Austudy vs Youth Allowance
Austudy and Youth Allowance both support full-time students and Australian Apprentices, but they are split by age. Youth Allowance is for students aged 16 to 24. Austudy is for students aged 25 and over.
The two payments are close in rate but differ in how they are tested, mainly because Austudy is for people who claim as adults. This page explains the comparison.
| Payment | Per fortnight | ≈ per year | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austudy | $677.20 | $17,607.20 | 1 January 2026 |
| Youth Allowance (students and apprentices) | $418.90 | $10,891.40 | 1 January 2026 |
The key differences
Age: Youth Allowance is for students aged 16 to 24; Austudy is for students aged 25 and over.
Parental means test: Youth Allowance can test a dependent under-22 on their parents' income; Austudy has no parental means test.
Living situation: Youth Allowance has at-home and away-from-home rates; Austudy does not split rates this way.
Income Bank: both give students an Income Bank to store unused income free area and use it later.
Index dates: both are indexed once a year on 1 January, so their current figures share the same effective date.
Partner income test: both apply a partner income test if you have a partner.
Who gets more
The basic rates for Austudy and Youth Allowance for students are close, and for some situations they line up. The bigger practical difference is the parental means test. A dependent young person on Youth Allowance can have their payment cut by their parents' income, while an Austudy recipient, being 25 or over, never faces a parental means test. The rate table on this page shows the current figures.
So an older student on Austudy often keeps more of the maximum rate than a younger, dependent student on Youth Allowance whose parents earn above the threshold, even where the basic rates are similar.
See each payment in full
- AustudyRate, tests and calculator
- Youth Allowance (students and apprentices)Rate, tests and calculator
Common questions
- What is the main difference between Austudy and Youth Allowance?
- Age is the main difference. Youth Allowance is for students aged 16 to 24; Austudy is for students aged 25 and over. Austudy has no parental means test and no at-home or away-from-home rates, because it is for people who claim as adults.
- Do Austudy and Youth Allowance pay the same amount?
- The basic rates for students are close and line up in some situations. The bigger difference is testing: a dependent young person on Youth Allowance can lose payment to the parental means test, while Austudy has none. The rate table on this page shows the current figures.
Rates current as of 17 July 2026. Source: DSS / Services Australia. Last checked 17 July 2026.