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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.
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.
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.
Other payments
We may also be able to help with other costs, e.g. accommodation, childcare, or health and disability costs.
Studying overseas
If you're studying overseas, you may be able to get a Student Loan or Student Allowance.
You have a partner
If you're studying, your partner may be able to get help from us.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Check your application's progress
Once you've applied, you can check your application's progress in MyStudyLink.
Your payments
Once your application's approved, we can pay you and your education provider.