31 December 2011
By LAUREN WILSON
A REGULATION that made it impossible for about 20,500 tertiary students in inner regional areas including Mount Gambier and Townsville to access the same youth allowance benefits as regional and remote students will be rectified from tomorrow.
Nationals senator Fiona Nash had campaigned for the changes, which passed through parliament this year, complaining that students in inner regional areas were being discriminated against.
While the Gillard government had originally wanted the changes to youth allowance payments to be budget-neutral, Labor proposed the $265 million package to address the gap-year eligibility requirements, which meant students living in remote and regional areas had to work fewer hours to prove their independence.
Regional Affairs Minister Simon Crean said the extension of more generous study support payments for inner regional students was "a great outcome" and would make it easier for more than 20,000 students to attend university.
Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans said that from tomorrow, tertiary students from inner regional areas across the nation would be able to access youth allowance payments in the same way as students in outer regional and remote areas.
"This year, total support for youth allowance for higher education will exceed $1.25 billion -- a more than 50 per cent increase on the $800m outlay in the last year of the Coalition government," Senator Evans said in a statement yesterday.
However, Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Cassandra Goldie and president of the National Welfare Rights Network Maree O'Halloran said the current rate of youth allowance payments -- about $201 a week -- was still too low.
Ms Goldie and Ms O'Halloran said in a joint statement they welcomed the expansion of the workforce independence criteria for inner regional students and Labor's decision to reduce the age of independence for judging eligibility from 23 to 22.
But they said the youth allowance still remained at $42 a week less than the Newstart allowance and $173 a week less than the pension.
"The current rates of payments for young people barely meet rising living costs and are insufficient to cover the costs of study or job search," they said.
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