student allowance - get rid of it... (1 Viewer)

[faintygirl83]

I receive youth allowance - $229 a fortnight. I started uni when I was 22 years old, prior to that I had been working fulltime since finishing year 12. So I had no trouble showing that I was 'independent' from my folks, although I still live at home.

I am trying to get a casual job at the moment (have a trial this week), because it is difficult to survive on such a small amount of money. I miss not having any money to spend on anything vaguely luxurious, or even enough to buy basic things like clothing & shoes!

Youth allowance is only a small amount of money - it really isn't enough to get by. I don't think it should be abolished at all - I do think that centrelink should rethink the independent age of 25 though. I think its ridiculous they assume that everyone receives handouts from their folks if they're under that age!

 

[sthcross.dude]

OP is gay

 

[Ranger Stacie]

Student Allowance system is a joke.

To get student allowance while living at home you have to prove you are independent from your parents. You can do this by earning a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time. I have a friend who lives at home, doesnt have to pay board or for food or whatever, and who managed to work enough while attending full time uni to qualify for independence from his parents. He then quit his job and now collects student allowance instead.

Now the only reason why he can get free money off the government and I can't, is because he earnt more money in the past. So because he has more money than me, he is entitled to free money.

arghh yes. I have plenty of friends who took the first year from high school off to work (so they could go out heaps, basically) before going to uni and then just collecting centrelink payments because they can, instead of working, which they pretty much spend on clothes. I'm annoyed because I have never even thought of claiming student allowance before, until I started getting ready for my internship. I wanted to claim it for that 10 week period because I won't really be able to work and I can't claim anything because I just scrape under the 18K. i know it's only 10 weeks and it won't kill me (I still live at home) but argh still annoying and stressful, what with petrol and shit like that. /End "poor me" whinge

 

[workerdude85]

I'm sure 99% of the people who object to student allowance, has rich parents who look after them and give them a hand financially, because you will be damn busy enough to study and have a social life. For god sakes, my course will involve 20 hours, and this doesnt even include private study time which i expect to be around 12-15 hours a week, this equals to full time work. And you have a social life, hardly enough time to work considering there isnt much work you can do on the weekend or evening, e.g. flexible, most places arent that flexible only if your lucky enough can you stumble across a great employer who is flexible enough to suit you. $220/fortnight isnt even enough, just enough for lunches and train ticket.

 

[Gavvvvvin]

^ People like you are the reason Youth Allowance shouldn't exist. The government shouldn't be wasting its resources on sponges like you who cant find work because their "social life" takes priority. Open your eyes, theres no shortage of weekend or night work. I'm pretty sure that any given McDonald's or KFC is currently employing. I still managed to pull in a decent amount of money, and I had more contact hours than you, not to mention 4 hours travel time 5 days a week.


$220 a fortnight is more than enough money to survive on, especially if you are still living at home (even if you're not, but thats a different story). Even after deducting $60 for the most expensive travel passes, that leaves $160 for food. I don't see why the government should have to foot the bill for your your $16 a day "lunches".

workerdude my ass.

 

[Snaykew]

Um, tl;dr thread but Youth Allowance payments goto a bank account belonging to a parent. Or at least my YA goes there anyway. >_>

 

[Danielk]

I think if the OP is without sin he is well within his rights to throw the first stone....

However, these seem to be the main points for both sides (of which i'm not taking one):

<b>People who don't qualify</b>:

• I don't know about uni, but i knew people who got youth allowance who were of highschool age and it was more than my crappy job with limited hours when i was 15, it seemed pretty unjust.
• I think most people who 'earn' their money the hard way do not like the attitude of some (but not all) welfare recipients who think it's somehow their right to government assistance. Should parents be having children in a household that can't support then. I mean, if you can't afford to fund your child's life, (including uni, which if you were serious about doing you'd have started putting money away from day 1) then you have no business having more children.
• People abuse the system and it's obvious because the form of welfare is money. Sure it's means tested, but nobody can police what the money is for. Centrelink should define what the money be spent on (eg. books, petrol, rent whatever) and give book vouchers or subsidies to people who need them. That way there's no incentive for people to spend it on their 'lifestyle' rather than education.
• The means testing thing based on your parents assets thing is rubbish. There are many people who come from relatively good families who pay all their uni fees and board to their parents but are still dependant. This feels like some people are being punished for belonging to a more successful/ambitious/hardworking family.
• To the people who whinge about the cost of uni - this is Australia, a welfare state. Get some perspective. If you lived in america you'd have to get out loans from the private sector to pay for you tuition as well as your living expenses. Yet these people still manage. Also, even you HECS bill is a tiny percentage of what the true cost of your education is, and even then you dont pay interest and if you leave australia you dont have to pay anything at all. Apart from books and transport i don't really see uni being much more expensive, plus uni students are given a long time to save for books and other expenses as well as being given a 4 month break over xmas to work and save.

<people who do qualify>

• Forms of welfare such as student allowance allow students who might otherwise not have the opportunity to gain a tertiary education gain one. This end in and of itself is a reason to have student allowance, and is it the fault of the people who abuse it, or the system that allows some people to 'unfairly' claim student allowance that merits the abolition of a system for the people it benefits.
• Some people in this thread have claimed that the more financially secure students are subsidising lazy people with money they dont earn. Well, there are quite a few examples of this - I enjoy going to the public library, being able to go to a hospital and being treated based on my medical condition not my means to pay, public stuff like streetlights and parkbenches which i'm paying for but not necessarily using, and of course the greatest contradiction ever:
• People who dont go to uni are subsidising our education, to 'lazy' uni students who get 4 months off and another six weeks between semesters. Is this really fair? Should taxpayers being supporting people and services they dont use themselves and have no say iN?
• People who get student allowance should not be punished for students in situations where they can or should benefit from but for whatever reason do not meet centrelink's threshold.

Please don't flame me.

Well sorrrriiii your so rich, youth allowance can be used for anything, stop whingeing about it, go argue to centrelink or something? Why would you care anyway what people do with there money? Imagine if you werent working, and you were not getting youth allowance, i dont think you would have made that post.

 

[Tulipa]

I've never been that adverse to YA or any of the centrelink benefits. Yes, some people take advantage of them but still, it can be a very good thing for others.

However, a friend just recently confessed his plan for rent assistance. He's going to claim that he's paying the maximum and thus get the most rent assistance he can. He'll pay it all to his landlord but the landlord's agreed to pay half of it back in cash.

The only reason he has YA is because he made 18 grand in 18 months. Except now he barely works, does about 10 hours of uni a week and lives off his YA payments. He's too lazy to get another job and it's kinda of pathetic. I mean, for people in his position it wouldn't be that difficult to get a job but the YA keeps him pretty much afloat so there's no incentive.

I just paid about a grand in taxes. I don't want my money going to him just because he can fuck with the system. I'm sure this isn't the only way people take advantage of the system either.

 

[Dumsum]

I don't want my money going to him just because he can fuck with the system.

Then report him.

 

[Tulipa]

Then report him.

Isn't it just my word against his? Because his financials will reflect that he is paying the reported amount to his landlord?

 

[A High Way Man]

I hate being dependant on my parents for money. Since I wouldn't be able to get YA due to my parents income, it would be ideal for me to get a part-time job as to declare myself independent, but tbh I don't think it's really practical when I'm studying Engineering.


^_~ I thought YA was for people like me.

 

[Dumsum]

Isn't it just my word against his? Because his financials will reflect that he is paying the reported amount to his landlord?

They could probably audit the landlord or something.

 

[Roguedeth]

I love YA because I don't have a job.

 

[xJennax]

Youth allowance isn't meant to just be spent on school.

Parents get government assistance because they don't earn very much money, but then once someone turns 16 they get it, although some people's just go to the parents still. I do know a couple of people who just get given it all and spend it, but I don't think that's right.

I find it pretty rude that people complain they don't get it, a family who has to get it would love to be in the position that they don't need to.

 

[TacoTerrorist]

I like the part where people with dumb and poor parents who have shit jobs get free money at my expense. This is heightened by the fact that both my parents have degrees, work hard and give me $50 a week (less than half of YA) because that's all they can afford - and there are no jobs around here.

The lazy and the uneducated get assistance.

 

[.deimonic]

I like the part where people with dumb and poor parents who have shit jobs get free money at my expense. This is heightened by the fact that both my parents have degrees, work hard and give me $50 a week (less than half of YA) because that's all they can afford - and there are no jobs around here.

The lazy and the uneducated get assistance.

I bet you wouldn't be saying that if YOU were in that position.

I know some people are poor and "uneducated" because they don't work hard enough and it's frustrating for people who do to have their money taken to support these people. But your don't consider the people who genuinely can't find a decent paying job no matter how hard they try.

I for one get student allowance and I'm not spending it on crap, I'm saving up for my uni fees which is going to be a lot since I'm considering medicine.

So before you run your mouth over shit you don't know. I suggest you STFU, because one day that just might be you.

 

[chicky_pie]

lol back in school i know heaps of people who's parents are both high income earners and cheat on centrelink so they can get benefits and Youth Allowance for their kids.


Well, you think all our tax money goes to those on Centrelink benefits but you're wrong...


IT ALL GOES TO LABOR!!! WALL TO WALL LABOR!!

 

[TacoTerrorist]

I bet you wouldn't be saying that if YOU were in that position.

Of course I wouldn't because I'd be laundering free money.

I know some people are poor and "uneducated" because they don't work hard enough and it's frustrating for people who do to have their money taken to support these people. But your don't consider the people who genuinely can't find a decent paying job no matter how hard they try.

I am in support of giving money to people who genuinely can't find jobs. However, I am one of these people and I am not getting anything from the government.

I for one get student allowance and I'm not spending it on crap, I'm saving up for my uni fees which is going to be a lot since I'm considering medicine.

Good, but you are in the minority.

So before you run your mouth over shit you don't know. I suggest you STFU, because one day that just might be you.

It won't ever be me because my parents paid attention in school.

 

[Dumsum]

Look people it's really simple. If your parents earn over the YA threshold such that you have to become independent to get it, and they "can't afford" to support you to the same extent that YA supports us, then either your parents are selfish bastards who aren't putting their children first or they're terribly shithouse budgeters. Pick one.

 

[TacoTerrorist]

^ Or the system is fucked.