Study measures adequacy of youth allowance system

19-July-2002

UOW academic Dr George Matheson has co-authored a study into the experience of young homeless people's experience of the youth allowance system. A research paper has just been released by Child and family welfare agency, UnitingCare Burnside following the study.

The study was taken over a three-year period and covered the areas of Dubbo, Cabramatta and Macarthur. Led by UnitingCare Burnside's Principal Research Officer, Robert Urquhart, it was one of the first non-government agencies in NSW to establish an in-house research program and this is the first significant piece of long-term research to be completed by the organisation.

Dr George Matheson, a lecturer in sociology at the University of Wollongong was co-author and key collaborator on this exploratory study. Dr Matheson acted as a consultant to UnitingCare Burnside in his own academic research time.

This is another concrete example of the ongoing successful collaboration between UOW and UnitingCare Burnside. The two organisations are also working together on a study that looks at the role of foster carers, funded by the Australian Research Council; and Dr Rose Melville of UOW was the foundation convenor of Burnside's Research Advisory Group. The Group assisted UnitingCare Burnside in developing a Research Code of Ethics in 2000 and still meet together on a regular basis to ensure a high moral standard of all research involving UnitingCare Burnside service users.

Some of the key findings on this most recent research in relation to the youth allowance included:

• even the maximum Youth Allowance payments were inadequate to meet these young people's basic needs
• there were financial, emotional and health costs to young people's parents when attempting to make up the financial shortfall of Youth Allowance payments
• there is a lack of understanding within Centrelink about the particular difficulties experienced by young people who are homeless
• all the young people who were homeless had been breached, most more than once
• young people acknowledged that at times Centrelink could be helpful and access to the Youth Allowance enabled them to survive.

Some comments from the young people were: "Well how can I look for work if I've got nowhere to live? You want me to go in the same clothes I've been wearing for two weeks." and "It's not do I go to the movies or do I pay my rent. It's do I eat or do I pay my rent."

"Creating opportunities and providing support to young people as they establish themselves in the world of work is a critical concern of many in our community. The young people who are the focus of this study frequently find themselves with few if any of the economic and social opportunities that many of us take for granted. Despite this, they maintained motivation to find a job. This report contributes to our understanding of one particular group of young people and to the improvement of the policies and practices designed to address their needs," said Jane Woodruff, Chief Executive Officer, UnitingCare Burnside.

Page 2 Young Homeless People say Youth Allowance Payments Inadequate Since UnitingCare Burnside has added social research to its advocacy work, it has also established research partnerships with the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales, the University of Western Sydney, Macquarie University, and has successfully sought nationally competitive research funding.

For an interview please contact: Jane Woodruff, Chief Executive Officer, UnitingCare Burnside on 9768-6866, mobile 0402 891 325 or Dr George Matheson Ð UOW on 4221 3743. For further information please contact: Robert Urquhart Principal Research Officer, UnitingCare Burnside's Social Justice and Research Program on 9768-6866.

Media contact: Camille Craig, Public Relations Officer, UnitingCare Burnside 9768-6804.