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Commonwealth Prac Payment CPP

Commonwealth Prac Payment

The Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) is a weekly payment provided by the Australian Government to support eligible domestic students undertaking mandatory placements in nursing, teaching, midwifery and social work.

Eligible Commonwealth supported students can receive $338.60 per week (indexed annually) while completing an approved placement as part of their course to assist with cost-of-living pressures.

The CPP eligibility criteria is aimed to focus on students at most risk who face placement poverty and a reduced availability to undertake paid work.

In addition to the following information, there’s also CPP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) which answers some more specific issues.

Placement Support

Provides targeted financial support during placement where study limits your ability to work

Eligible Disciplines

Available to domestic students studying nursing, midwifery, teaching or social work.

Weekly Payment

Students can receive up to $338.60 per week to assist with living costs while undertaking placements

Means Tested Eligibility

Eligibility is means tested based on your financial circumstances and/or need to work

Eligible disciplines and weeks of funding

Eligible discipline and level Total available funded weeks SCU courses
Nursing (Bachelor) 20 Bachelor of Nursing, Bachelor of Nursing – Enrolled Nurse to Registered Nurse pathway
Nursing (Masters) 20 Master of Nursing (Graduate Entry)
Midwifery (Bachelor) 20 + 6 continuity of care Bachelor of Midwifery
Teacher Education (Bachelor) 16 Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Early Childhood Education
Teacher Education (Masters) 12 Master of Teaching
Social Work (Bachelor) 26 Bachelor of Social Work, Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)
Social Work (Masters) 26 Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying)

Eligibility for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP)

To be eligible to receive the CPP, students must satisfy all of the following criteria:

Enrolment

  • Be a domestic student enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) at a recognised higher education provider, and
  • Undertaking a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a program of study leading to entry-to-practice in nursing, midwifery, teaching, or social work, and
  • Be undertaking mandatory placements that are either:
    • On average 30 hours or more per week for the duration of the placement, directly linked to the same field of education as the degree; OR
    • Part of a midwifery program involving continuity of care placements, where the placement commitment prevents the student from maintaining paid work due to the need for availability throughout the placement.

Financial Criteria

Applicants must meet one of the following financial criteria 1 or 2:

Commonwealth Support Payments Financial Criteria 1

Be in receipt of one of the following eligible Australian Government payments and allowances:

Income Support Payments (ISP)

  • Age Pension
  • Austudy
  • Carer Payment
  • Disability Support Pension
  • JobSeeker Payment
  • Parenting Payment
  • Special Benefit
  • Farm Household Allowance
  • Youth Allowance

Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Payments

  • Age Pension
  • Income Support Supplement
  • Service Pension
  • Veteran Payment
  • Education Allowance

ABSTUDY Payments

  • ABSTUDY
  • ABSTUDY Living Allowance

Acceptable Evidence

Students can use the ‘request document’ feature via Centrelink Online Services or DVA portal. This can be requested from . Documents accepted:

  1. Centrelink Income Statement
  2. DVA Payment Summary
  3. DVA Statement of Pension

Assessment Period

All evidence must reflect your current entitlement and relate to a recent 4-week period.

  • Upcoming placements: Provide a current Income statement downloaded prior to your application submission
  • Current or completed placements: Provide a current statement that confirms your entitlement immediately prior to your placement start date

The Need to Work and Income Test Financial Criteria 2

Students must satisfy both parts of the Need to Work Test and Income Test to be eligible:

  • Provide evidence of working on average more than 15 hours per week over a 4-week period during your normal study (outside placement), with an individual income threshold of $1,536.37 per week (before tax) during the same period ($6,145.48 total).

Need to Work Test

To meet the Need to Work Test, students must provide evidence demonstrating they have worked more than 60 hours in a continuous 4-week period (average of more than 15 hours per week) during their normal study (outside placement).

Either in the 4 weeks prior to applying, or in the 4 weeks prior to commencing your placement (whichever is earlier).

This work period must not coincide with holidays or placement periods (e.g., if undertaking back-to-back placements).

Income Test

To meet the Income Test, students must provide evidence demonstrating that their gross income (before tax) does not exceed $6,145.48 over the same continuous four-week period used for the Need to Work Test. This equates to an average income of no more than $1,536.37 per week (before tax).

This includes any scholarships or similar cost-of-living support from Commonwealth, State or Territory governments.

Acceptable Evidence

  • Payroll printouts
  • Time and wages sheets
  • Payslips
  • For self-employed students: client invoices, billing information, and/or sole trader time-sheets.

Assessment Period

All evidence must relate to a single continuous 4-week period:

  • Upcoming placements: submit four weeks of evidence immediately prior to your application submission date
  • Current and completed placements: submit evidence from the 4 weeks immediately prior to your placement start date
Jaci Newland with 糖心传媒 Cross midwifery student Minami Cuthbert

Important Information for applicants

Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave (CPP) is considered assessable income for both taxation and social security purposes. As such, it may affect the rate at which a person receives a social security payment.

Recipients are required to declare any CPP payments they receive to Services Australia to ensure accurate assessment of entitlements and compliance with reporting obligations

Payments for successful applicants will be processed weekly on Thursdays, with a Tuesday approval cut off. For applications approved after Tuesdays, payments will be processed the following week. Students can generally expect funds within a few days, however lease allow 10 working days for funds to be available your account. This is subject to the provisions of eligibility criteria and successful banking details in MyEnrolment.

Important: You must update your bank details in MyEnrolment prior to submitting the CPP form. Do not provide these details to staff, via email or over the phone. These bank details are managed confidentiality.

糖心传媒 may suspend or cease Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) payments for range of circumstances.

This includes (but is not limited to):

  • You withdraw from or defer your unit or placement
  • You no longer meet CPP eligibility requirements
  • Your placement is changed, cancelled, or no longer confirmed
  • You are suspended or excluded from the University

Where payments are stopped, the recipient will be notified in writing. In some cases, recipients may be required to repay funds already received if they were no longer eligible to receive them.

You are required to notify the University of any changes to your circumstances as soon as possible by submitting a Change of Circumstances form in MyEnrolment.

This includes (but is not limited to):

  • Changes to placement dates or hours
  • Withdrawal or deferral from study
  • Changes to employment or income
  • Any matter that may affect your eligibility

Failure to notify the University may result in suspension or cessation of payments.