Commonwealth prac payment - Flinders University Students

The Commonwealth Prac Payment is a government program that offers eligible nursing, teaching, midwifery and social work students financial support while undertaking mandatory placements. This payment can help ease the financial burden of placement costs and ensures you can focus on your learning and practical training.

The Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP)

If eligible, you will be able to access to $338.60 (from 1 January 2026) per week of placement. Each year this rate is benchmarked against the single Austudy rate.

The maximum funded weeks of placement depends on the field of education of your course:

Discipline/Course	Funded Weeks of Placement across your course
Nursing (UG and PG)	20 weeks
Midwifery (UG and RN entry)	20 weeks + 6 weeks of COCE
Teacher Education (UG)	16 weeks
Teacher Education (PG)	12 weeks
Social Work (UG and PG)	26 weeks

CPP is considered assessable income for taxation and social security purposes and may impact the rate at which you receive social security payments. We recommend you seek personalised taxation advice

If you receive Commonwealth Prac Payments, you are required to declare the amount you receive to:

The ATO as part of your annual tax return
Services Australia to assess your ongoing rate of social security payment or other allowance (if applicable)
Department of Veterans Affairs (if applicable)

Eligibility

To be eligible for CPP you must be:

A domestic student
Enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
Completing an eligible course
Undertaking mandatory placements that are either:
- On average 30 hours or more per week for the duration of the placement; OR
- as part of course of study in midwifery known as a continuity of care placements which prevents you from being able to maintain paid work due to the need to ensure your availability during the placement

You must also meet one of the following criteria:

Currently in receipt of an eligible Commonwealth Income Support Payment; OR
Meet the need to work test and income test

More information is available on the Federal Government’s Department of Education website.

Domestic Student

Commonwealth supported (CSP)

Studying a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Education, Midwifery, Nursing or Social Work

Undertaking placement of 30 hours (or more) per week

Receiving Commonwealth ISP or working more than 15 hours a week and earning less than $1500 per week.

Income Support Payment (ISP)

To apply for CPP using the ISP pathway, you must currently receive one of the income support payments (ISPs) listed on the Services Australia website.

If you receive a Centrelink ISP:

Attach an updated Centrelink Statement to your application.
The statement must show:
- Your name
- The name of the ISP
- Dates of payments
You can request this statement through Centrelink online services using the ‘Request Document’ feature.

If you receive an ISP from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs:

Examples include:
- Age Pension
- Income Support Supplement
- Service Pension
- Veteran Payment
Attach evidence showing:
- Your name
- The name of the ISP
- Dates of payments

Please note: If you are currently receiving an eligible ISP, you do not need to meet the Need to Work or Income Test criteria to apply through this pathway.

Need to work test

To meet the Need to Work test, you must provide evidence that you worked an average of at least 60 hours over a continuous four-week period. This means you should work at least 15 hours per week on average.

The 4-week evidentiary period must be:

During your most recent study period
Not during university holidays or placements

This period must occur before:

You submit your application, or
You commence your placement (whichever comes first)

See below different examples of eligible 4-week periods:

Example 1: Placement starts on 2 March, applies on 2 February, worked 65 hours between 27 October and 23 November (prior to university holidays) during Semester 2 of previous year (most recent study period).

Example 2: Placement starts on 27 April, applies retrospectively on 28 May, worked 62 hours between 16 March and 12 April (prior to mid-term break and placement start) during Semester 1 of current year.

Example 3: Placement starts on 21 September, applies on 7 September, worked 70 hours between 3 August and 30 August during Semester 2 of current year, prior to application submission and placement start date.

Income test

To meet the Income Test, you must show that your gross (pre-tax) income does not exceed $6,146.80 during the same four-week period used for the Need to Work test.

This means you should earn no more than $1,536.70 per week on average before tax.

Examples of income that counts:

Wages or salary from employment (part-time or full-time, casual if consecutive)
Overtime payments
Bonuses or commissions
Income from self-employment or business activities
Contract or freelance payments
Payments from an employment agency

Receipt of other support

When assessing your eligibility for the income test, Flinders will consider all sources of income paid directly to you, including:

Scholarships
Bursaries
Wages
Wage subsidies
Any other support from universities or government (both Commonwealth and State/Territory)

This also includes payments received outside the four-week period used for the need to work test. You will need to declare all this income in your application.

However, payments for student contribution amounts or other fees, such as provided accommodation, or any other indirect/in-kind support will not count towards the income test.

Eligibility for exceptional circumstances consideration

To be eligible to be considered for exceptional circumstances you must be any of the following:

a student who requires reasonable adjustments for work or study (evidenced by an access plan or medical documentation)
unable to undertake mandatory placements greater than 30 hours per week whose adjusted placement hours have been approved by Topic Coordinator
unable to meet the Need to Work and/or Income test criteria due to unexpected, uncommon, temporary or unusual circumstances that are not under your control and can be proven with documents. For example, a short-term illness.

The categories for exceptional circumstances are:

Disability
Health and Medical
Acute personal or family event

Applications for exceptional circumstances are required to be submitted to the Government’s Department of Education for assessment. Please ensure you allow time prior to this for Flinders to assess and send your application to the Department. We suggest submitting your application at least six (6) weeks prior to placement if you believe you meet the criteria for exceptional circumstances.

For future Commonwealth Prac Payments, you will need to meet the standard program requirements unless the exceptional circumstances continue. In either case, you need to apply through InPlace at the time of your next placement.

Continuity of Care Experiences (COCE)

Midwifery students who have been approved for CPP can claim payment for Continuity of Care Experience (COCE) activities.

How it works:

You need to complete 30 hours of COCE activities to claim one CPP payment.
Once you reach 30 hours, submit a timesheet to receive payment for 1 week (30 hours).
You can claim up to 6 payments for COCE purposes.
COCE hours must be from 1 July 2025 onwards.

The application process

1. Enrol in your placement topic

2. Apply via InPlace

3. Upload your supporting documentation

4. Receive application outcome

5. Go on your placement

6. Submit your timesheet

Step 1 - Invitation to apply

Eligible students will be invited to apply for CPP 6 to 4 weeks before your placement start date.

How you’ll be notified:

You will receive an email invitation with details on how to apply.
The application form will be activated in your InPlace account on the day you receive the invitation.

Need help with the application?

Enrol in our FLO module for step-by-step instructions.
Once you have access to the FLO site, you’ll find guides and resources to assist you.

Step 2 - Submit your application

You can access the application form via InPlace. A notification will appear in your ‘To Do’ list.

Steps to complete your application:

Open the application form and respond to all questions. See full guide in our FLO module for instructions and examples.
Upload relevant documents as evidence to support your application.
Acceptable evidence includes:
- Centrelink statements (for ISP evidence)
- Timesheets (for the Need to Work test)
- Payslips (for the Income test)
- Invoicing and billing information (for self-employed or sole traders)
- Scholarship offer letters
- Documentation for any other form of income
Read the declaration provided on InPlace and tick the corresponding boxes.

Important:

If we need further information, you will be contacted.
Please reply promptly to avoid delays in processing your application.
Delays in providing additional information may result in delayed payment.

Step 3 - Application assessment

We assess your application. This process can take up to 15 University days.

Step 4 - Application outcome

If your application is successful:
You will receive an approval email with further instructions and details.

If your application is unsuccessful:
You will receive a notification email. Please read it carefully—it may include:

The reason your application was declined
Information on additional documents or details you can provide for reassessment

Step 5 - Enter your bank details via the Student Portal

If you need to update your bank account information, you can do so easily via the Student System (EFT):

Open the ‘Student System’ app located on your Flinders Dashboard (Okta)
Go to the ‘My Finances’ tab,
Select the option on the left of the page to "Enter Bank Account Details"
Click the "Change" button,
Ensure that the payment method is "Electronic Funds Transfer"
Enter your banking details in the fields provided,
Make sure to put the dash in the middle. For example: 123-456
Click "Save"

While on placement

You need to attend your scheduled placement and complete a weekly timesheet.

Once you have completed a week of placement, you will need to attach the timesheet as evidence in your Log Book on InPlace and submit it for review.

Please note:

Your placement attendance is mandatory
You are required to download the weekly timesheet from the Work Integrated Learning FLO site and have it signed by your on-site supervisor, or an authorised representative from the placement venue, at the end of each placement week. If you have not yet self-enrolled in the FLO module, please click here to do so.
Your signed off hours will be sent to Finance and used for reconciliation purposes, and reporting to the Commonwealth Government
Please inform your Topic Coordinator and the Work Integrated Learning team if you do not attend placement, the timing or duration of your placement changes as soon as practical. Please see Change of circumstances.
Your Topic Coordinator will confirm the total attended hours at the end of your placement

Change of circumstances

You need to inform your Topic Coordinator and Work Integrated Learning team if you:

withdraw your CPP application
withdraw from your placement, topic or course
postpone your placement
no longer qualify for ISP or have exceeded the income threshold

Please contact:

cepsw.placements@flinders.edu.au for education and social work related placements
cnhs.placements@flinders.edu.au for nursing and midwifery related placements

Confirmation of Eligibility

To remain eligible for the CPP, you need to confirm your ongoing eligibility at the start of each placement. If there are any changes in your situation this might affect your eligibility for the payment. You will be required to update all relevant and applicable information in your application, including:

Changes in your income (such as getting extra support from other scholarships) and employment.
Changes to your ISP.
Any other information that might affect your CPP payments.

If your eligibility changes in any way, your eligibility will need to be reassessed through the full application process.

If your placement is outside a study period, you may use the most recent study period before the placement to confirm your eligibility.

Re-application

Flinders University is required to receive evidence of your eligibility at least once every 12 months. You also need to confirm your eligibility for each placement within those 12 months. Therefore, if you are completing a subsequent placement in a calendar year you will be required to confirm there have been no changes in your circumstances or situation since you last applied via a confirmation on InPlace.

Withdrawal, deferment and failure of placement

If you defer or withdraw from a placement, ensure that you contact the placement team as soon as possible.

You will be eligible to keep the funds from your completed full weeks of placement. Any further payments will be stopped.

If you have withdrawn, you will be required to pay back any overpayment for placement not completed.

If you have deferred your placement, you may retain your payments including payments for incomplete placement weeks. However, you will not receive any further payments until you have completed the weeks previously paid to you by the University.

You do not need to pay back any funds for a failed placement.

Please note, you are only eligible for a capped number of weeks of payments including those from withdrawn, deferred or failed placements. Failed placements may impact the number of payments you receive for future placements.

Payments for prior placements

You have up to 6 months after your placement starts to apply for CPP. If you are applying for a retrospective (past) placement, you will be assessed against the guidelines related to that year. For example, if your placement took place from 6 October until the 31 October 2025, you will be entitled to the 2025 weekly payment amount of $331.65, or $1,326.60 in total. If you apply under the Need to Work and Income Tests, you must show that your gross (pre-tax) income does not exceed $6,000 during the same four-week period used for the Need to Work test. This means you should earn no more than $1,500 per week on average before tax.