Study assistance from Work and Income
This includes help with extra costs for parents with students aged 16 to 17 years who don’t qualify for the Student Allowance as well as extra help with study costs if you get the Domestic Purposes, Widows or Invalids Benefit, or Emergency Maintenance Allowance from Work and Income.
On this page:
Away from Home Allowance
The Away from Home Allowance helps parents with the extra costs of supporting students aged 16 to 17 who don't qualify for the Student Allowance, and live away from home to study on a tertiary or training course.
How much parents can get depends on where the student lives, how much their costs are, and how much the parents earn (parents must qualify for Family Tax Credits for the student).
For more details call Work and Income.
Training Incentive Allowance
If you get the Domestic Purposes, Widows or Invalids Benefit, or Emergency Maintenance Allowance from Work and Income, you may be able to get the Training Incentive Allowance to help with your study costs.
If you're on the Domestic Purposes Benefit or the Widows Benefit your course needs to be an approved course and be consistent with the employment goals set out in your Personal Development and Employment Plan.
How much you can get depends on your costs and the length of your course. The fees are paid straight to the people providing the training. Payment for other costs is made to you with your benefit.
As part of its 2009 Budget announcement the Government has announced changes to the Training Incentive Allowance (TIA).
From 28 May 2009, the Training Incentive Allowance cannot be paid for Level Four National Qualifications Framework courses or above.
People currently receiving TIA for higher level courses will continue to receive their funding until they complete study for the current qualification or until 31 December 2011, whichever comes first.
For more details contact Work and Income.
Training Incentive Allowance and the Student Loan
The Training Incentive Allowance may affect the amount you can borrow for compulsory fees and course-related costs, depending on what your Training Incentive Allowance is used for.The amount you can borrow goes down by the amount of Training Incentive Allowance you get (not including any Training Incentive Allowance you get for childcare, transport or disability-related costs).
You can't get a loan for living costs if you get a Training Incentive Allowance because you already get help with your living costs as part of your benefit.
Other Work and Income assistance
If you need assistance with any of the above, or need to talk to Work and Income contact them.