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2010
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
THE SENATE
Social Security Amendment (Income Support for Regional Students) Bill 2010
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Circulated by authority of
SENATOR FIONA NASH, NEW SOUTH WALES
Social Security Amendment (Income Support for Regional Students) Bill 2010
OUTLINE
The Social Security Amendment (Income Support for Regional Students) Bill 2010 seeks to apply the
same eligibility criteria for Independent Youth Allowance for students residing in the Inner
Regional zone of the Australian Standard Geographical Classification - Remoteness Area (ASGC-
RA) map as currently applies to students residing in the Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote
zones.
Under the current legislation this is not the case. On 18 March 2010 the House of Representatives
passed the Social Security Amendment (Income Support for Students) Act 2010 which resulted in
different eligibility criteria used for different zones, leading to unfair treatment of regional
students when accessing Independent Youth Allowance.
Prior to the passage of that legislation, there were three criteria that students could use to access
Independent Youth Allowance.
a) Students worked part-time for at least 15 hours per week for at least two years since leaving
school, or
b) Students have been out of school for at least 18 months and have earned at least 75% of the
maximum rate of pay under wage Level A of the Australian Pay and Classification Scale in an 18
month period - the 'gap year'.
c) Students have worked an average of 30 hours per week for 18 months out of two years.
For students who reside in the Inner Regional zone, this has been reduced to option c) only under
the current legislation.
To ensure fairness and equity for all regional students, the Social Security Amendment (Income
Support for Regional Students) Bill 2010 requires the same eligibility criteria for Independemt
Youth Allowance to apply to all four ASGC-RA zones.
This is achieved by the simple amendment in Schedule 1.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Financial impact is approximately $90 million per annum.
As part of the Coalition policy for the 2010 election, this measure to ensure that the same
Independent Youth Allowance eligibility criteria applied to all four regional ASGC-RA zones was to
be budget neutral, with funding to be appropriated from the Education Investment Fund.