Residence requirements

To lodge a Youth Allowance claim you must be an Australian resident and in Australia on the day that you lodge your claim.

To be paid Youth Allowance, you also need to have been in Australia as an Australian resident for at least 104 weeks. However, there are some exceptions.

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

• an Australian citizen, or
• the holder of a permanent resident visa, or
• a New Zealand citizen who was in Australia on 26 February 2001, or for 12 months in the 2 years immediately before that date, or was assessed as "protected" before 26 February 2004.*

*If you arrived in Australia on a New Zealand passport after 26 February 2001 and have lived here continuously for at least 10 years since 26 February 2001, you may qualify for payment of NSA, YA or SA for up to 6 months. If you qualify for payment under this exemption you will not need to serve the 104-week newly arrived resident's waiting period.

More information

• Changes which affect New Zealand citizens claiming payments in Australia
• Youth Allowance section