Financial support can help reduce barriers to education and training, particularly for young people experiencing economic disadvantage. This data story uses data from Waves 2 and 3 of the GENERATION study, a nationally representative longitudinal study of young Australians, drawing on a sample of over 3,500 individuals (Edwards et al., 2024). This data story examines young people’s awareness of financial support, how some have greater awareness than others, and whether those aware of support believed they were eligible.
Financial supports covered in the survey include Youth Allowance/ABSTUDY, travel, accommodation, and study-cost assistance, and scholarships.
Eligible young people studying full time or undertaking an Australian apprenticeship can receive financial support through Youth Allowance, with eligibility and payment rates depending on individual circumstances such as age, residence, income and dependency status, while First Nations students may instead receive ABSTUDY (Services Australia, 2026a-d). Further assistance is available to help eligible students with the costs of accessing education, including travel and accommodation (Services Australia, 2026e-g), and scholarship programs such as the Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship help eligible students meet the costs of tertiary education (Department of Education, 2026).
Almost half of all Year 12s (or equivalent) were aware of Youth Allowance/ABSTUDY, up from 35% in Year 11.
Scholarships were the most recognised form of financial support, with around 62% reporting awareness in Wave 3.
Almost two thirds of regional/rural Year 12 university planners were aware of Youth Allowance/ABSTUDY compared to 44% of those from major cities.
In Wave 3, almost a third of young people who were aware of accommodation assistance were unsure whether they were eligible.
GENERATION participants were asked about their awareness of different forms of financial supports in Waves 2 and 3, when most participants were in Years 11 and 12 respectively.
Youth Allowance/ABSTUDY showed the largest increase in awareness, rising from 35% in Wave 2 to 49% in Wave 3. Scholarships were the most widely recognised support in both year levels, with awareness increasing from 56% to 62%. Awareness of accommodation assistance also increased from 39% to 45%, while travel assistance rose from 30% to 35%. In contrast, awareness of study cost assistance remained relatively stable around 45% in both Waves.
Overall, awareness increased for most types of financial support from Wave 2 to 3 as these young people approach the end of high school and may need to use these supports.
Among Year 12 students planning to attend university, awareness of financial support was generally higher among those from regional or rural schools than those from major city schools. Awareness of Youth allowance/ABSTUDY was 63% among students from regional or rural schools, compared with 44% among those from major city schools. Similarly, 72% of students from regional or rural schools were aware of scholarships, compared with 57% of students from major city schools, while awareness of study-cost assistance was 47% compared with 38%, respectively.
Awareness of accommodation and travel assistance was also higher among Year 12 students planning to attend university from regional or rural schools than those from major city schools (60% vs 40% and 44% vs 30%, respectively). These types of support may be particularly relevant to regional and rural students who need to relocate for tertiary study. The Tertiary Access Payment (TAP) is one example of such support, as it is specifically available to eligible students from regional and remote areas who relocate for tertiary study, rather than students from metropolitan areas.
Although not shown in this figure, this geographic pattern was not evident among Year 12 students planning vocational study, whose awareness was similar across school areas. For Year 12 students planning university, higher awareness in regional and rural schools may be particularly important, as these students may face additional costs associated with relocation for tertiary study. This finding suggests such students are actively learning about the financial supports available to them.
Among young people who were aware of financial support, uncertainty about eligibility remained common across all five types of support in Wave 3. 45% believed they were eligible for Youth Allowance/ABSTUDY, 47% for scholarships and 34% for study cost assistance, while around one-third were unsure whether they were eligible for travel assistance, study costs and accommodation assistance.
At the same time, around one-third of those aware of each financial support in Wave 3 believed they were not eligible. This ranged from 27% for scholarships to 42% for travel assistance. Although young people were aware of financial support, some were unsure whether they are eligible, while others believed they were not eligible. These findings highlight the importance of providing clear and easy-to-understand eligibility information to help young people understand which financial support may be available to them.