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Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 41 No. 8. April 17 1978
Abatement
Abatement
The major anomaly in the Bursaries system is the 'abatement'—which reduces a student's allowance by $11 a week if he or she does not have to live away from home to attend Tech or Varsity.
- There is no age limit on the abatement, unlike the the unemployment benefit which pays a higher allowance to people over twenty.
- Married students receive abated bursaries on the grounds that they are living "at home". The exception is that two full time students, married or married de-facto to each other, get the full bursary.
- But students who are separated, divorced or widowed are not so lucky. They are treated as though married and get abated bursaries.
- Orphans are abated when they reach the age of majority. While a minor the orphan gets the unabated bursary, unless his or her guardians live in the town where he or she is studying. But once the orphan reaches the age of majority, he or she is treated as independent and, having no home other than where he or she lives, is automatically abated.
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In some cases a student's home is so far away from from a tertiary institution that it is impracticable to expect the student to live at home.
If, for example, the distance between the home and and the institution exceeds 48 km; the home is situated more than 2.4 km from the nearest public transport; or the travelling time for a one way journey between the home and the institution exceeds 1½ hours; the student can live away from home and get the full bursary.
But these rules are arbitrary and it is just bad luck for those students who fall outside them.
- Students may attend a tertiary institution outside their home town and receive unabated bursaries if their chosen course of study or their major is not available in their home town.
The philosophy behind the abatement is out of tune with the realities of today's society. The only way to solve these problems is to abolish the abatement completely.