Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Changes announced in the federal 2015-16 budget last night have improved access to youth allowance under the independent criteria for more regional students. This is something I have fought for ever since coming into this place, particularly following Labor's changes during their early time in government; we saw numbers of additional students unable to access youth allowance. So I welcome the announcement.

I have been fighting for regional students and families to have similar access to tertiary education and study as do city students and residents, so that those who meet the criteria for independent youth allowance will no longer have their access limited by their parents' assets or income. It was always contradictory to classify students as independent but still link their access to the independent youth allowance to their parents' income and assets. Fixing this anomaly is a logical step. They are either independent or they are not. For young students to be able to come in to a city to further their educational dreams and ambitions—and then, potentially, to come back to our regional areas— is a key part of what this government is about.

My battle for regional students is not over. This is not all I want to achieve for them in having better equity of access to higher education, and I will continue my work in this space. We have made a great start, and I thank the Minister for Social Services.

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