Centrelink: Uni student Ashleigh broke both her legs and couldn't work - but an outdated Youth Allowance rule meant she was denied a vital payment to make ends meet
Student, 20, forced to quit job due to injuries She was denied Centrelink Youth AllowanceCentrelink does not consider her independent READ MORE: Brutal reality of life on Centrelink in Australia: 'Never been harder'
A uni student who broke both her legs and couldn't work was denied a vital youth allowance to make ends meet due to a technicality.
Ashleigh Griffiths, 20, has been bedridden and needs either a wheelchair or crutches to get around after suffering stress fractures to both of her legs.
Doctors told Ms Griffiths it would take up to four months before she could put pressure on her legs and start walking.
The 20-year-old was forced to quit her job as a cleaner - income she was using to support herself while she studies medical radiation science in Canberra.
Ms Griffiths has been applying for a desk job but in the meantime to afford living costs and help cover her medical expenses she also applied for Centrelink Youth Allowance.
Ashleigh Griffith, 20, was working as a cleaner to support herself through her medical radiation science degree in Canberra but was forced to quit after she broke both her legs
However, her application for Youth Allowance was denied because Centrelink does not consider her to be living independently.
Centrelink currently considers people under the age of 22 as being dependent, which means the income made by their parents or guardian impacts their eligibility for the allowance and also the amount they receive.
Parents can only earn $62,634 or less a year in order for their child to receive the full Youth Allowance payment of $639 a fortnight.
The fortnightly payment is then reduced by 20 cents for every dollar above the threshold.
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Ms Griffiths' $150 a week in board covers all her expenses while living at home with her mum and two sisters.
To avoid HECS indexation, she also pays for her university course costs upfront, which totalled $2,400 last semester.
Ms Griffiths said she has been put in an 'awful' position after her application was denied because her mum earns too much and has used her savings to pay for medical bills.
The 20-year-old is also concerned she will not be able to pay for her upcoming placement, which involves 2,000 hours of work not covered by the government.
'Those savings were for me to be able to afford to go on placement because in placement you pay for everything, your uniforms, your food, your accommodation,' Ms Griffiths told Yahoo Finance.
'Eating into that for all my consultations is quite stressful … I still have to support myself and I still have my placements.
'With the cost of living, there is no way my mum or any parent can fully support their kid doing that in the average Australian household.'
Centrelink denied her Youth Allowance application because she was under the age of 22 and considered dependent on her parent
More than 450,000 students under the age of 22 are being 'locked out' of Youth Allowance as they are considered dependent, the National Union of Students found.
The union has been campaigning to lower the age of independence for the purpose of Centrelink support from 22 to 18 years old.
The 2024 Australian University Accord report also suggested Centrelink raise the parental income test limit from $62,634 to $68,857 a year.
Raising the income test limit would allow more students to qualify for Youth Allowance payments.
In 2009, former deputy prime minister Julia Gillard reduced Centrelink's age of independence from 24 to 22 years old.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Services Australia for comment.