Getting The Message To Youth

One of the big issues Government must tackle is how to best provide information to young people, Minister for Community Services Larry Anthony said today, marking Centrelink’s work for young people during Youth Week.

Mr Anthony said information technology services were one way to reach young people, and the internet is key among them.

“The website, National Youth Week website has all the information about National Youth Week, including a competition which asks young people about how they would like to receive information about Centrelink,” said Mr Anthony.

“This feedback is important to help Centrelink model services such as Youth Allowance.

“By participating in the National Youth Week competition, we can find out if young people prefer to receive information via email or the internet, or if traditional methods such as the postal system are more suitable.”

The information about Centrelink contained on the National Youth Week website links to the Centrelink website, (www.centrelink.gov.au), so that competition entrants can find the answer to the second question about a Centrelink payment specifically aimed at young people.

“Youth Allowance has been specifically designed so that young people can move from study to training to job hunting without changing payments,” Mr Anthony said.

“Recent changes in the Youth Allowance family assets test mean more people can get this financial support.

“75 per cent of the value of a family’s interest in the assets of a farm and/or a business will be disregarded instead of the former 50 per cent.

“An estimated 7,200 young people stand to benefit from the Government’s decision to increase the family assets test limit, with the majority of those young people coming from rural and regional communities,” said Mr Anthony.