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Residency requirements for Youth Allowance

To meet residency requirements you must be an Australian resident and in Australia on the day that you lodge your claim.

To be an Australian resident, you must be living in Australia as:

• an Australian citizen
• the holder of a permanent resident visa
• the holder of a special-category visa - that is, someone with a New Zealand passport living in Australia, or
• a New Zealand citizen who was in Australia on 26 February 2001 or for 12 months in the two years immediately before that date, or who was assessed before 26 February 2004 as 'protected'

Newly arrived residents generally have a 2 year waiting period before they can be granted Youth Allowance. Some exemptions apply for refugees, holders of certain other permanent visas, Australian citizens, and in some circumstances their partners and dependent children.