Working age, students and new parents · calculator
Austudy calculator
For full-time students and Australian Apprentices aged 25 or over: the rate after earnings, with Rent Assistance if you rent.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Austudy is the student payment for people aged 25 or over who study full time or do a full-time Australian Apprenticeship. In 2026 a single student without children receives up to $677.20 a fortnight, and a single student with children $854.20, each plus an Energy Supplement, with Rent Assistance added for private renters. Unlike Youth Allowance, Austudy has no parental income test: only your own income and assets, and your partner's income if you have one, are assessed. The student income test applies, with a free area of $539 a fortnight, 50 cents per dollar up to $646 and 60 cents above, and the same income bank of up to $13,500. A single student earning $700 a fortnight and renting at $420 receives about $794.95. Rates are indexed every 1 January.
Austudy per fortnight
$790.85
Stops at about $1,875 of your income a fortnight
| Basic rate | $677.20 |
| Energy Supplement | $7 |
| Rent Assistance | $106.65 |
| Reduction for your income | − $0 |
Student income test: higher free area, and the income bank can absorb a work peak. How this is worked out.
The rates
| Situation | Basic rate | Energy Supplement |
|---|---|---|
| Single, no children | $677.20 | $7 |
| Single, with children | $854.20 | $9.20 |
| Partnered, no children | $677.20 | $7 |
| Partnered, with children | $733.20 | $7.70 |
A special higher rate applies to people who start full-time study or an apprenticeship after a long period on income support, and to some migrants studying English; Services Australia decides who qualifies. The calculator uses the standard rates.
Who Austudy is for
Austudy is income support for mature students and apprentices aged 25 and over who do not have adequate income (Social Security Guide 1.2.2.30). The course must be an approved full-time course at secondary or tertiary level, or a full-time Australian Apprenticeship. Students under 25 claim Youth Allowance instead. Part-time study does not qualify, although a student with a disability or another accepted reason may be able to study a reduced load.
The income test and the income bank
Austudy uses the student income test: $539 free a fortnight, 50 cents per dollar to $646, 60 cents above. A single student with no rent keeps some Austudy until earnings reach about $1,697 a fortnight. Unused free area builds up in an income bank, up to $13,500, which absorbs later earnings above the free area before the payment falls: useful for a student who works mainly in the holidays (Social Security Guide 4.2.8.50).
Assets and savings
Mature students often have savings, a car or a property. Austudy is not payable if assets, excluding the home you live in, exceed the free area: $333,000 for a single homeowner and $600,000 for a single person who does not own a home. Savings under the limit still produce deemed income, which counts in the income test.
Austudy and the rest of the household
A student parent on Austudy is on an income support payment, so the family's Family Tax Benefit is paid without the family income test, and Rent Assistance for a student parent comes through Family Tax Benefit Part A rather than with Austudy. A student without children who rents privately receives Rent Assistance with the payment, at up to $223.80 a fortnight. The household calculator handles both cases.