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Summary
To be approved for the away from home rate of YA, secondary students, Australian apprentices and YA job seekers must undertake full-time study, apprenticeship, or an approved activity (1.1.S.410). Tertiary students are NOT subject to the same rules about where they study - their choices of course and institution will be accepted.
Act reference: SSAct section 1067D Person required to live away from home
Job seekers may be eligible for the away from home rate of YA, if they can demonstrate the move will significantly increase their prospects of finding work. To be eligible for the away from home rate AT LEAST ONE of the following criteria must be met:
Act reference: SSAct section 1067G Rate of youth allowance
Australian apprentices may be eligible for the away from home rate of YA if they can demonstrate that they need to live away from the parental home in order to undertake an Australian apprenticeship.
In order to approve a young person to live away from home, AT LEAST ONE of the following conditions would need to exist:
Each of these points is explained in the rest of this topic.
In some cases, secondary students may bypass local schools to attend another of their choice that is not in their local area if they can demonstrate a need to live away from home. Secondary students cannot bypass local schools out of choice. If the local area provides reasonable access to an appropriate government school, but the young person simply chooses to attend another school outside their local area, then the young person would NOT be approved to live away from home.
Note: All geographically isolated students eligible for AIC payment are eligible for the away from home rate of YA on turning 16 (provided they qualify for YA).
Policy reference: SS Guide 3.2.6.40 Away from Home Rate of YA & Bypassing Local Schools
There are separate conditions that apply ONLY to full-time tertiary students. They can be approved for the away from home rate if:
If the parents move home at least 5 times a year and it would require excessive travelling time (1.1.E.150) for the young person to continue attending their current school or to continue to work as an Australian apprentice after moving with the parents, the young person may need to live away from home to maintain continuity of schooling or apprenticeship. If the parents move back to the area where the young person is living, the away from home rate would NOT be payable for that period.
The parental home is isolated if it is:
If the family would be eligible for assistance under the AIC Scheme, then the away from home rate would generally be payable to a young person living away from the parental home, without the provision of reasons.
The parental home may be inadequate for study or job search activities if conflict exists between the parents or between the young person and parents involving alcoholism or assault, or chronic illness in the family.
This does NOT extend to minor difficulties of a kind normally encountered in a family.
If the young person has a disability, and the parental home is isolated, they may need to live away from home to:
If the parents move out of the area while the young person is in year 11 or 12, their continuity of studies would be interrupted by moving with the parents. In this case, they qualify for the away from home rate if they would meet the excess travelling time provisions in relation to the new principal family home and their current school. In most cases a young person would be expected to move with their parents, however situations arise where this provision could be applied.
Example: A young person with a learning disability may be progressing well in their current school and may suffer significant disruption if they had to move to a new school part way through their final studies.
Other young people, who are not full-time students, may choose to remain in the local area because of better employment and training opportunities than to move to a lower opportunity area with their parents.
This applies ONLY to secondary students, and means the student is unable to study or attend training courses locally because:
Example: The local school does not offer a year 12 course.
Approval for away from home rate under this category should only be given where excessive travelling time is involved.
In deciding if 2 courses are equivalent, the following must be taken into account:
Tertiary students are NOT subject to the same rules about where they study - their choices of course and institution will be accepted.
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Last reviewed: 1 June 2009
