Anglicare Australia calls for Youth Allowance to be abolished

Anglicare Australia is calling on the Federal Government to abolish Youth Allowance as a lower-rate payment and bring young people onto the same working-age payments as other adults.

A new report, Falling Short, released as part of Anti-Poverty Week, finds that:

• A young person living at home with their parents has just $34 left each week after paying for food and transport, assuming they pay no rent and have their food costs halved.
• A young person in shared accommodation falls behind by $52 a week after paying for rent, food and transport, with rent set at just $178 a week.
• A young person living alone would fall behind by a staggering $382 a week.

“These figures show that Youth Allowance is setting young people up to fail,” said Anglicare Victoria CEO and report spokesperson Paul McDonald.

“Young people pay the same prices at the supermarket, the same prices for transport, and the same rents as everybody else. But our income support system expects them to survive on less.

“Even in our most generous scenario, where a young person lives rent-free with their parents, they have just $34 left after food and transport. That’s barely enough to cover a phone bill, let alone healthcare, clothing, study costs or saving to move out. For young people who can’t live at home, the situation is dire. Even with a cheap room in a share house, Youth Allowance falls short of the basics.

“Of course, young people aren’t literally spending money they don’t have each week. Instead, they are likely to be skipping meals, delaying medical care, or taking on debt. Others are forced to rely on family to cover the difference – and that’s not always possible for those who grow up in foster care and have to fend for themselves.

Mr McDonald said:

We are calling for Youth Allowance to be abolished as a separate, lower payment. Young people over eighteen living independently should be on the same working-age payment as everyone else.

But we can’t stop there. JobSeeker and other working-age payments are themselves well below the poverty line. Moving young people from one poverty payment to another isn’t enough. We need to raise the rate for everyone.

“Our social security system should help young people study, find work and build an independent life. Instead, it is holding them back before they’ve even had a chance to get started.

“Young people don’t have lower living costs just because they’re young. It’s time to end the lower payment rates that are keeping them in poverty.”