April 2010 update

To find out about Youth Allowance changes go to information from the National Union of Students  and the Commonwealth Government. Also note that from 1 April 2010, Equity and Merit-based scholarships have been made exempt from means testing. Full report can be found here.

Background information

Students need financial help to get through their studies. Indigenous Australians and low socio-economic status (SES) students particularly need help; but all students need greater assistance. Many students have to work excessive hours and this is impacting negatively on their study. A significant amount of tertiary students are even going without food because of lack of income.

All Commonwealth Government allowances for students should be above the poverty line. This is not the case at present. For example, students under 25 receiving Youth Allowance, and living in a share house, can be living about 38% below the Henderson poverty line.

The eligibility criteria for Youth Allowance for rural students are too tight and can create a barrier for remote young people contemplating study.

For the recent apology to Indigenous Australians to translate into positive action we need to look at the positive role that tertiary education can play in assisting Indigenous people to find decent work, and other opportunities.

Better income support would assist students to become more involved in the learning community as well as taking the financial pressure off so more time can be committed to study.

As a start, the Commonwealth should provide adequate income support so that all can participate in the learning and broader community life of the tertiary institution. There should be better income support of tertiary students in the following areas:

• the age of independence for Youth Allowance recipients should be reduced from 25 to 18 so that students are not assessed on the basis of their parents’ income and assets;
• the Youth Allowance threshold of earned income before penalty should be raised, to match CPI, from $6000 to at least $8000; and,
• scholarships providing financial support should not be included as accessible income when evaluating eligibility for income support.

Also, extra measures should be considered to assist Indigenous students and those attending tertiary education from remote and regional areas.

Find out what happened – did these recommendations get adopted? Full updated report can be found here.

You can seek advice about your personal circumstances. If you need further independent advice on Commonwealth income support go to the National Welfare Rights Network website and find out contact details for help in your part of Australia.