Commonwealth Prac Payment CPP

Commonwealth Prac Payment

Eligible domestic students whose course requires a mandatory placement in teaching, social work, nursing or midwifery may qualify for financial assistance,commencing after 1 July 2025. Eligible courses of study at Southern Cross University include:

The Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) is being introduced by the Australian Government to help students manage the costs associated with undertaking a mandatory placement. In 2025, the payment will be $331.65 per week and will be benchmarked to the single Austudy rate. The proposed eligibility criteria are aimed to focus on students at most risk who face placement poverty and a reduced availability to undertake paid work.

Course name and level Total available funded CPP weeks per course
Nursing (Bachelor) 20
Nursing (Masters) 20
Midwifery (Bachelor) 20 + 6 continuity of care
Teacher Education (Bachelor) 16
Teacher Education (Masters) 12
Social Work (Bachelor) 26
Social Work (Masters) 26

Eligibility for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP)

To be eligible to receive the CPP, students must satisfy both parts 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.
  • 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 Need

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

Financial Criteria 1

The following Australian Government payments and allowances are considered eligible for meeting the financial need criteria of the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP):

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 for Eligibility

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

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

Financial Criteria 2

  • Provide evidence of working on average 15 or more hours per week over a 4-week period during your normal study (outside placement), with an individual income threshold of $1,500 per week (before tax) during the same period.
Need to Work Test and Income Test

Need to Work Test:
To satisfy the Need to Work Test, students must provide evidence confirming they have worked a minimum of 60 hours over a continuous four-week period prior to their placement period. This work period must not coincide with holidays or placement periods (e.g., if undertaking back-to-back placements). The evidence must cover the period prior to the submission (4 weeks) of the application and commencement of the placement.

Income Test:
To meet the Income Test, students must provide evidence demonstrating that their gross income (before tax) does not exceed $6,000 over the same continuous four-week period used for the Need to Work Test. This equates to an average income of no more than $1,500 per week (before tax).

Acceptable evidence includes:

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

Applications are open for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment from July 4, 2025. Please note that retrospective applications for placements completed prior to July 2025 will not be accepted.

Reporting Obligations

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.:

  • The Australian Taxation Office as part of annual tax returns (recipients should seek their own independent taxation advice)
  • Services Australia, to assess their ongoing rates of social security payment or other allowance, if applicable
  • Department of Veterans Affairs, if applicable

CPP recipients are responsible for managing potential impacts of CPP on any Commonwealth Income Support Payments (ISP) or financial assistance from other sources.

CPP funded course weeks