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Starting study

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Starting study

Guidance and help on what you need to do when you're starting study.

If you're thinking about studying, there's lots of things to consider.

You can read our quick guide about how we can help you and what you need to do to get payments from us.

How StudyLink works

First, you need an idea of what you're going to study and where you'll be studying. Then you can properly estimate how much studying is going to cost you.

You need to work out how much your study will cost, see how you can pay for it, and then decide if you can afford it.

What and where to study
Your costs while studying
How to pay for your study
Can you afford to study
Scholarships
Discount on public transport fares

We have a number of payments available to help you when you study.

Student Loan and Student Allowance

The 2 main payments we have are:

  • Student Loan - helps pay for your course fees, study materials and weekly living costs
  • Student Allowance - a weekly payment that can help with your living expenses.

There are certain criteria you'll need to meet to be able to get each payment.

If you're studying part-time, you will be limited in what you can get unless you can be classed as a full-time student.

Student Loan
Student Allowance
Studying part-time

Watch a video on the difference between Student Allowance and Student Loan

Student Allowance vs Student Loan
View transcript of 'Student Allowance vs Student Loan' video

Narrator [00:00:00:19]: Have you thought about how you're going to pay for your study? You'll be paying for things like course fees, books, equipment, as well as day to day costs like rent, bills, and food.

[Words on screen: course fees, books, equipment, rent, bills, food]

Staff member [00:00:11:23]: Let's be real. You might not have your savings sorted before you start studying.

[Staff member facing to camera and talking]

Narrator [00:00:15:23]: That's where StudyLink can help. Through StudyLink, you can get a Student Loan and maybe even a Student Allowance. So, what's the difference between a loan and an allowance? A Student Loan is a loan. You will have to pay it back. It can pay for: course fees, course-related costs and living costs.

[Words on screen: Student Loan, Student Allowance, followed by question marks]

Staff member [00:00:35:01]: Taking out a loan is a big decision and comes with a lot of responsibility, so please, only borrow what you need.

[Staff member facing to camera and talking]

Narrator [00:00:42:06]: And what about a Student Allowance? An allowance as a weekly payment to help you pay for living expenses. This one, you don't have to pay back. But not everyone can get it. To check whether you can and how much you might be able to get have a look at the StudyLink website. If you're under 24, Student Allowance eligibility all depends on your parent's income.

[Words on screen: Student Allowance, followed by a calendar marking out a week and a picture of a bag of groceries. Words on screen: A search bar typing in ‘studylink website student allowance’ with an image of a laptop screen in the background]

Narrator [00:01:04:02]: Yes, both of them. Even if: They aren't living together, they have a new partner, they aren't earning any income or they don't give you any financial support. If you only have one parent or you have a relationship with only one of them, we may be able to use just one income to work out how much you can get for the Student Allowance.

[Images on screen: some students appearing, then words on screen reflecting the transcript]

Narrator [00:01:23:11]: In some cases, an allowance may not depend on any parental income. But, it's best to give us a call to have a chat about this before you apply. Check out the Parental Income calculator on the StudyLink website to estimate how much you can get. There's other criteria you'll need to meet to get a student allowance or loan.

[Images on screen: two students sitting together having a conversation]

Narrator [00:01:42:00]: So go check it out, on the StudyLink website.

[Words on screen: the Studylink website typed out]

Other payments

We may also be able to help with other costs, e.g. accommodation, childcare, or health and disability costs.

Extra help

Studying overseas

If you're studying overseas, you may be able to get a Student Loan or Student Allowance.

Studying while overseas

You have a partner

If you're studying, your partner may be able to get help from us.

Help for partners when you're studying

Getting a benefit from Work and Income

If you're getting a benefit and thinking about study, you may be able to get help from Work and Income, StudyLink, or both.

The type of help you can get, and who you get this from, depends on your situation.

Moving from a benefit to study
Studying while on a benefit

Find out what you may be able to get

Look at some examples of common student situations and the financial help they may be able to get from StudyLink and Work and Income.

You can also use our Eligibility test to find out what help you may qualify for, then choose if you want to apply.

Examples of what you can get
Eligibility test

There's a few things you need to do when you apply for a payment from us.

Apply online

When you're ready to apply, you'll apply online as a first-time student.

Apply as a first-time student
Help completing an online application

Information and documents to provide

You'll need to provide information in your application and then send us certain documents once you've submitted it. 

Information you need to provide
Documents to support your application
How to send us your documents
Verifying copies of original documents

Check your application's progress

Once you've applied, you can check your application's progress in MyStudyLink.

Application status

Your payments

Once your application's approved, we can pay you and your education provider.

When payments start

We have an A-Z list of all our payments and forms.

A-Z list of all payments
A-Z list of all forms
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