Summary

In response to recommendations of the Review of Higher Education (the Bradley Review), the bill amends the:

to: phase-in a change to the age of independence from 25 to 22 years for the purposes of the independent youth allowance; provide that youth allowance claimants will not be able to attain independence through part-time employment or wages; increase the annual parental income threshold for non-independent youth allowance recipients; change the taper rate from 25 per cent per person to 20 per cent for families for the parental income reduction for youth allowance; increase and index to the Consumer Price Index the personal income free area for youth allowance, austudy students and Australian Apprentices; and provide the training supplement to all parenting payment recipients who are subject to participation requirements; and , , , and to: provide for a start-up scholarship and a relocation scholarship (both to be indexed from 2011); and exempt (to an indexed threshold) merit and equity based scholarships from the income test under social security and veterans’ entitlements legislation.