Being a young adult can be such a daunting responsibility. Having to juggle through just haven discovered who you are and who you want to be. Family responsibilities, no matter how small, can also be very draining, and away from all of that, we have a career, work-life, and finances that come into play to decide how far we go with our education. All of these can feel overwhelming. We all need a little support now and then.
Are you an Australian Youth? Are you 17 and above? Are you a student or an Australian youth?. Are you undertaking an Australian apprenticeship?. If any of these aspects are true for you, we have great news. You are most likely eligible for Youth Allowance.
What is Youth Allowance?
Youth Allowance is the government’s way of financially assisting young adults in their endeavours. Be it academic or work life. Youth Allowance is made available to specific individuals under particular conditions. Youth Allowance is essentially financial aid that is made available.
Who is eligible to get your allowance?
You can claim a Youth Allowance in Australia as a student or an apprentice. But of course, like every other financial aid program, you need to fulfil specific requirements.
It would be best if you met one of the following requirements to be eligible for youth allowance;
- You must be 18 to 24 and studying full time or,
- You must be 16 to 24 years old doing a full-time apprenticeship in Australia.
- It would help if you were 16 to 17 independent or highly needed to live away from the family home study.
- You also must be, 16 to 17 person studying full time who has already completed at least a 12 month equivalent study time.
For your claim to be validated, they’re a few more requirements you must meet up with;
- You must be an Australian resident with all legal residence documents.
- It would be best if you satisfied all the income and asset tests.
You must also be taking an approved University course or a full-time apprentice apprenticeship in Australia.
For most cases, you’ll be allowed to stay on your youth allowance until you turn 25 or until after you must have finished with the course or apprenticeship in question. You may not be allowed to have or stay on its allowance if you are under 18 and studying full time at secondary school. You can only meet up the qualification for youth allowance if you meet one of the following qualities.
You’re eligible for the away home Youth allowance if you meet all the independence criteria for youths.
And also, if you claim a youth allowance before starting a full-time secondary school, then it is possible and essential to go straight to the office and switch your allowance account from apprenticeship to allowance for students.
How to claim Youth Allowance
If you meet any qualifications and are ready to claim your youth allowance, the steps are pretty simple and straight to the point. Below is a step by step guide on how you can successfully claim your youth allowance;
First of all, have it at the back of your mind that the officials would ask you to provide supporting documents to validate your claim.
Also, you may need to track your claim using the “My Gov” Website, which requires you to create an allowance account or use the Central Link Express mobile app used in monitoring and validating allowance claims. You can get this on the Apple Appstore or Google play store.
You will receive a confirmation message via email or a letter posted to you once your claim has been reviewed and validated.
In any case where you do not receive a reply, or if the response you received does not sit well with you, you can ask for a review decision from the board. Letting the decision board know that you think they may have made a mistake and ask for a reconsideration.
Also, if you are in any form of crisis or life-threatening situation, you can get help. The board will offer you support even before validating your youth allowance claim.
When to claim
You can claim your youth allowance as a student or an Australian apprentice up to 12 and even 13 weeks before you start schooling properly. Or even before you start your apprenticeship. However, for you to be able to claim your youth allowance 13 weeks before you are popular eligible, you must be one of the following;
You must be planning to study full-time, and you are already doing a full-time Australian apprenticeship.
You can also claim your independent allowance before turning 22, but you will need to submit all supporting documents to validate your claim 13 weeks before your birthday. When your claim goes in early, the board will consider you as independent as soon as you turn 22.
Setting up online accounts
As a young individual applying for youth allowance, you may need supporting documents to validate your claim. These documents, depending on your stance either as a student or an apprentice, may include any of the following;
Employment of work documents. You need to provide an employment document, and in any case, where a contract of employment has expired, you need to provide payment receipts. You also need to provide information about your income, whether from working a small business or other property investment. Most of you quiet to provide documents through your AC or account.
You may also be required to provide financial documents. If you choose to claim your youth allowance as an independent individual, your guidance or parents will be required to provide their income details. You can do this online using the Advice Parental Income Service. You may not need to provide any documents, but you need to give these details to complete your claim.
Bank account details, your superannuation details, your investment details, your income and assets details (including real estate details), and your seven terms mortgage offsets overseas account details.
Also, if you are applying as an independent individual, you may need to give details about your address.
Details about your relationship status will be required. Details include the citizenship of your partner, the work or study and income Life of your partner, and separation details.
For students, the board will ask you to provide the schedule of your planned and previous course details. Scholarship (if any ) and enrollment details. School fees receipts, course acceptance notices, and academic transcripts. Apart from these documents and details demanding validation, you may need to give the name of the course you are taking or planning on taking you. You may also have to provide your year of enrollment and other official documents.
Wrap up
Financial aids of any kind can be of great help to your academic career journey. So, we advise you to shake off the reluctance, don’t be shy, and don’t be scared of going ahead to claim a Youth Allowance. Just make sure you are eligible, provide all required documents and qualifications, and then apply the recipe.