Running head: YOUTH ALLOWANCE

Australian Youth Allowance Analysis

Kathryn Sape
SW 4710 Fall 2014 Section 003
11/22/14

YOUTH ALLOWANCE
Introduction

All around the world in many different nations, there are polices put in place to help with
unemployment. Having a job and working for a living, are important things in the United States
culture as well as many other cultures. It is also important to have people working in the nation
in order to keep the economy thriving. Although many people may want to work to make their
living, sometimes that is just not possible. There are many reasons why some people may be
unemployed including, but not limited to: disability or lack of jobs. In most countries, the people
who live there can apply for some type of unemployment. This way they are able to collect
money while they are unemployed so they can still afford to pay for the necessities of life. There
are many different types of unemployment. What you receive while unemployed would be
determined by what country you live in and which criteria you fit within that country. In
Australia there is a type of unemployment social assistance policy specific to the younger
population called Youth Allowance.
Youth Allowance
Youth unemployment is an issue that has increasingly troubled western countries since
the 1970s (Meijers & Te Riele, 2004). Australia is one country that has tried to address this
problem through their government unemployment program. Research by Meijers and Te Riele
(2004) suggests:
The reasons for introducing YA (Youth Allowance) were: to make income arrangements
for young people simpler, especially for young people who move between study, work
and unemployment; to make families support their children to the age of 25, or until they
have achieve financial independence; to encourage young people to stay in education by
removing financial incentive to drop out early even at the risk of unemployment.

YOUTH ALLOWANCE

Youth Allowance is assistance given to young people to help support them as they transition into
financially independent adults. After secondary school, young people may have a hard time
supporting themselves financially. As these young people are growing up and either looking for
a job or deciding to further their education, financially this can be a very difficult time in their
lives. Youth Allowance is in place to help ease this burden for the young people who live in
Australia. The current Youth Allowance law was established in 1991. The type of program
Youth Allowance is is a social assistance system. To keep in mind, the exchange rate from
United States money to Australian is: US $1.00=0.96 Australian dollars (A$), so they are very
close (Social Security Administration, 2013).
Social Allocations
To analyze any policy it is helpful to look at it from a Four Dimensional Approach policy
framework. The four dimensions included in this framework are the basis of social allocations,
the provisions, the methods of delivery, and the source and methods of financing. The basis of
social allocations basically means who is able to receive the benefits, which in this case the
benefit is the Youth Allowance. According to the Social Security Administration (2013), those
who are able to receive Youth Allowance are:
Unemployed young people aged 16 to 21 (aged 18 to 24 if a full-time student), in an
approved education or training program, searching for a job, participating in other
activities to prepare for employment, or unable to work because of an illness or injury
(Social Security Administration, 2013).
The social allocations for Youth Allowance include a wide range of people. As long as a young
person is able and trying to work by looking for a job or seeking additional training or education
for a job they are eligible for Youth Allowance. If they are not able to do these things because of

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an illness or injury they also fit in the criteria for eligibility. If the person receiving Youth
Allowance has not finished secondary school, which would be compatible to high school in the
United States, they are required to actively try to complete schooling requirements (Social
Security Administration, 2013).
The basis of social allocations lean more in the direction of social effectiveness. This is

because there are not many restrictions to who is eligible. Based on the allocations of this policy,
it is easy to say that one is eligible to receive benefits if they are unable to work due to disability,
or if they are not disabled they are eligible as long as they are trying to better him or herself by
looking for a job or continuing their education. The allocations also show social effectiveness
because they promote higher education. The government does not expect someone to seek higher
education by paying his or her own way completely, along with having a job, and supporting
themselves financially with the necessities of life. The government is willing to help young
people financially by giving them money while they seek higher education. In the end that is
better for society as a whole because more people will be educated without fear of going into
debt.
Provisions
The provisions for any policy would include what they would receive if they were
eligible. A$220.40 to A$527.50 is paid every two weeks depending on age, living
arrangements, marital status, and whether the recipient has dependent children (Social Security
Administration, 2013). It is important to keep in mind again, that the United States to Australian
dollars exchange rate is: US $1.00=0.96 Australian dollars (A$). While looking at these figures,
what a recipient of Youth Allowance would get is very near to what the equivalent in the United
States would be. Youth Allowance is a means-tested program, so what each individual receives

YOUTH ALLOWANCE

depends on how many resources they or family resources they already have. This means that the
people who need more will receive more, while those individuals who have more money already
will receive less aid from the government. Since what the individual receiving Youth Allowance
gets is money, the provisions of this policy emphasize freedom of choice. The recipients are not
told what they are allowed to do with the money; they are simply given the money to spend how
they see fit. They have the freedom to choose what they purchase and are not controlled by the
government this way.
Methods of Delivery
The methods of delivery of a policy or program would be how the benefits are delivered
to the recipient. At first it was unclear what the methods of delivery were for Youth Allowance
in Australia. However after a bit more research I found that, Centrelink, as the Australian
Government statutory agency responsible for delivering income support and benefit payments, is
the principal service delivery agency for DEEWR's (Department of Education, Employment and
Workplace Relations) social security programs, including YA (Youth Allowance) (Australian
National Audit Office, 2014). Centrelink is the agency that is contracted out by the government
of Australia to serve the public and deliver the benefits of Youth Allowance. From the
customer's perspective, YA services are accessed/delivered through the Internet, Centrelink's 25
call centres and over 300 customer service centres. The call centres are managed centrally as a
virtual single call centre (Australian National Audit Office, 2014).
Based on this information, the methods of delivery of Youth Allowance seem to
emphasize freedom of dissent. Although the benefits from Youth Allowance are delivered
through one single agency, Centrelink, there are many call centers and customer service centers,
which would allow recipients freedom of dissent. Recipients are able to express their concerns

YOUTH ALLOWANCE
with Youth Allowance by going to one of the many customer service centers, by calling, or
going online. YA customer feedback is available from a variety of sources including;
Centrelink's complaint handing system and customer relations units, internal and external
reviews of Centrelink decisions, and ministerial correspondence (Australian National Audit
Office, 2014). Centrelink and Youth Allowance emphasize freedom of dissent and aim to make
changes to any problem areas that recipients may have. According to the Australian National
Audit Office (2014):
An analysis of Centrelink customer complaints over the last three financial years has
shown a decline in the percentage of YA complaints compared to all complaints. In
200506, the percentage was 12.6 per cent, in 200607 it was 9.6 per cent and in 2007
08 it was 9.7 per cent. Over the same period, YA service delivery complaints decreased
by 7 percentage points.
Even over a short period of time and with Youth Allowance being a relatively new program,
Centrelink has clearly made it a priority to allow freedom of dissent from recipients and take
their complaints, thoughts, and opinions seriously in order to make any changes needed.
Methods of Financing

The total cost of Youth Allowance is financed from the general revenue of the Australian
government (Social Security Administration, 2013). Neither an employed person nor employer
adds directly to the funds used for any unemployment assistance program in Australia. Thus, the
financing for Youth Allowance emphasizes centralization because it is all paid for directly from
the government.

YOUTH ALLOWANCE
Alternative Policy
It would be great to have a policy similar to Australias Youth Allowance in the United
States. The US does have an unemployment assistance program but nothing that is directed

solely to the youth of the nation and focuses on their specific needs in the way that the Australian
Youth Allowance does. A policy that I would like to see developed in the US would be similar to
the Youth Allowance in Australia. Transitioning from a dependent child to an independent adult
can be a very difficult time for an individual, especially financially. Having an unemployment
option that works well for the youth of America and that promotes higher education is essential.
Today many young people are struggling to live independently from their parents because
they cannot find a job that pays a livable wage and/or many young Americans are burdened by
being tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt from their college or university by the
time they finally graduate and start looking for their career. Especially in the United States of
America, where the cost of a higher education is extremely expensive and the cost is only going
up, a program similar to Australias Youth Allowance as a form of unemployment could be
extremely beneficial. With the lack of jobs, the necessity for a higher education, and the high
price of a college education, it can take decades, if ever, for many Americans to be financially
stable once they enter adulthood.
The unemployment assistance policy specific to the youth in the United States that I
would like to see passed into legislation could simply be referred to as Youth Assistance. The
social allocations, or who would be eligible for Youth Assistance, would be any legal resident
aged 16 to 25 that is disabled, looking for work, underemployed to where they are struggling
financially, or attending schooling or training to further their education. Setting the age limit
from 16 to 25 is important because it allows the youth to support themselves while also

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encouraging them to continue their education and/or look for employment. Having this option
that ends at age 25 also encourages students to finish their schooling at a college or university
soon after high school. The social allocations for this alternative US policy would emphasize
social effectiveness. This is because it includes all legal residents, not necessarily just citizens, it
encourages young people to further their education, and it helps young people at a vital time of
their life while they are transitioning to adulthood and becoming financially independent from
their parents.
The provisions for Youth Assistance in the US would be similar to that of Youth
Allowance in Australia. The benefits of this policy would be money between the amount of $200
and $400 every two weeks depending on that individuals financial status. Those who are more
in need should receive more, while those who are better off financially should receive less, if
anything. These provisions emphasize freedom of choice because the recipients would be given
actual money, which they would have the freedom to spend however they choose. Instead of
giving the benefits to recipients every month, I think that the US should do as Australia does and
give out the benefits every two weeks. The reason for this is that it is similar to how wages are
often paid in the US and it will help the recipients manage their money better.
The methods of delivery for this alternative policy would be local so that recipients can
have freedom of dissent. The government would have a number of centers around each state,
depending on size and population, to deliver these benefits to the recipients. A check would be
mailed out every two weeks from these centers. The recipients would also be able to sign up, ask
questions, and express their dissent online and through the phone. Even though this program
would be able to be accessed online, unlike the Australian Youth Allowance, the methods of

YOUTH ALLOWANCE
delivery will not be mainly based online because in the United States many people do not have
readily access to the Internet.
The methods of financing for the alternative US Youth Assistance policy would be half
from a tax placed on employee and employer income and the other half from the governments
general revenue. Unlike Australias Youth Allowance that is paid completely from government
revenue, I think that this alternative policy should also take some from the working people
through a small tax. Although the methods of financing are different, this alternative policy
would also emphasize centralization because it would all be through the US government from
general revenue and through taxes.
Values

The value that the alternative Youth Assistance policy in the United States would mostly
emphasize would be the value of adequacy. Given the huge need for financial help among youth
in the US, this policy would adequately address this need. By allowing many different types of
criteria each individual could meet, it is very likely that most people who are in need would
receive some type of financial assistance. This alternative policy would not emphasize equality
because not everyone would be treated the same and given the same benefits. It would be meanstested, meaning how much an individual would receive would depend on the resources that
individual already has. If the person were independent and wealthy or dependent on a very
wealthy family, they would not receive the benefits that someone who is very poor and
struggling financially would receive. This policy also does not emphasize equity; how much
money one puts into the funds for Youth Assistance does not determine how much they will
receive from it, especially since many young people may receive benefits without ever paying
into it through income taxes, because they are still young and may have never had a job. Overall

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this new policy would be similar to Youth Allowance because they both support the value of
adequacy over equality and equity.
This alternative policy would emphasize certain social work values as well. Social

workers work to help vulnerable populations. This policy would help young adults at a vital time
in their lifetime. While young individuals are just starting to be financially independent this
would help them if they need it because they are not making enough money to go to school or
just for the necessities of life. This new United States Youth Assistance policy could help
prevent poverty as young individuals transition into adulthood. This policy also encourages
continuing education by allowing students to receive support from the government while they are
going to school. This way they can focus more on their studying and learning without quite as
much financial worry or debt.
Passing the Policy
This new alternative unemployment policy for the youth of the United States would have
to be passed at the federal level. Although there would be local centers for recipients to contact
and receive their benefits directly, this would be a nationwide policy. Like Social Security, there
would be a tax on income to help pay for the Youth Assistance. Some interest groups may be
against this because unlike Social Security people will not feel like they are paying into it in
order to benefit later on. However in the long run this would benefit society as a whole and after
a while those who originally benefit from it as it starts out will pay into it later on in life through
the tax put on their income.
There also may be people who are against the government revenue paying for half of the
benefits that go to the young people under this policy. The government does not usually pay for
financial assistance directly to individuals, and some people may be against this thinking that

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that money could be better used another way. However, I feel that the government could spend
much less money on the military, invading countries, and helping big business, and give that
money instead to the individuals in the country who are struggling and could really use it through
a program like this and many others.
In order to get a policy like this passed it may take a long time and some changes made to
the policy because of the American culture and how much the American society values
individualism. People may be against helping young people in this way while they did not
receive this same help. Many people would likely say, If I could be successful without this help,
so can they. Unfortunately people have this mind set and it may take a long time for the culture
to change enough to see the benefits of working together to help those who need it and the
positive impact a policy like this could have on society as a whole.

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References
Australian National Audit Office. (2014). Administration of Youth Allowance. Retrieved from:
http://www.anao.gov.au/Publications/Audit-Reports/2009-2010/Administration-ofYouth-Allowance/Audit-brochure
Meijers, F., & Te Riele, K. (2004). From controlling to constructive: Youth unemployment
policy in Australia and the Netherlands. Journal of Social Policy, 33, 3-21.

Social Security Administration. (2013). Social security programs throughout the world: Asia and
the Pacific, 2012. Social Security Programs Throughout the World, 4, 32-40.