely to continue for at least 2 years. As the income for the post-base tax year may be an estimate, we would require evidence of the decrease in income.
Census Date
The Census Date is used to determine your parents income limit, by including the extra $10,000 per eligible sibling on a particular date.
The Census Date is either:
- 30 June of the relevant tax year being used to assess for the parental income, or
- the date of application for independence.
For example, if Luke is applying for independence using his parents’ income from 2023-24 financial year, we would automatically use 30 June 2024 as the Census Date. However, if Luke applies for independence on 8 August 2024 and he has more eligible siblings on this date than on 30 June, the Census Date used will be 8 August 2024. This allows the most beneficial amount for his parents’ income limit.
Example - Rural and remote students working part time
Keira went to secondary school in Broome in remote WA. She finished in 2020 and spent 2 years working before continuing her studies. She worked 15 hours a week during the 2021-22 financial year. In 2023, Keira needs to live away from home to start a Bachelor of Cyber Security degree in Perth. She can get ABSTUDY as an independent student. This is because:
- she worked the required amount since finishing secondary school
- her parent's income is less than $170,000 in one of the appropriate tax years.
- she has one eligible sibling.
Example - Rural and remote students working 75% of the National Training Wage Schedule
Gavin went to secondary school in Parkes in regional NSW. He finished in November 2020, then took a gap year in 2021. He lived at home in 2021 and earned $28,000 doing casual and part time work. Gavin’s parents earned $120,000 in 2020-21. In 2022, Gavin needed to live away from home to start a full time Bachelor of Science degree in Sydney. Gavin met the conditions for independent status from February 2022 because he met both of the following:
- he earned more than 75% of the National Training Wage in the 14 months since he finished school
- his parents’ incomes meet the parental income requirement in one of the appropriate tax years.
Find out how much you need to earn in the National Training Wage schedule on the Department of Social Services website.