For Students

The Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) will provide eligible domestic students access to $331.65 per week (benchmarked to the single Austudy rate) while they are undertaking a mandatory placement in a Bachelor’s or Master’s in teaching, nursing, midwifery or social work degree or a Diploma of Nursing.

Contact your higher education provider for details on how to apply.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the CPP, you will need to be:

• a domestic student enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP)
• enrolled in a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a course of study that leads to entry-to-practice in teaching, nursing, midwifery or social work at an eligible higher education provider or a Vocational Education and Training (VET) Diploma of Nursing
• completing a mandatory placement required for professional accreditation that either:
• averages 30 hours or more per week 

OR

• is known as a continuity of care placement, as part of a course of study in midwifery, which prevents the student from being able to maintain paid work due to the need to ensure their availability during the placement

AND

You will also need to either:

• be on an Australian Government income support payment (for example ABSTUDY, Austudy, Youth Allowance, Disability Support Pension or DVA income support payment)

OR

• meet a Need to Work Test and an Income Test where you provide evidence of working an average 15+ hours per week over a 4-week period during your normal study (outside placement), with an individual income threshold of $1500 per week (before tax), including income from State, Territory or Commonwealth scholarships during the same period

Students may also be able to access the CPP if there are exceptional circumstances.

Reporting requirements

The CPP is considered ordinary income. This means students who receive CPP will need to report the amounts they receive to the Australian Taxation Office as part of their annual tax returns at the end of the financial year.

Students who receive income support payments or allowances from Centrelink or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) must report CPP as required as part of your reporting obligations. For more information please visit:

• For Centrelink income support payments: Income from Commonwealth Prac Payment
• For DVA payments: What you need to tell us about
• For the ATO: Government payments and allowances

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