ACT urges student payments review.

(From Canberra Times)

ACT students were living in debt and below the poverty line because the Federal Government's welfare payments were inadequate and too hard to attain, the ACT Legislative Assembly said yesterday.

After a motion put forward by Labor backbencher Karin MacDonald, the Assembly voted to call on the Federal Government to review student payment amounts and eligibility criteria.

Last month, the Federal Government announced a Senate inquiry into student payments.

A student's eligibility for the Youth Allowance payment is judged on their parents' incomes, unless they are deemed independent.Independent status means the student has earned a specific sum of money since leaving school, or domestic circumstances mean he or she cannot live at home.

If deemed eligible, the maximum amount students can receive in Youth Allowance payments is $410 a fortnight, and they can only earn $5000 a year gross before their payments are reduced.

The Australian National University Student Association welcomed the ...