Inquiry into the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Omnibus Savings and Child Care Reform) Bill 2017

The following presents the key areas of the YACSA response to the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Omnibus Savings and Child Care Reform) Bill 2017:

  • YACSA opposes increasing the age at which a young person can access Newstart Allowance from 22 to 25 years. This change will increase existing levels of hardship as young people will now have to wait three more years to access a higher rate of allowance.

  • YACSA strongly opposes the one month waiting period to access benefits for those under 25 years. This policy change is underpinned by an assumption that;

    • the individual has a family or support network which can support them financially while they look for work, and;

    • there is a robust and accessible employment market that can provide young people with suitable employment and an income that allows them to live independently.

  • Excluding young people from a means of income can lead to both long and short term impacts to their access to food, housing, utilities and their experience of health and wellbeing.

Submission, EmploymentTeam YACSA