As part of the 2013-14 Budget the previous Government announced that the Student Start-up Scholarship would be converted into an income-contingent loan for new recipients of student payments in higher education from 1 January 2014. Legislation to implement this change is currently before Parliament but was not passed during the Spring sitting. Because of this, the Student Start up Scholarship will be available to new students commencing higher education study in the first semester of 2014.[/I][/I][/B]