Centrelink rates for students
Maximum basic rates for Youth Allowance, Austudy and ABSTUDY from the live Services Australia extract. Indexed on 20 March and 20 September. These are published ceilings, not a calculated entitlement.
- Highest
- $838
- Lowest
- $422
- Situations
- 13
- Effective
- 20 Mar 2026
Payment-type ceiling split
According to Services Australia maximum basic rates in this extract, Austudy and Youth Allowance share the $838.30 fortnight ceiling on single with dependants, but ABSTUDY living allowance tops out at $639.00 away-from-home — the highest published fortnight is not available on every payment type (floor $422.10 at-home).
- $838
- Austudy and Youth Allowance ceiling
- $639
- ABSTUDY maximum
- $422
- Lowest at-home basic rate
- 13
- Published situations in extract
According to Services Australia maximum basic rates in the live centrelink_rates extract; not an entitlement calculation.
Rate-row inventory · centrelink_rates.payment_type
How 13 published situations split by payment type
Exclusive payment_type tags in the live Services Australia extract; parts sum to the published situation count. Orthogonal to the fortnightly rate bars below.
Youth Allowance by situation
Austudy by situation
Youth Allowance (5 situations)
Youth Allowance covers full-time students and Australian Apprentices aged 16–24, plus job-seekers aged 16–21. The published rate in this extract turns on living arrangement, partner status and dependants.
- 1 Single With Dependants 16-24 · ~$21,796/yr $838.30
- 2 Partnered With Children 16-24 · ~$18,244/yr $701.70
- 3 Single No Dependants Away From Home 16-24 · ~$16,614/yr $639.00
- 4 Partnered No Children 16-24 · ~$16,614/yr $639.00
- 5 Single No Dependants At Home 16-24 · ~$10,975/yr $422.10
Austudy (4 situations)
Austudy covers full-time students and Australian Apprentices aged 25 and over. This extract has no separate at-home rate. Partner status and dependants still change the row.
- 1 Single With Dependants 25+ · ~$21,796/yr $838.30
- 2 Partnered With Children 25+ · ~$18,244/yr $701.70
- 3 Single No Dependants 25+ · ~$16,614/yr $639.00
- 4 Partnered No Children 25+ · ~$16,614/yr $639.00
ABSTUDY (4 situations)
ABSTUDY Living Allowance rows in this extract match the Youth Allowance at-home and away figures for the equivalent situation. Extra ABSTUDY supplements (school fees, away-from-base, masters/doctorate) are not in this table.
- 1 Living Allowance Secondary Away 16-21 · ~$16,614/yr $639.00
- 2 Living Allowance Tertiary Away 16+ · ~$16,614/yr $639.00
- 3 Living Allowance Secondary At Home 16-21 · ~$10,975/yr $422.10
- 4 Living Allowance Tertiary At Home 16+ · ~$10,975/yr $422.10
What this table does not include
- Services Australia indexes these rates on 20 March and 20 September.
- A parental income test can apply to Youth Allowance under 22 unless independence criteria are met.
- A personal income free area and taper sit outside this extract. Read them on the Services Australia rate pages, not as a figure typed here.
- Rent Assistance is paid on top of the basic rate when rent clears the published threshold.
- The Payment and Service Finder on servicesaustralia.gov.au, or myGov, is the entitlement check.
Source: Services Australia Maximum basic rates of payment · 2026 Rates effective 2026-03-20 indexation in the live centrelink_rates table; verify against Services Australia before relying on any figure.
This page identifies the source records and data vintage used for its figures. Fortnightly rates on this page are SELECT results from centrelink_rates (effective_from, payment_type, situation, rate_per_fortnight). No editor-typed dollar amounts. Nothing here is financial advice; for any decision that matters, follow the primary source and consult a qualified professional (see our disclaimer). See also our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-05-20.