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Youth Disability Supplement (YDS) 008-03070030



This document outlines YDS and who is eligible to receive this payment.

Customers eligible for YDS

YDS is an income supplement paid to young people with a disability recognising additional costs associated with having a physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability.

YDS is added to the basic payment rate for customers:

  • under 21 years of age who receive Disability Support Pension (DSP) at the no dependent children rate
  • under 22 years of age, assessed as having a partial capacity to work, and receiving one of the following payments:
    • ABSTUDY (students and Australian Apprentices receiving Living Allowance)
    • Youth Allowance (YA) including full-time students, Australian Apprentices or job seekers

Rate of payment

The rate of YDS is adjusted annually on 1 January in line with Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases.

The amount of:

  • DSP payable to a customer under 21 years of age cannot be more than the amount payable to a customer aged 21 years or older
  • Youth Allowance (YA) and ABSTUDY payable to a customer under 22 years of age cannot be more than the amount payable to a JobSeeker Payment (JSP) customer aged 22 years or older

For YA and ABSTUDY, this means YDS may not be payable, or may be payable at a reduced rate.

YDS is paid fortnightly.

YDS will not be paid during periods where the customer is in an employment income nil rate period.

YDS is a non-taxable payment when paid with DSP.

Information about the rate of YDS is available on Services Australia website. See the Resources page for a link.

Partial capacity to work

Youth Allowance (YA) and ABSTUDY customers with a partial capacity to work (PCW) may be paid Youth Disability Supplement (YDS). This is determined by an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt) or Job Capacity Assessment (JCA). Full-time students can be eligible for YDS and may require an ESAt to determine if they have a partial capacity to work.

The customer's partial capacity to work may be reviewed if they are working consistently above their assessed work capacity.

The Resources page contains a link to the online estimators and YDS pages on the Services Australia website.

Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) referral

Request an Employment Services Assessment (ESAt)

Identifying people with a partial capacity to work

Youth Allowance (YA) student or Australian Apprentice becomes incapacitated or impacted by unforeseen or extreme circumstances