The Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) President, Verity Doyle stated that the 2009 budget released last night was ‘a mixed bag for students.’
‘The amount of support available for students has been significantly increased which is great news for those receiving youth allowance. However, the laudable aims of equity in higher education are undermined for by the changes to the independence criterion for youth allowance’ said Doyle. The changes require those whose parents’ combined income is above $42,599 to work full time for 30 hours a week for at least 18 months to qualify for youth allowance. ‘This appears to be a deliberate attempt to stop younger students from qualifying as independent while studying. This means that students whose parents are unable or unwilling to support them may find the costs of studying prohibitive’ remarked Doyle.
Although the parental income threshold has been increased from $32,800 to $42,599, Ms Doyle argued that this leaves many students in the cold: ‘$42,599 is significantly below average weekly earnings in Australia. At only $14,322 above the minimum wage, parents on this income would struggle to support themselves, especially if they have other children, let alone to support their adult children to study at university.’
‘The problem is even more severe for those who have to move to attend university: those who don't qualify are effectively required to postpone their university studies for at least 18 months so that they can work full time to qualify for student allowances.’
The existing rules surrounding independence are far from perfect, but the new rules are no improvement. They are a huge slap in the face to students from low and middle-income homes whose parents are unable to shoulder the burden of supporting their adult children at university. ‘The message is: sorry, although you can’t afford to attend university, you’re not quite poor enough for the government to support your education. But don’t worry you can get Youth Allowance in two years time, provided of course you find a full time job in an increasingly difficult jobs market in the meantime.’
These changes mean that a bright young school leaver whose parents earn $45,000 a year and who qualifies for university, will have two options. First, attend university, and be forced to work enough hours to cover personal and education costs while studying, significantly compromising the student’s ability to dedicate themself fully to their studies. Or second, not go to university and spend at least 18 months in what would likely be an unskilled and low paid job order to qualify as ‘independent’. ‘This does not seem like an efficient use of the precious human capital that forms the basis of our “knowledge economy,”’ commented Doyle.
‘It is a shame that Mr Swan’s policies aimed at “[giving] opportunities for talented Australians to participate in higher education no matter what their background” take away assistance from some of those who need it most’ concluded Doyle.
Media contact
Verity Doyle
President
+61 4 0266 0429
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