Eligibility and rate impacts for Youth Allowance (YA) (job seeker) 001-04010000

To qualify for a YA (job seeker), the customer must:

• be of qualifying age for YA (job seeker)
• meet Australian residence requirements for YA
• be unemployed or:
• unable to look for work due to a medical condition, illness or injury, or
• employed or studying full time and are unable to undertake these due to a medical condition, illness or injury and have a job or study to return to
• be prepared to negotiate and enter into a Job Plan if required to do so, or comply with, or renegotiate an existing Job Plan
• not be receiving ABSTUDY Living Allowance
• satisfy the requirements of their Job Plan

Customers under 22 years of age and who have not completed Year 12 (or equivalent) or a Certificate III or higher, are identified as Early School Leavers. They are required to undertake approved activities and/or job search in order to qualify for payment of YA.

For further details eligibility criteria, see the Process page.

Customers are either independent or dependent for the purposes of Youth Allowance. Each criteria has different impacts on the customers rate of payment.

Customers deemed dependent:

• are subject to the Parental Means Test and the personal income test, and.
• may also be eligible for the away from home rate if they are not living with their parent(s)/guardian(s)

A young person may consider themselves to be independent because they do not receive any support from, or have not lived with, a parent or carer for a period of time. However, to receive YA as an independent, a customer need to meet certain requirements. See Independence for Youth Allowance (YA) customers.

A person who is regarded as the principal carer of a dependent child may qualify for additional entitlements and/or reduced their mutual obligation requirements in respect of their YA.

Only one member of a couple can be regarded as a principal carer of a dependent child. If care of a child is shared with another person (other than the customer's partner) a determination needs to be made as to who is the principal carer.

A child can be a dependent child of more than one person, but only one person can be a principal carer in respect of a child. This determination may affect the person's qualification for YA as well as their rate of payment.

A non-principal carer parent may access the YA (job seeker) 'single/partnered with child' rate if they have shared care of 14% or more of a dependent child.

Full time students

In general, full-time students are not considered unemployed as they cannot satisfy mutual obligation requirements. Students undertaking full time study should be assessed for Youth Allowance (student).

If a person is assessed as having a partial capacity to work they may qualify for additional entitlements and/or reduced mutual obligation requirements. See Job seekers with a partial capacity to work or a temporary reduced work capacity.

Customers 21 years of age or under who are temporarily incapacitated for work may qualify for YA with an exemption from their mutual obligation requirements. See Customers claiming JobSeeker Payment (JSP)/Youth Allowance (YA) (Incapacitated).

If the customer is a professional or amateur sports person, they will need to meet the eligibility criteria including mutual obligation requirements for YA (job seeker).

To meet their mutual obligation requirements, they need to show:

• they are actively seeking suitable paid work
• their commitment to finding work, or undertaking study/training or other tasks or activities is not affected by training, practice, or competition, and
• financial or sponsorship arrangements are not considered a form of employment

Income received by sports persons is assessed under the income test.

See the Process page for more information.