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  1. Home
  2. About StudyLink
  3. Glossary
  4. Parental home

About StudyLink

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Parental home

Our definition for parental home

This means different things for a Student Allowance and Accommodation Benefit.

For Student Allowance, a parental home is a home where you live with a parent in a place they own or pay for. This doesn't include situations where:

  • you're sharing accommodation, eg you're:
    • both on the tenancy agreement
    • paying board to live in a hostel or boarding house
  • you live in a self contained place on your parent's property, eg a place with its own kitchen, shower and bathroom facilities
  • you're supporting your parent, eg:
    • you're caring for them
    • you're paying for their accommodation.

For Accommodation Benefit, a parental home is a home where you live with a parent in a place they own or pay for. This doesn't include situations where:

  • you're sharing accommodation, eg you're:
    • both on the tenancy agreement
    • paying board to live in a hostel or boarding house
  • you live in a self contained place on your parent's property, eg a place with its own kitchen, shower and bathroom facilities
  • you're supporting your parent, eg:
    • you're caring for them
    • you're paying for their accommodation.

If you don't live with a parent but live in their house, this is also considered a parental home, unless:

  • you or your partner have a child, or
  • you pay market rent for the area you live in, or
  • you pay the outgoings for the area you live in (eg, mortgage, rates, house insurance and essential repairs and maintenance) and the parent doesn't help you pay for these.

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