Aldridge and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social security)
[2025] ARTA 647
•19 March 2025
Aldridge and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social security) [2025] ARTA 647 (19 March 2025)
Applicant: Miss Aldridge
Respondent: Secretary, Department of Social Services
Chief Executive Centrelink
Tribunal Number: 2024/M192263
Tribunal: General Member A Cichy
Place:Perth
Date:19 March 2025
Decision:The Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and substitutes its decision that there is no debt to the Commonwealth for overpayment of a student start-up loan paid to Miss Aldridge on 18 November 2022 in accordance with its findings in paragraphs 15, 16 and 17.
Statement made on 19 March 2025 at 8:36am
CATCHWORDS
SOCIAL SECURITY – Student Start-up Loan – not a full-time student for more than 35 days – ‘full-time’ requires at least three-quarters of normal amount of study for that course for that period – applicant studying three units out of possible four – decision under review set aside and substituted
Names used in all published decisions are pseudonyms. Any references appearing in square brackets indicate that information has been omitted from this decision and replaced with generic information pursuant to subsection 201(1A) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.
Statement of Reasons
BACKGROUND
This application relates to a decision by Services Australia (Centrelink) to raise and recover a student start-up loan debt from Miss Aldridge.
Miss Aldridge was paid a student start-up loan of $1,132.00 on 18 November 2022 on the basis that she was a full-time student.
On 28 August 2024, an employee of Centrelink made a decision to raise a debt to recover the student start-up loan on the basis that Miss Aldridge had not been a full-time student more than 35 days after the qualification test day of 7 November 2022.
Miss Aldridge requested an internal review of the decision and on 12 October 2024, an authorised review officer of Centrelink affirmed the decision under review.
By application received on 28 November 2024, Miss Aldridge asked this Tribunal to review the decision of the authorised review officer.
On 14 March 2025, the Tribunal conducted a hearing at which Miss Aldridge gave evidence by conference telephone. The Tribunal had before it the relevant documents from Miss Aldridge’s Centrelink file and computer records (85 pages), which had also been issued to Miss Aldridge.
LEGISLATION & ISSUES
The statutory provisions relevant to this review are contained in the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act) and the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (the Administration Act).
The issues which arise in this case are:
· Does Miss Aldridge owe a debt to the Commonwealth for the overpayment of a student start-up loan? And, if so,
· Are there any grounds for a write-off or waiver of recovery of part or all of the debt?
Does Miss Aldridge owe a debt to the Commonwealth for the overpayment of a student start-up loan?
Qualification for student start-up loans is set out in section 1061ZVBB of the Act. Since Miss Aldridge was granted youth allowance on 7 November 2022, subsection 1061ZVBB(1) is applicable here. It states:
(1)A person is qualified for a student start - up loan for a qualification period if:
(a) on the person's qualification test day for the period:
(i)the person is qualified for youth allowance and youth allowance is payable to the person; and
(ii)the person is receiving youth allowance and would be receiving youth allowance if steps 2 and 3 of the method statement in point 1067G - A1 of the Youth Allowance Rate Calculator were disregarded for the purposes of working out the person's rate of that allowance; and
(iii)the person is qualified for youth allowance under section 540 in circumstances where subparagraph 540(1)(a)(i) (about full - time study) applies and the relevant course of education is an approved scholarship course;
The Tribunal is satisfied that the requirements of subparagraphs 1061ZVBB(1)(i) and 1061ZVBB(1)(ii) are met on the basis that Miss Aldridge was in receipt of youth allowance and was not, on her evidence, in receipt of either rent assistance or pharmaceutical allowance (which are steps 2 and 3 in the method statement in point 1067G-A1 of the Youth Allowance Rate Calculator).
Subparagraph 1061ZVBB(1)(iii) requires that a person is qualified for youth allowance under section 540 in circumstances where subparagraph 540(1)(a)(i) applies. As the letter from Centrelink dated 7 November 2022 shows, Miss Aldridge qualified for and was granted youth allowance on the basis that she was a full-time student at university.[1]
[1] Folio 66
The definition of full-time study for the purposes of subparagraph 540(1)(a)(i) is found in section 541B of the Act. Full-time study (subject to the exceptions that are not relevant here) requires a person to be enrolled in at least three quarters of the normal amount of full-time study in respect of the course for that period (540(1)(a)(iii)).
According to the authorised review officer, Miss Aldridge informed Centrelink that she had been a part-time student in a fresh claim that she made for youth allowance on 8 July 2024, although a copy of this application was not provided in the document bundle by Centrelink.[2]
[2] Folio 4
A document provided to Centrelink on 10 October 2022, entitled ‘2022 Statement of Enrolment’ shows Miss Aldridge’s enrolment in the second half of 2022. According to this document (issued by her university) she was enrolled in 3 units, giving an equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) contribution of 0.375 or an aggregated load that was 75% of a full load.[3] Section 169.27 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 provides that an EFTSL is ‘an equivalent full-time student load for a year. It is a measure, in respect of a course of study, of the study load for a year of a student undertaking that course of study on a full-time basis.’ An EFTSL of 1 is the study load of a student undertaking a course on a full-time basis. A document entitled ‘Academic history – course list’ includes grades for the units Miss Aldridge studied in Semester 2, 2022,[4] such that the Tribunal can also be satisfied that Miss Aldridge did not withdraw from the units and therefore remained enrolled in the three units for the entirety of Semester 2, 2022.
[3] Folio 19
[4] Folio 23
Since Miss Aldridge’s EFTSL in Semester 2, 2022 was 0.375 (of a possible 0.5 full-time load for that semester), the Tribunal finds that she was studying at 75% of a full-time study load in Semester 2, 2022.
As the Tribunal has found that Miss Aldridge was studying at 75% of a full-time study load, it follows that she met the definition of full-time study in subsection 541B(1) of the Act and was therefore qualified for youth allowance during the relevant period.
The Tribunal therefore finds that Miss Aldridge was qualified under subsection 1061ZVBB(1) of the Act for the student start-up loan she was paid on 18 November 2022 and because of this, sets aside the decision under review and substitutes its decision that there is no debt to the Commonwealth for the overpayment of the same student start-up loan.
DECISION
The Tribunal sets aside the decision under review and substitutes its decision that there is no debt to the Commonwealth for overpayment of a student start-up loan paid to Miss Aldridge on 18 November 2022 in accordance with its findings in paragraphs 15, 16 and 17.
Date(s) of hearing: | Friday, 14 March 2025 |
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