Photo: Canberra Times

As Semester 1 kicks off, Department of Human Services General Manager Hank Jongen is reminding students to inform the department of any changes to their circumstances.

“Youth Allowance, Austudy and ABSTUDY recipients have 14 days to notify us about any changes to their circumstances, such as study details, income, address or relationship status, as these may affect payments,” Mr Jongen said.

“Students can use digital services to tell the department about changes to their circumstances without needing to call or visit a service centre.

“For example, students can let us know when they have started or stopped working using their online account through myGov or the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.”

Digital services are increasingly becoming the preferred method for students to complete their business with the department. On average, students report 80,000 times each month using their Centrelink online account, and 100,000 times using the Express Plus mobile app.

“Students can also subscribe to electronic messaging for reminders and track their claim to monitor the progress of their application through myGov or the Express Plus mobile app,” Mr Jongen said.

Students can keep in touch with the department through its social media accounts.

“Students can ‘like’ Student Update on Facebook or follow @StudentUpdateAU on Twitter to ask questions and stay up-to-date with the latest news about students.”

The department recently hosted a Facebook Live event on Student Update, answering questions about claiming for Youth Allowance. A student subject matter expert answered questions about eligibility, what documents you need to make a claim and how to lodge and track claims for student payments. The video, which is available on Facebook, has had over 4700 views.

The department will continue to explore and modernise the delivery of services with digital ventures like Facebook Live.

For more information on student payments or keeping your details up-to-date, visit humanservices.gov.au/students.