Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Parental Income Test

The information shown on this page applies from 1 January 2012.

There is no parental income test on Basic Boarding Allowance, Distance Education Allowance, Second Home Allowance or the AIC Pensioner Education Supplement.

An income tested Additional Boarding Allowance is available and reduces by $1 for each $5 of parental income over $46,355. The student's actual boarding costs also affect the amount of Additional Boarding Allowance payable. If your actual boarding costs are $7,148 or less, only Basic Boarding Allowance is payable.

• Parental income is the applicant’s and his/her partner's combined taxable income for the financial year ending in the year before the student's year of study (called the base tax year). Any maintenance payments and reportable fringe benefits received in that financial year or negative gearing losses are added to the taxable income while maintenance payments made are deducted.
• The parental income test can be based on parental income in the financial year ending in the student's year of study (called the current tax year) where there has been a substantial decrease or increase in parental income. This may affect the amount of entitlement to Additional Boarding Allowance.
• If parental income exceeds $46,355 and you have other dependent children who are entitled to AIC Additional Boarding Allowance, Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY, they and the student you are claiming for will be placed in a family pool where their circumstances may affect your rate of Additional Boarding Allowance.
• The more dependent children in the family entitled to any of these payments, the higher the rate of payment they and you may be entitled to if parental income exceeds $46,355. If your dependent children’s circumstances change you may also notice changes in your Additional Boarding Allowance rate.
• Once parental income exceeds $53,390 only Basic Boarding Allowance is payable. This threshold may increase if you have other dependent children in the family entitled to AIC Additional Boarding Allowance, ABSTUDY or Youth Allowance.
• Parental income is not taken into account for the period where the applicant or his/her partner:
  • gets an Australian Government income support payment
  • gets a Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) wage (except as an administrator)
  • holds a current Health Care Card (except where they receive Mobility Allowance or Carer Allowance for a disabled child)
• During this period, the entitlement to Additional Boarding Allowance is only affected by the amount of the student's actual boarding costs.
• If the student's actual boarding costs are $7,148 or less, only Basic Boarding Allowance is payable.

If you are eligible for more than Basic Boarding Allowance, the rate of boarding allowance payable is the lower of:

• the entitlement under the parental income test, or
• the student's actual boarding costs.

More information

• Assistance for Isolated Children brochure
• Assistance for Isolated Children section
• Income
• phone us 13 2318