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What is Youth Allowance?

Youth Allowance is a social security payment which provides basic income support for full-time students aged 16-24 years who are unemployed.

What is Austudy?

Austudy is a social security payment for full-time students aged 25 or older. Similarly to Youth Allowance, it has strict and complicated eligibility criteria; however, all Austudy recipients are automatically considered to be independent of their parents. This means that only their own income/assets (and their partner's income/assets) are used to assess their eligibility and payment rate.

Basic eligibility criteria

To be eligible for Youth Allowance or Austudy you must be an Australian resident and

aged 16-24 and studying full-time; or
aged over 25, studying full-time; or
aged below 21 and combining part-time study with part-time job search, voluntary work or any other approved activity.

Youth Allowance does not apply to you if you're

over 21 and studying part-time. You will have to apply for the Newstart payment.
over 25, studying full-time but were not receiving Youth Allowance before your 25th birthday. However, you may be eligible for Austudy.
of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. It is recommended that you investigate the possibility of applying for Abstudy, as your rate of payment may be higher under the Abstudy rules.

To be eligible for Austudy you must be a permanent resident of Australia, aged 25 or older and studying full-time.

You can contact Centrelink to find out more about Youth Allowance or Austudy by:

Speaking with a Centrelink officer at your local Centrelink office (hint: ask to see the officer responsible for study related issues).
Contacting Centrelink on 132490
Going to the Centrelink website

The Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations also has a higher education page through which you can access information about a range of higher education topics.