Aged Pension - Welfare or Entitlement?, page-326

You can't automatically get the dole when you're 18 unless your parents earn very little as it is based on their income. You are not classed as an independent until 22. This makes it difficult for most students as the majority are doing their degrees between the ages of 18 and 21. It works out ok if you are supported and living at home but very hard to go to university away from home as zero support. I don't think Austudy can be claimed until 25 which may be ok for mature age students studying but this is not when the bulk of students study. If we want our education standards to rise then we really should be supporting our students more. I definitely could not support our kids if they were to study away from home. My son instead has to travel 4 hours on the train each day to go to uni (leaves at 6am and gets home about 8.30pm) and works every day off.