Prac Payment Frequently Asked Questions

The university will close from Friday, 19 December 2025, and reopen on Monday, 5 January 2026. During this period, financial CPP payments will not be processed.

• Final 2025 payments: Final weekly payments approved for 2025 will be processed during the week of 15 December 2025.
• Payments approved after closure: Any remaining approved payments will be processed when the university reopens in January 2026.
• Payment rates:
  • Payments for 2025 will be made at the approved 2025 indexed rate of $331.65, as set by the Commonwealth Government.
  • Students continuing in 2026 will receive payments at the new 2026 indexed rate once processing resumes in the new year.

Thank you for your understanding and patience during this period.

You can contact Client Services on 1800 SC HELP / 1800 72 4357.

Only students who have received an invitation and are enrolled in approved units are eligible to apply for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP). Students enrolled in units with eligible Work Integrated Learning (WIL) components will receive invitations via their University email address prior to the commencement of their placement.

Email invitations for eligible students are sent out 28 days from your unit enrolment. However, you still have up to 4 weeks before your placement date to submit your evidence. Applications will remain open for six months after you complete a Placement. After six months, the applications will lapse and no longer be valid.

Yes. You have up to 6 months from the commencement of the placement period to submit your CPP application. Please note that all relevant CPP eligibility conditions will apply for this period.

Yes, to ensure ongoing eligibility for CPP, recipients should complete a form each period they are invited to.

When assessing eligibility under the income test, all sources of income must be taken into account. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Scholarships and bursaries 
• Wages or wage subsidies
• Any other forms of financial support provided by the University or by Commonwealth, State or Territory Governments

This requirement applies regardless of whether the payments are received within or outside the standard four-week evidentiary period. All income must be declared during the application process.

If you are in receipt of an annual or lump sum scholarship/bursary provided by the Commonwealth or a State/Territory Government for the purpose of supporting your studies, the total value of this payment will be converted into a weekly amount. This weekly figure will then be applied to the income threshold for the purpose of assessing your eligibility.

In cases where you are receiving placement-specific financial support from a government source, this income must also be converted to a weekly equivalent and included in the income test assessment.

Where multiple payments are received over the course of a year, each payment should be declared, converted to an annual rate, and assessed accordingly.

All declarations should be made in accordance with the relevant eligibility criteria outlined under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and associated guidelines. Failure to accurately disclose income may result in ineligibility for support or a requirement to repay funds received.

Please allow up to 10 business days for your CPP form to be assessed. You will be notified of the outcome via your student email once an outcome is available.

Payments are made by Southern Cross University once a week. Payments for any particular week are likely to be deposited in your nominated bank account at the end of the placement week or early the following week, depending on your banking institutions policy for releasing funds.

You can amend your payment details in the Student Portal in the Financial Details tab. See the Scholarships Payment Method information on how to ensure this is up-to-date.

Do not:

1. email us your bank details,
2. tell us over the phone, or 
3. enter them into your application form.

Note: no spaces, dashes, or symbols in “Bank Code” (BSB) or “Bank Account” (Account Number). The payment system cannot recognise these characters, and SCU cannot make payments if your bank details have these characters.

1. The following is an accepted document:
   • Centrelink Payment Summary
   • Centrelink Statement of Income
   • DVA Payment Summary
   • DVA Statement of Pension
2. Students can use the ‘request document’ feature via Centrelink Online Services or the DVA portal. You can request these from Services Australia.
3. Please note that your Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) is not a Centrelink Income Support Statement and is not eligible.
4. Submitting incorrect documents will delay your assessment timeframe.
5. All Centrelink evidence must be current from the date of your application. i.e. not from 2024. We cannot accept screenshots of your CRN number or Centrelink app in MyGov.

No, the Parenting Payment is a separate payment from Family Tax Benefit.

Payslips before and after the formal breaks are required (if applicable). Please use the additional information field to advise of the educational institution formal breaks that demonstrate a break in pay. 

1. Please declare this in the additional information field and attach your payslips for four weeks immediately preceding your prior placement commencement date.
2. The four-week evidentiary period relates to the four weeks immediately preceding your application or placement start date, not the previous study term.

To be eligible for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP), students must be undertaking their placement on a full-time basis, defined as a minimum of 30 hours per week.

If you withdraw from your current course and subsequently enrol in another course that is approved for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP)—for example, transferring from the Bachelor of Midwifery to the Bachelor of Nursing—your CPP entitlements will reset under the new course.

If you fail a placement and are required to repeat those placement weeks, you will not be eligible for additional Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP) for the repeated period.

However, if your repeated placement falls within the maximum number of CPP-eligible weeks for your course, you may apply for CPP for that period. Please refer to the relevant table of approved courses and maximum eligible weeks for further information.

If you need to defer your placement due to unforeseen circumstances, you may retain the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP) already paid for the current placement, provided you intend to complete the associated placement unit in a timely manner.

If you withdraw from your placement unit or course after receiving the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP), you will be required to return any CPP funds paid to you. The University will issue an invoice for the amount corresponding to the number of weeks of placement not undertaken. This invoice will be emailed to your current preferred email address.

Please email scholarships@scu.edu.au to request an invoice if you have not received an expected invoice. 

If there are any changes to your circumstances during your placement period that may impact your eligibility for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP), you are required to complete and submit a Change of Circumstances Form as soon as practicable.

If your placement is delayed or rescheduled from the originally allocated dates, you are not required to submit a Change of Circumstances Form unless there is a change to your financial situation that may affect your eligibility for the Commonwealth Practicum Payment (CPP).

You can reapply before your placement start date, provided you meet eligibility requirements. If not, please see How do I appeal the outcome of my final CPP decision? You have up to six months from the conclusion of the placement to appeal.

You can appeal before your placement start date, provided you meet the eligibility criteria. Please follow the link to appeal within the rejection email.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your final CPP (Commonwealth Prac Payment) decision, you may lodge a complaint, provided you have first completed the internal review process via the application form.

Once the internal appeal process is complete, you can escalate your concern through the Feedback and Complaints Framework. This allows you to formally request a review of the decision in line with the University's complaints policy.

At present, there is no requirement for the University to report CPP payments to Commonwealth government departments. However, this may be subject to change in the future, in line with evolving legislative or policy requirements.

Recipients of CPP payments are responsible for managing any potential impacts that these payments may have on their eligibility for Commonwealth Income Support Payments (ISPs) or any other form of financial assistance received from government or other agencies. It is the responsibility of the recipient to seek independent advice regarding such implications, if necessary.

To support students in meeting their reporting obligations, the University will issue a formal notification at the end of each financial year. This notification will confirm the total amount of CPP paid to the recipient over the financial year and will include the following information:

• Full name of the student
• Date of birth
• Residential address
• Total amount of CPP paid 

This information may be used by recipients when reporting income to Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office, or other relevant authorities. This information may be used by recipients when reporting income to Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office, or other relevant authorities.