Youth Allowance student - long-term income support, couple, no children (22-24)

What Is This Payment?

This rule is the partnered, no-children variant of the Youth Allowance student Long-Term Income Support special rate. In the rule database it is tagged as a monetary primary Federal benefit in the Youth Allowance parent cluster, with rule tags students, youth, centrelink, special_rate, long_term_welfare, and partnered. The entitlement scope is per person and ongoing, paid for the duration of qualifying study while the partnered relationship and prior support history continue to support the special rate routing.

The administering body is Services Australia. Intake runs through the standard Youth Allowance student claim form via the myGov online channel and at service centres; the application metadata lists only online and service_centre. Each partner submits a separate claim because the YA student framework treats each adult as a distinct income support recipient; the partnered status feeds the partner-income preprocessing layer rather than producing a single combined household claim.

This rule exists to give partnered LTIS applicants a couple-rate that reflects partial household cost-sharing while still recognising the long-term welfare transition. The $733.20 figure is set between the LTIS at-home single ($567.50) and LTIS away-from-home single ($799.70) rates: it is lower than the single away-from-home rate per person, but the combined two-partner total of $1,466.40 exceeds either single rate, reflecting that a couple still incurs two adults' worth of basic costs. The lifecycle ends at age 25 (routing to the partnered Austudy rule), when partnership ends (routing to one of the LTIS single rules), or when dependent children appear (routing to the partnered-with-child YA student rule).

How Much Can You Get?

The amount block is defined as a formula paid fortnightly. Base is $733.20 per fortnight per claimant. The rule note records this as the January 2026 official value confirmed against the Services Australia rate page for the long-term income support couple-no-children line. Annualised across 26 fortnights the unreduced figure is roughly $19,063 per year per partner. The output display period is yearly while the assessment mechanics remain fortnightly.

The income test runs as one cumulative step. The taper taps in at income_fortnightly > 539: every dollar of personal income above $539 reduces the payment by 50 cents. Partner income enters via the preprocessing layer: any partner-income excess above the partner free area is attached to income_fortnightly before the rule's taper applies, so the single 50 cent step handles both income streams in a unified way. There is no separate partner-side rate inside the rule.

The cut-out is reached when the combined personal-plus-preprocessed-partner taper reduction equals the base. With personal income alone, the cut-out is around $2,005 per fortnight: $733.20 divided by 0.5 equals $1,466.40 of taper-zone earnings, plus the $539 free area. When partner income runs above the partner free area, the effective cut-out for the claimant's personal income falls because partner-side excess consumes part of the same $1,466.40 taper headroom. Above the cut-out the floor cap of minimum $0 takes over.

You can audit any estimate with a five-step recipe matching the YAML structure. First, confirm the per-member base of $733.20. Second, compute the partner-income excess over the partner free area (preprocessing attaches that to income_fortnightly). Third, compute the assessable excess as max(income_fortnightly - 539, 0) on the combined figure. Fourth, multiply the excess by 0.5. Fifth, subtract from the base and clamp at zero. Worked example: personal earnings $400, partner earnings $1,800 (with say $300 excess attaching after partner free area) gives combined fortnightly assessable income of $700; excess over $539 is $161; reduction $80.50; estimated payment $652.70 per fortnight for the claimant.

The rule stores an empty multiplier, no reduces_if entries, and no date_windows. Each partner's $733.20 base is independent, so a household where both partners qualify can total $1,466.40 per fortnight before any income reductions on either side.

Eligibility Conditions

The eligibility block is an all set, so every item must pass.

1. Age floor: age >= 22. Applicants under 22 fall outside the LTIS special rate band.
2. Age ceiling: age < 25. Applicants aged 25 or over transition to the partnered Austudy rule.
3. Residency status: residency_status in {australian_citizen, permanent_resident, special_category_visa, other_eligible_visa}. Most temporary visa classes and bridging visas are out of scope.
4. Presence in Australia: living_in_australia = true. YA student is generally not portable for sustained overseas study.
5. Full-time student or apprentice: full_time_student_or_apprentice = true. At least 75 percent of full-time load with limited 25 percent concession in approved cases.
6. Partner status: partner_status = partnered. Single applicants route to one of the two LTIS single siblings depending on living arrangement.
7. Long-term income support history: long_term_income_support_prior_to_study = true. The applicant must have received qualifying non-student income support for at least 26 weeks during the 39 week window before commencing study.

Required fields for assessment are explicit: age, residency status, partner status, full-time student or apprentice flag, long-term income support prior to study flag, fortnightly income, and living-in-Australia status. Dependent children is not a required field but the LTIS series application notes restrict the rule to applicants without dependent children; partnered applicants with children route to the YA student independent partnered-with-child rule.

The exclude block is empty. The conflicts list names both LTIS single siblings - AU_FEDERAL_YA_STUDENT_LONG_TERM_INCOME_SUPPORT (away-from-home) and AU_FEDERAL_YA_STUDENT_LONG_TERM_INCOME_SUPPORT_AT_HOME - ensuring the couple rule cannot coexist with either. Mutual exclusivity is enforced by the partner-status field plus the conflicts gate.

Two practical considerations sit at the edge of the eligibility test. First, when both partners are full-time students who individually satisfy the LTIS gate, both can claim under this rule and each has their own $733.20 base subject to their own personal income and the partner's preprocessed income. Second, partner income includes salary, business income, and most other income types Centrelink recognises; treating partner income as identical to "spousal pay only" understates the figure used in preprocessing.

How To Apply

Application metadata defines two channels: online and service centre. The myGov online channel is faster because Centrelink can confirm the partner link from the existing couple record (if the partner is on file from a prior FTB or income support claim) and pull prior payment history from internal records.

Evidence requirements are explicitly listed in the rule and should be prepared in advance:

• identity document (driver licence or passport, with secondary documents matching the Centrelink points test)
• enrolment confirmation from the registered education provider, showing the unit list and percentage of full-time load
• tax file number
• prior payment history covering the 39 week window before course commencement (Centrelink usually pulls internal records automatically)
• partner income evidence - partner payslips, employer letter, or self-employed income statements covering the four most recent fortnights, even though the partner is not the claimant

Two practical tips help with this rule. First, prepare partner income evidence at intake; partner-side preprocessing happens before this rule's taper runs and missing partner data is a frequent cause of estimate-vs-final mismatches. Second, if both partners are full-time students who satisfy the LTIS gate, lodge two separate claims so each $733.20 base is captured; treating one claim as covering both partners leaves $733.20 unclaimed every fortnight.

Apply on the official Services Australia page

Rule-Based Scenarios

Scenario 1: full base, both partners under the free area

Mireille is 24, partnered to Renzo, no dependent children, an Australian citizen, completing a Bachelor of Social Work full-time after 28 weeks on Parenting Payment Single ending when her child reached primary school age and went to live with the other biological parent. Her personal earnings are $300 per fortnight. Renzo earns $1,000 per fortnight, sitting under the partner free area, so partner-side excess is zero. Personal income is also below the $539 threshold. Mireille receives the full base of $733.20 per fortnight. Renzo, who is not a student, claims a separate JobSeeker case independently.

Scenario 2: two-student household, each partner claims separately

Saoirse and Tariq are both 23, partnered, no children, Australian citizens, both starting a Diploma of Nursing at full-time load after 27 weeks on Parenting Payment together for an earlier child arrangement that is now resolved. Each lodges a separate Austudy student LTIS couple claim. Saoirse earns $200 per fortnight from a hospital orderly shift; Tariq earns $150 per fortnight tutoring. Both sit under $539 and under the partner free area. Each receives the full $733.20 per fortnight; combined household payment before any taper is $1,466.40 per fortnight, around $38,126 per year.

Scenario 3: partner income preprocessing drives a partial taper

Cyrus is 22, partnered, no children, a permanent resident, in his first year of a graduate diploma at full-time load after 30 weeks on Disability Support Pension. Personal earnings are $200 per fortnight (under the $539 threshold). His partner Adira earns $2,400 per fortnight; the preprocessing layer attaches a portion of partner-side excess above the partner free area to income_fortnightly, taking the combined assessable figure to roughly $850. Excess over $539 is $311; the 50 cent rate produces a reduction of $155.50. Estimated YA student LTIS couple is $577.70 per fortnight.

Scenario 4: routed off when relationship breaks down

Imogen is 23, partnered, no children, completing a Bachelor of Public Health full-time after 26 weeks on JobSeeker. Mid-semester she separates from her partner and updates Centrelink. The eligibility test partner_status = partnered now fails. Imogen retains the LTIS gate and routes automatically to one of the LTIS single siblings: the away-from-home variant at $799.70 if she stays in her current rental, or the at-home variant at $567.50 if she moves back to her parents' home.

Common Mistakes

• Reading the partnered rate as a household figure: $733.20 per fortnight is the per-member rate. Two student partners who each satisfy the LTIS gate can each receive their own $733.20 base, taking household total to $1,466.40 per fortnight before income reductions. Treating $733.20 as a household ceiling underestimates household entitlement by half.
• Treating the partner income test as part of the YAML personal taper: the rule's income_reductions.steps list defines only one step on income_fortnightly. Partner income is handled by the preprocessing layer above the rule, which adds excess above the partner free area to income_fortnightly. Manually pre-adding partner income at submission double-counts the reduction.
• Lodging only one of two eligible partner claims: when both partners are full-time students with qualifying prior support, each is independently eligible. A single combined claim leaves $733.20 of base unclaimed each fortnight. Lodge two claims, one per partner, both linked to the same couple record.
• Skipping the relationship-status notification at break-up: a separation that goes unreported keeps the case on this rule when one of the LTIS single siblings should have taken over. The rate gap can run either way ($567.50 at-home or $799.70 away-from-home) and the wrong rule generates either a debt or underpayment until the relationship status is updated.
• Confusing AUSTUDY partnered with this YA rule: Austudy partnered uses a $677.20 per-member base with a 50 cent step from $539 - a different headline figure, even though the taper structure is similar. Modelling a 22-24 LTIS case against the Austudy partnered base understates payment by $56 per fortnight per partner.
• Forgetting that having children invalidates this rule: the LTIS series application notes require no dependent children. A partnered LTIS applicant who gains a dependent child mid-course (through birth, adoption, or shared care arrangement) must transition to the partnered-with-child YA student rule, which is outside the LTIS special rate band entirely and uses a different routing path.

Related Rules And Interactions

The conflicts list, affects list, and parent cluster define the interaction surface.

• Youth Allowance student - long-term income support, away from home - mutually exclusive choice; this rule's conflicts array names the away-from-home single variant explicitly. Routing depends on partner status.
• Youth Allowance student - long-term income support, at parent's home - mutually exclusive choice; this rule's conflicts array also names the at-home single variant. Single LTIS applicants route to one of the two single siblings.
• Youth Allowance student - independent, partnered, with dependent child - the routing target when a partnered LTIS applicant gains a dependent child; outside the LTIS special rate band and uses a different base.
• Austudy - partnered - the age-25-and-over successor rule for partnered student couples; uses the $677.20 partnered Austudy base and shares the partner-income preprocessing pattern.
• Health Care Card - auto-issued via the affects list while this rule pays; each claiming partner receives their own card.
• JobSeeker Payment - partnered - typical predecessor payment whose qualifying weeks contribute toward the LTIS gate, and a likely exit path if study ceases while partnership continues.

Frequently Asked Questions