Assessing independence when a customer's parents cannot exercise responsibilities 001-04060080

This document outlines how a Youth Allowance (YA) or Disability Support Pension (DSP) customer is considered independent due to parent(s) being unable to exercise parental responsibilities.

Parents unable to exercise responsibilities

Parents are unable to exercise parental responsibilities if they are missing, mentally incapacitated, serving a prison sentence or living in a nursing home for an indefinite period.

It does not matter if the young person is dependent or was last dependent on someone else. If parents cannot exercise their responsibilities for a short time only, consider other categories of independence.

This assessment may be required for DSP customers aged between 16 and 21 years. This would only apply to DSP customers aged between 18 and 20 years if they are living in the parental home. These customers are considered independent if they are living away from the parental home.

Situations when not applicable

A parent unable to exercise parental responsibilities does not include a parent who cannot provide a home for their child because of their own lack of stable accommodation. In this case, consider independence under the unreasonable to live at home criteria.

A different process applies for customers that are currently in State care, or where State care has ceased due to age, see Assessing independence when a customer is in State care.

Relocation scholarship

Some independent students who are disadvantaged by personal circumstances may also be qualified to receive Relocation Scholarship (RS). RS eligibility explains the extra coding required for these independent students to pay RS correctly.

The Resources page contains examples and links to relevant claim forms.

Related links

Independence for Youth Allowance (YA) customers

Assessing payment rates and independence for Disability Support Pension customers under 21 years

Assessing independence when a customer is an orphan