Rethink student allowance thresholds, says new report

A new report is calling for the Government to rethink its student allowance scheme.

The report titled 'Laybying our Future: The State of Student Hardship in New Zealand' highlights the realities of student hardship and the ability of students to finish their degree.

It was commissioned by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), an independent charity working to eliminate child poverty in New Zealand

Authored by University of Auckland master’s student Max Lin, the report said changes in recent years surrounding student allowances had made it harder for students to deal with the cost of living.

"The parental threshold has been frozen since 2012. That means more and more students do not qualify for a student allowance," said Mr Lin.

"Around 20,000 students since 2010 who would have qualified then, no longer qualify. Meanwhile, the cost of living and housing has gone up."

He also said certain requirements make it difficult for students who do not receive parental support to qualify for funding.

"If your family isn't giving you money and your household is classified as high-income, you have to prove family breakdown and confirm that you have no relationship with your parents.

"If you're from an abusive family, imagine trying to confirm that your family doesn't want to support you. That just doesn't work," said Mr Lin.

Sian Robertson, a former university student and mother to a teenager, said the lack of student allowance funding for postgraduate students is a huge problem as "student loan living costs are less than the student allowance".

Ms Robertson also said her struggles with government agencies over her funding often put her studies at risk.

"Work and Income said they couldn't support parents who were studying and that I had to go to Studylink. But what Studylink were offering was less than my rent.

"I managed to talk Work and Income into it, but after I'd already done less than a semester, I got a call from them saying that someone had made a mistake and I wasn’t supposed to get this benefit. It was extremely distressing and this happened about three times during my degree."

Julie Timmins, one of the founding members of CPAG, said the group's decision to commission the report was a "no-brainer".

“Children we were so concerned about many years ago have grown into adults. Now, they’re trying to get through university but finding it just too difficult," said Ms Timmins.