DVA FACTS
IS161

Additional Financial Assistance

Education Entry Payment

 

Introduction

This fact sheet explains what the Education Entry Payment is, who is eligible, and how to apply for payment.

 

What is the Education Entry Payment?

The Education Entry Payment is a payment designed to assist eligible pensioners with the costs of enrolling in a course of study to develop their skills, obtain a qualification; or to improve their employment prospects.

 

Only one payment is made in each calendar year.  The payment is available to both new and existing students.  The annual rate of payment is $208, and is taxable.

 

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for an education entry payment you are required to meet the conditions contained in both the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 and the Social Security Act 1991.  These conditions are as follows:

 

You must be receiving one of the following DVA pensions:

·      an invalidity service pension; or

·      an income support supplement (ISS); or

·      a partner service pension, if your partner is receiving an invalidity service pension.

 

In addition you must:

·      be under pension age; and

·      be enrolled or intend to enrol in either a full-time or part-time course of education which is an approved course under the Austudy scheme; and

·      be qualified for financial supplement under the student financial supplement scheme, or if not in receipt of financial supplement be qualified to receive the Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) paid by Centrelink; and

·      have not already received an Education Entry Payment in the current calendar year.
Who is eligible? continued

Note 1:    You do not need to be receiving Austudy, but your course must be approved for Austudy purposes.

 

Note 2:    For Education Entry Payment (EdEP) to be paid, it is necessary for a person to be receiving, or be eligible to receive, Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) from Centrelink.  The Social Security Act 1991 limits PES eligibility to the partners of invalidity service pensioners only.  For this reason, partners of other than invalidity service pensioners are not eligible for EdEP.

 

What is pension age?

The pension age for a veteran who has qualifying service is 5 years earlier than pension age for a non-veteran.

 

Male

If

Then

Veteran

60

Non Veteran

65

 

Pension age for a female is being raised by six months every two years so that by 1 January 2014, the eligibility ages for female and male pension ages will be the same.  The tables below show when females qualify.

 

Table 1 - Female veterans with qualifying service

Date of Birth

Qualify at

Before 1 July 1949

Eligible

1 July 1949 to 31 December 1950

58.5

1 January 1951 to 30 June 1952

59

1 July 1952 to 31 December 1953

59.5

1 January 1954 and later

60

 

Table 2 – Female non-veterans

Date of Birth

Qualify at

Before 1 July 1944

Eligible

1 July 1944 to 31 December 1945

63.5

1 January 1946 to 30 June 1947

64

1 July 1947 to 31 December 1948

64.5

1 January 1949 and later

65

What is PES?

PES is a fortnightly Centrelink payment, which provides assistance with ongoing study costs in respect of approved courses of study.

 

Approved courses of study are wide-ranging and extend to secondary education, TAFE courses, preparatory courses for entry to tertiary education and Bachelor and higher degrees through universities and colleges.  Centrelink will confirm whether a course of study is approved or not, when an application is made for PES.

 

Is there similar assistance for veterans?

The Veterans’ Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme is a voluntary scheme that assists willing veterans, with or without a disability, to find suitable employment.  Some veterans may also be eligible for services under the Military Compensation and Rehabilitation Scheme (MCRS).

 

How to apply for payment

Claims for Education Entry Payment must be made in writing and be made in the same calendar year that the Centrelink PES statement was, or would be, issued.  You will be required to provide evidence of your eligibility to receive PES when you lodge your claim at your nearest DVA office.  This can be in the form of:

·      a PES statement; or

·      confirmation from Centrelink of your eligibility for PES; or

·      an offer of a place in an approved Austudy course; or

·      acceptance of a place in an approved Austudy course; or

·      a student identity card; or

·      a higher education contribution statement; or

·      receipt of payment of course fees.

 

Other fact sheets

Other fact sheets related to this topic include:

·     Veterans’ Vocational Rehabilitation Scheme: HSV 108

·     Australian Defence Force Vocational Rehabilitation: MCS 05
More information

All DVA fact sheets are available on request from any DVA office or on the DVA website at www.dva.gov.au/factsheets/default.htm.

 

If you need more information about this topic, contact your nearest DVA office or visit the DVA website at www.dva.gov.au.

 

You can telephone DVA for the cost of a local call* on:

 

133 254 - general inquiries

1800 555 254 - non-metropolitan callers.

 

Note:       *If you use a mobile phone, calls may be more costly.  You are advised to use a normal phone (a landline phone) when ringing these numbers.