STUDENT PAYMENT

Government student payments to support you to study

Certificate lll in Early Childhood Education and Care

Are you keen to become an educator and to start your career in Early Childhood, so that you can be part of seeing children flourish?

Completing the Certificate lll in Early Childhood Education and Care is your first step... and we have good news!

This course meets the requirements of an approved course, and First Door is an approved Education Provider to qualify for student payments from the Australian Government.

Student payments for eligible full time students

Student payments are paid fortnightly from Services Australia. They help with the financial costs of living, and some study expenses.
There are three main payments available:

Youth allowance - for people under 25 years
Austudy - for people over 25 years
Abstudy - for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples

Each payment has its own criteria you’ll have to meet, like your income and assets. Depending on your payment, Services Australia will look at if you’re independent from your parents or if you have a partner.

Here's a guide for how much money people get for student payment. There are additional support options with Covid-19.

Check your eligibility for student payment here

You can submit your student claim for Youth Allowance or Austudy online (and find out where it is up to). There's no need to call or visit a service centre.
To claim your student payment online, go to the ‘Students and trainees’ page on the Services Australia website at: www.servicesaustralia.gov.au

What does it mean to be a 'full time' student?

Studying the Certificate lll course with First Door as a full time student is based on completing 20 hours each week.

During this 20 hours per week, you will need to:

use our student eLearning portal to build your professional learning by watching the video tutorials, and using the resources provided
complete the assessment tasks in the assessment workbook, using the assessment guide videos to help you
complete practical experience* in an Early Childhood service to put your learning into practice (this is a requirement to complete assessment tasks in many units)
prepare for and engage in a mentoring meeting for each unit

*Note: During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have arranged this course so that you can get started without work placement for five of the course units.

The full time course duration is over nine months, based on a total of 720 hours. You will need to demonstrate your competence in all 18 course units before you are able to receive your course qualification.

Learn more about completing the Certificate lll in Early Childhood Education and Care with First Door.

More good news! Queensland Government funding is available for course fees

If you are a Queensland permanent resident, check out if you are eligible for Government funded course fees

On top of all that good news... Our Certificate lll course is life changing

You will be supported to gain the required skills and knowledge, with practical workplace experience. Successfully completing this course is a gateway to employment along with further career and study opportunities. This is your opportunity to make a positive difference for children, their families and your own life.