2025-02-20
200,000 more young people would get access to JobSeeker or Youth Allowance or increased payments to support them in further studies under the Greens’ proposed changes to eligibility criteria announced today in the party’s target seat of Wills in Melbourne’s inner north.
The PBO-costed election commitment will lower the JobSeeker eligibility age from 22 to 18 and eliminate the Youth Allowance parental income test for young people living away from home.
These changes will increase the average Youth Allowance payment for existing recipients by $4,700 and make 68,000 young people who are currently locked out of the payment newly eligible.
A further 76,000 Youth Allowance recipients will also become eligible for the higher JobSeeker payment, putting an average of $4,900 extra into their pockets in 2025-26.
The plan will cost $7.2 billion over the forward estimates.
The announcement comes as a growing number of students and young people face precarious housing, rising rents and soaring out of pocket costs. Among undergraduates considering leaving university early, 40% of them say that financial difficulties are the reason.
Today’s announcement is the first of a number of election commitments the Greens will make as part of the party’s plan to reform the social safety net and tackle poverty.
Comments attributable to Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt MP:
“Finishing school and working out what’s next is a pivotal time for young people, but with rents, education fees and the cost of living all rising, many of them are finding completing further study is not a path they can afford.
“Starting out your adult life shouldn’t be this hard. Labor should be doing much more to support young people to get established in the field or industry they want to pursue.
“In a minority government, the Greens will keep Dutton out and get Labor to act on cost of living by making sure more young people can access Youth Allowance and are supported to get the education they need to be able to do what they want to do.”
Comments attributable to Greens social services spokesperson Senator Penny Allman-Payne:
“Many people act like the soaring cost of living is an aberration, but for millions of young Australians financial stress has been a fact of life for years.
“We increasingly expect young people to undertake tertiary studies, but then we set them up to fail by putting roadblocks in their way: low-paying jobs, low-quality housing and rising rents, and unpaid placements.
“For many young people, the costs are just too great to make tertiary study an option. The Greens want to lower the barriers to study and support young people as they make the transition from high school to university life.
“We should be investing in our young people, not driving them into precarity and poverty. We need a social security system that lifts us all up, and allows uni students to live independent, secure lives.”
Comments attributable to Greens candidate for Wills Samantha Ratnam:
“With the cost of living so high, young people in Wills are telling me they are struggling to make ends meet while continuing to study. They are skipping going to the doctor or dentist regularly and often can’t afford the food or essentials they need.
“If we want young people to be able to get into further education and get the most out of it, we need to support them to do so. The Greens’ plan for more young people to get access to Youth Allowance and JobSeeker will help ease the pressure on young people who are studying at this foundational time of their lives.”
Comments attributable to Australian Greens Deputy Leader and tertiary education spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi:
“Time and time again, students and young people are being screwed over by the major parties who refuse to do more than tinker around the edges rather than actually tackling cost of living, rising fees and rents.
"Students deserve so much better than being forced into poverty as they pursue education. Our plan to expand access to Youth Allowance will ease the pressure on students, so they can focus on their education instead of worrying about how to survive."