Helping Young Parents

If you’re a young parent who is 19 years of age or under, receives Parenting Payment and lives in one of 10 selected Local Government Areas we’ll be contacting you from 1 January 2012.

Extra assistance will be provided if you receive Parenting Payment and:

• you live in one of the 10 selected Local Government Areas
• your child is between six months and six years old
• you are 19 years old or younger, and
• you do not have a Year 12 Certificate or Certificate II equivalent qualification, or
• you have a Year 12 Certificate or Certificate II equivalent qualification and volunteer to participate.

The ten selected Local Government Areas are:

• Bankstown, Shellharbour and Wyong (NSW)
• Logan and Rockhampton (Qld)
• Greater Shepparton and Hume (Vic)
• Playford (SA)
• Burnie (Tas), and
• Kwinana (WA).

When your child turns six months old we will write to you and ask you to come and meet with us just to see how you are doing and if there is any extra assistance we can offer. 

When your child turns one, we will meet with you to help you develop a plan that suits you so that you can work towards achieving your year 12 certificate or a Certificate II equivalent qualification. The study activities included in your plan will be flexible and only included after discussing the options with you that best suit your circumstances and your family needs.

You will also be given information about local services that are available to assist you in caring for your children and other local supports that can assist you in meeting your parenting responsibilities. 

By linking you with support and helping you to improve your education, we hope to enable you to build and develop valuable life skills. This means that when you are ready and your child is older, you will have a better chance of getting a job that suits you and your interests.

About the program

If you are eligible for the additional assistance you will need to go to interviews every six months from when your child turns six months of age until they turn six years old. We’ll work with you to identify activities that will help you to improve your education and also access local services that are available to assist you in caring for your children and support meeting your parenting responsibilities. These activities will take into account your needs and circumstances, as well as those of your child.

If you are unable to attend an interview or attend your agreed activities and have a good reason, let Centrelink know as soon as you can so we can arrange another interview. If you don’t attend your interviews or do the activities you agreed to participate in without talking to Centrelink first, your payment may be stopped until you attend your missed interview or start participating again.

Supporting you and your children

We realise that being a young parent can be really hard. This measure aims to help you create a positive future for yourself and your children. We want to make sure you and your children get the same opportunities as everyone else and that you are supported to finish school or study through flexible options that best suit your circumstances.

We understand it’s important that your children are cared for while you focus on your study so we’ll help you to access support services, such as child care, if required. We may also be able to provide you with help to pay for child care.

You will also learn about local community support and services that are available to help you as a young parent.

Participating in the program

We will work with you to identify a learning path that will help you achieve a Year 12 Certificate or a Certificate II equivalent.  This may include accessing local high schools or TAFEs.  In some circumstances, distance or online learning courses might be a better choice.  Whatever path you decide to take, we will be there to support you in figuring out how to improve your future employment options through education.

We will also work with you to identify other support services and early childhood learning options that you and your child can access.

While eligible for the extra assistance available though this program, you will need to attend interviews, develop a Participation Plan and participate in the activities you agree to undertake. If you don’t do this without a good reason and talking to Centrelink first, your payment may be stopped until you attend your missed interview or start participating again.

For now, the extra assistance available under this program is limited to people who meet the eligibility criteria and live in one of the 10 selected Local Government Locations.  In the future, the program may be available everywhere, but for now only people who are asked to participate are able to receive the extra assistance.

If you move to a different area your plan may need to be adjusted, but you will still be eligible to receive the extra assistance available under this program. Once you get your Year 12 Certificate or Certificate II equivalent qualification, you can choose to volunteer for the program to continue gaining the extra assistance. If you work part-time you can still access the extra assistance available through this program.

The Young Parents Online Community

When you attend your first interview, you’ll receive access to the Young Parents Online Community – Love. Learn. Grow. This is a place where you will be able to talk with other young parents about your experiences and theirs. You will also find information that will help you while participating in the Helping Young Parents program.

Love. Learn. Grow. also gives you the chance to talk to the people who developed the Helping Young Parents program. Access to this online community is limited to program participants.