REGIONAL students will have the chance to attend university with changes to youth allowance eligibility.
The new parental income test threshold will be increased to $160,000 before students are unable to access youth allowance, with an additional $10,000 increase to the cut-off for each child in the family.
The measure, which will cost $53.9m over four years, follows the government’s recent review of regional, rural and remote education.
Recent high school graduate Jessica Huebler said the increased threshold would particularly benefit regional students relocating to metropolitan areas to study.
“Everyone I know is studying in Adelaide or Melbourne because there are only four or five courses available here,” she said.
“It’s harder for people from the country to move, we would have to live by ourselves and accommodation is not always available and it is expensive when it is.
“That’s why Centrelink is important, and even though it is not a lot, it still helps.
“It is not like the students are going to stay on it forever, they need it so they can finish university and contribute to society.”
Also included in the budget is an additional 685 Commonwealth supported places for students starting study at regional institutions and regional study hubs.
