By Marina Cameron
Since the common youth allowance was announced by the federal government in June, groups campaigning for the rights of students and young unemployed have been scrambling to find out exactly how the proposal will affect young people, and discussing how it should be opposed. The CYA is set to replace existing unemployment benefits for those aged 18-20, Austudy and youth training, sickness and family allowances from next July.
The government is attempting to distract opposition to the CYA by claiming that students will benefit from the proposal because they will receive rent assistance. It has also stressed that the CYA represents a marginal increase in spending on youth income support overall.
Those who really lose out under the CYA are the young unemployed, up to 80,000 of whom will have their benefits reduced or revoked. Benefits for 16-17 year olds have been cut altogether — unless they can prove that they missed out on a place in an education institution, that they are ill or have sick parents, or are homeless.
Young unemployed up to the age of 21 will be considered dependent on their parents, and subject to a much stricter parental means test. Benefits begin to be reduced when combined parental income reaches $23,350, and cut out altogether at $38,430.
The initial cost of setting up the scheme, and throwing a few crumbs to students, means that the government will not make any immediate savings overall. But the CYA enshrines the worst aspects of Austudy and the youth dole, and sets the scene for further cuts across the board later.
A leaflet put out by the Coalition for a Living Income in Victoria describes the CYA in the following way: "While this proposal protects and in fact enhances students' rights to income this has been achieved by taking this money from the unemployed". This is only partly true. Any monetary benefits to students are minimal, and whatever is gained by some students is nothing compared to the damage done to the overall youth income support system.
The "benefits" in the scheme are tiny, such as the removal of the ridiculous 13-week waiting period for those leaving study and applying for unemployment benefits.
Rent assistance will be paid only to students and young unemployed assessed as independent of their parents, and dependents who can prove that they have to live away from home in order to pursue their studies or look for a job. Establishing either of these is the first hurdle for students wanting rent assistance.
The CYA will entrench the regressive changes to Austudy contained in last year's budget — including raising the age of independence to 25, and introducing the tightened means test now being applied to young unemployed.
In order to be considered independent, young people under 25 must have been married or de facto for at least two years, have a dependent child, be assessed homeless or have supported themselves by working full time for 18 months since leaving school, 20 hours per week for two years, or earning over $17,000 over 18 months. Previously, de facto couples could not claim independence, but it is unclear how strict the government will be in checking up on couples, which could lead to further invasive inspections.
Young people can also be assessed as independent if they meet the special "safety net criteria": aged at least 18, worked full time for at least 12 months; living away from home, assessed as "specially" disadvantaged in terms of education and employment; not getting any support from family.
In reality, the CYA is little more than a safety net itself, and a pretty poor one at that. The message is clear: families will have to pay. If they can't or won't, the burden of proof of "independence" is placed on young people themselves. Allowances for under-18s in school or training will be paid directly to parents, unless young people can prove that they are "at risk".
The independent CYA rate for those living away from home is $132.50 per week (plus rent assistance), up to the woefully inadequate $173.90 per week for a sole parent. In 1995, even before the 1996 budget, only 31% of the 45% of all tertiary students who receive Austudy were eligible for the maximum benefit. An even smaller percentage will be eligible for the maximum benefit and maximum rent assistance.
The maximum rent assistance is $49.40 per week, is not available for rent below a certain threshold and will vary according to rent level, income and number of dependent children. The average amount expected to be paid to each student is $15.65 per week.
Other changes may adversely effect students. Personal income thresholds will remain where they are ($6000 for students, $1530 for unemployed, whether considered independent or not), but the amount has been increased by which payments are reduced after this threshold.
The CYA also includes tighter activity tests — students making satisfactory progress through study, part-time students looking for work — and more opportunities for students to be subjected to administrative breach periods.
The CYA also reflects the racism of the Howard government. The two-year wait for any benefits for new migrants has been included, and Abstudy has been kept separate from the new allowance. It is currently under review, and after massive cuts in the last budget, its survival is by no means guaranteed.
It is essential that students campaign around the CYA as an attack on the rights of all young people, and link this to campaigning against student fees and cuts to Abstudy.