Student Allowances January – December 2021
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For this report, a student is defined as a person who received at least one payment from StudyLink in the calendar year, up to the end of the specified reporting month.
The data in this report are cumulative calendar year-to-date figures. All percentages are computed using actual data and rounded to the nearest one decimal point. Total percentages may not add up to exactly 100 percent because of rounding effects. The last three years of data and annual comparisons are presented in summary tables. Earlier figures are included in the downloadable Excel files.
Number of recipients and amount paid
The number of Student Allowance recipients increased
From January to December 2021, 62,814 students received financial assistance under the Student Allowances (SA) Scheme. This was 1,092 more students (up 1.8 percent) when compared with the same period last year.
A total of $605,895,420 was paid for Student Allowance and Accommodation Benefit from January to December 2021, an increase of 3.0 percent compared with the same period in 2020.
On average, students received Student Allowance amounting to $8,267 from January to December 2021. This was 1.3 percent higher than what students received, on average, in January to December 2020.
In 2021, students who were also entitled to Accommodation Benefit received $1,995 on average, up 0.2 percent when compared with last year.
Below is a summary table with year-on-year comparisons over the last three years.
Number of recipients, amounts paid, and average amount paid
| Student allowances | January to December | Annual change | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | |
| Student Allowance | 62,496 | 61,725 | 62,814 | -1.2% | 1.8% |
| Accommodation Benefit | 41,895 | 42,240 | 43,419 | 0.8% | 2.8% |
| Total number of recipients | 62,496 | 61,722 | 62,814 | -1.2% | 1.8% |
| Amount paid for Student Allowance | $509,021,259 | $503,901,980 | $519,286,742 | -1.0% | 3.1% |
| Amount paid for Accommodation Benefit | $84,519,447 | $84,158,471 | $86,608,678 | -0.4% | 2.9% |
| Total amount paid | $593,540,706 | $588,060,451 | $605,895,420 | -0.9% | 3.0% |
| Average Student Allowance | $8,145 | $8,164 | $8,267 | 0.2% | 1.3% |
| Average Accommodation Benefit | $2,017 | $1,992 | $1,995 | -1.2% | 0.2% |
Note: Amounts are rounded to the nearest dollar. Not every Student Allowance recipient is eligible for Accommodation Benefit.
