Turns Out Most of You Don't Know About the Potential Changes to Youth Welfare

Here are all the things you think about youth welfare.

Being young and on welfare has never been easy. Countless governments have waged wars over it, directly affecting the youth that need it the most. Former PM Tony Abbott even floated the idea of getting rid of it for young people altogether.

But it doesn't end there. The current government has announced its intention to introduce drug testing for youths on welfare as well as a 'Basics' cashless welfare card that can only be used to purchase essentials such as food and non-alcoholic drinks.

In light of this, Student Edge surveyed 540 of its members, aged 16 to 24, to find out about their experiences with Centrelink and youth welfare in general, also asking if they knew about some of the changes the government is planning.

Here's what you said.

You'd like to get a bit more money.

Students were found to be living on nearly $2,000 less than the fortnightly earnings of a full-time adult's average wage. Thirty-nine per cent of the students who responded indicated they receive between $201 and $300 a fortnight from the government, with 26 per cent receiving $200 or less. Despite this, they were still relatively satisfied with the amount they received, with 40 per cent saying it was sufficient and 33 per cent indicating it was a little less than they needed to support themselves.

For those who needed a bit more than the government was offering, they went to other avenues, with 27 per cent working casually and 23 per cent receiving a bit of assistance from their parents. Most (74 per cent) explained that they felt they needed between $51 and $200 extra per fortnight to be more adequately supported.

You think it takes a while to get on youth welfare.

When it came to actually applying for Youth Allowance in the first place, 36 per cent said it took them between one and three months, while 35 per cent explained it took two to four weeks.

Centrelink, the office that handles welfare programs, has garnered a reputation for being inefficient in answering the calls placed by Australians, so it was unsurprising that 44 per cent of respondents indicated they were on the phone for more than 30 minutes during their first phone call to them.

You haven't really heard about retail internships.

Last year, the PaTH program was introduced by the federal government to give more young people on welfare payments experience in the retail industry. This meant some young people were placed on internships at bakeries or stores and paid around $4 an hour on top of their welfare payments.

Of the students who responded, 84 per cent claimed they didn't know about PaTH; of those who did, 27 per cent had already completed—or were in the process of completing—a PaTH program.

You haven't really heard about the government's other proposals either, but you're on board.

In fact, 62 per cent admitted they had never heard of cashless welfare cards, despite the fact they're already being trialled in some areas around Australia. Forty-one per cent said they would probably support them if they were implemented, with 50 per cent believing they would have a positive impact.

As mentioned earlier, the government has also floated the idea of drug-testing youth on welfare. Under the proposals, young people who test positive for drugs will potentially be put on cashless welfare cards.

When put to the students, 63 per cent supported the idea, with another 50 per cent explaining it would have a positive impact.

The results illuminated that while the students weren't particularly against the changes that could potentially be introduced in the future, there was still a relatively large knowledge gap.

Still, if young people are unaware of the issues that will directly affect them, is that their fault or the fault of those who are making—and communicating—these decisions?

Photo: NBC