Once your teen turns 16, a whole different Centrelink stream opens up — and the one you've been getting (FTB-A) can stop overnight when they claim it. Youth Allowance (16-24) and Austudy (25+) are the teen's own payments, but the transition catches most families off guard.
This guide covers what's available, how the parental income test works while the teen is still counted as dependent, and the transition-planning most families miss.
What Youth Allowance is
Youth Allowance is Services Australia's payment for young people aged 16-24 in one of these situations:
- Studying full-time at an approved secondary school (in the year they turn 16 or later), TAFE, university, or other approved course
- Doing an Australian Apprenticeship — including trainees
- Looking for full-time work (job seeker stream, 16-21)
- Sick — temporary incapacity, unable to study or look for work
The rate depends on age, study/job seeker stream, whether they live at home or away, whether they have their own dependents, and their income and assets. Rates change on 20 March and 20 September each year (indexation) plus 1 January (student rate adjustments in some cases).
Where to check the current rate: Services Australia's How much Youth Allowance for students and apprentices you can get or How much Youth Allowance for job seekers you can get.
What Austudy is
Austudy is for full-time students 25 and over. Same idea — a fortnightly payment supporting the study period. The main practical difference: Austudy doesn't have a parental income test. At 25+ the student is treated as independent regardless of parents' income.
Rates and study-load requirements largely mirror Youth Allowance for students.
The FTB-A collision
This is the one most families miss. FTB-A for a specific child stops the fortnight the teen starts receiving:
- Youth Allowance (either stream)
- Austudy
- ABSTUDY Living Allowance
You can't have both. If the parents keep receiving FTB-A for the teen after they've claimed Youth Allowance, Services Australia will claw it back at end-of-year reconciliation.
The transition worth planning: during Year 12, most families choose between keeping FTB-A OR the teen claiming Youth Allowance — whichever is higher combined. Once the teen finishes Year 12, FTB-A stops for that child anyway (age 20 is the outer limit even for teens still in secondary study), so the switch to their own claim usually follows.
Parental income test — Youth Allowance dependent stream
If the teen is dependent (usually under 22 and hasn't met an independence test), Youth Allowance uses a parental income test:
- Under the threshold → teen gets the full rate they qualify for (still subject to their own income + assets test)
- Over the threshold → payment reduces by a set rate for every dollar of family income above
The threshold changes each year. Check Services Australia's parental-income-test page for the current cut-off. If you're near it, be aware that a small pay bump can meaningfully reduce the teen's payment.
Being classed as independent removes the parental income test. Common pathways include:
- Living away from home to study for at least 6 months (with reasonable-distance evidence)
- Self-supporting through work — earning above a threshold for a set period
- Being married, in a de facto relationship, or having a child
- Being an orphan or in state care
- Being unable to live at home due to family breakdown or safety
Once the teen is independent, only their own income + assets are tested.
Living away from home = higher rate
Youth Allowance and Austudy pay a higher rate to students living away from home for the purposes of study. If your regional teen has to move to a metro area for university, they typically qualify.
There's also a one-off Relocation Scholarship for eligible regional students moving to study.
Rent Assistance — extra on top
If the teen is renting (including on-campus student accommodation above the minimum threshold), they can get Rent Assistance on top of their Youth Allowance or Austudy. It's not separate — it's added to the fortnightly payment automatically once they lodge their rent details.
Health Care Card — automatic
Youth Allowance and Austudy come with an automatic Health Care Card. Cheaper prescriptions, GP concessions, and state-based concessions on transport and utilities in most states. This alone is worth thousands over a study period.
ABSTUDY — if applicable
If the teen is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, they should almost always claim ABSTUDY instead of Youth Allowance. ABSTUDY generally pays more for the same student and adds extras Youth Allowance doesn't (travel allowance, away-from-base rates, pharmaceutical allowance). See First Nations benefits for detail.
Practical transition checklist
Year 11 and early Year 12:
- Note the teen's 18th birthday date and the school-year end
- Confirm which Year 12 finish date the school uses (Services Australia matches to this)
- Understand which uni/TAFE course the teen plans to start and when it begins
Once accepted into further study:
- Get enrolment confirmation from the institution
- Compare the parents' current FTB-A for that child vs the teen's likely Youth Allowance rate
- If moving away for study — check the distance rules for the away-from-home rate + Relocation Scholarship
When the teen starts claiming:
- Update FTB-A immediately so it stops for that teen (prevents overpayment at reconciliation)
- Confirm rent details are on the Youth Allowance claim if paying rent
- Set up MyGov account and Centrelink online for the teen if not already
Ongoing:
- Each March + September indexation the rate updates automatically
- Personal income above the fortnightly free area starts reducing payment — Income Bank helps students smooth this across study terms and holiday work
What NestWise does with this
We watch for kids turning 16 in your household and surface the Youth Allowance / Austudy signal on your family entitlements page. The claim is your teen's — not yours — but the FTB-A transition is a household decision worth knowing about ahead of time.
We don't calculate the rate — Services Australia has the definitive current figure via the payment guide PDF (updated quarterly) — but we do watch for the age trigger and the FTB-A collision.