Cash Rewards

A cash reward is one of the ways in which we say thank you to our volunteer Peer Mentors for sharing their knowledge and experience, attending training days and subsequent Peer Networking events, maintaining contact with first year students and contributing  to the overall success of Peer Networking Programs.

At the end of the relevant semester, Peer Mentors who have contributed more than 10 volunteer hours in their Peer Networking Program will receive an one-off honorarium cash payment. The amount of the honorarium will be determined by the number of volunteer hours in Peer Networking Program activities, and budgets. Currently, the amount paid as honorarium varies between $100 and $200.

Information for students receiving income support via Centrelink

The University has sought clarification from Centrelink about how the honorarium payments will be viewed. The Business Support Services Level 2 response is that cash rewards or honorariums are regarded as assessable income, assessed over a 52 week period. In other words, a $200 honorarium represents an assessable weekly income of about $3.90. 

The relevant section of the Social Security Act 1991 is Section 8 (1) entitled Income Test Definitions