Student income support: a chronology

The Australian Government commenced providing financial support to students during World War II. This program, initially intended to ensure an adequate supply of trained defence personnel, developed into the current system of income support provided to students and apprentices. Currently the Department of Social Services administers a number of payments for students. Prior to 1998, these payments were administered under the education portfolio. This paper provides a short history of the development of these payments, a chronology of changes to each payment, information on the number of recipients of these payments, and on payment rates and means tests. The paper is a reference tool for those needing to locate specific changes quickly and place them in their chronological context, rather than a definitive history of income support for student in Australia. Schemes providing support for postgraduate students, students who are veterans or the child of a veteran, or Indigenous students are not addressed in this paper. It also does not provide detailed information on the availability of, and eligibility conditions for, present day social security benefits for students.

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