Transitioning from Youth Payment

A student who has been receiving Youth Payment, who then applies for an Independent Circumstances Allowance may not have to provide evidence of their circumstances, if they have previously done so as part of their application for Youth Payment.

However, the criteria for Independent Circumstances Allowance and Youth Payment are not identical. There may be instances where a student who has been receiving Youth Payment will need to verify their circumstances when applying for an Independent Circumstances Allowance.

For those applicants who have been receiving Youth Payment you will need to request a copy of the Independent Assessment Provider's report completed for the Youth Payment application from the Youth Service Support Unit (YSSU).

Where this report contains sufficient information to confirm the applicant meets the criteria set for Independent Circumstances Allowance then the application can be approved.

Note an Independent Assessment Provider's report is not required from every application for Youth Payment.

If the application for Independent Circumstances Allowance is made more than 52 weeks after the student last received Youth Payment, then it may be necessary to gather further information from the student before a final decision can be made.