Ms OWENS (Parramatta) (20:14): The member for Sturt said that perhaps the government is not focused. I say that we are focused on outcomes. If you listen to the member for Sturt you might think there had not been any outcomes as a result of the reforms of student allowances introduced by this government, but in fact there have. The number of enrolments in regional areas has increased since the introduction of these reforms, and many more students across the country have had access to student allowance than would have prior to these reforms. I will talk about the reforms in general for a few minutes. In March 2010, the government introduced comprehensive reforms to ensure that, across Australia, more university students would have fairer access to student income support. The changes to the youth allowance eligibility criteria aimed to ensure a fairer and more equitable allocation of resources to provide support for the students who most needed assistance. The legislation giving effect to these reforms was supported by the coalition. The reform package ultimately directed more support to students from low-income families who were genuinely in need of financial assistance. Prior to the reforms, the parental income test was just $33,300. The Bradley review found that 18 per cent of students who were living at home and receiving youth allowance through having been considered independent were from families with incomes above $150,000, 10 per cent were from families with incomes above $200,000 and three per cent were from families with incomes above $300,000. Accordingly, the review recommended the tightening of the workforce participation criteria. We did that and, at the same time, increased the number of eligible students by increasing the parental income test from $33,300 to $44,000. That is not all we did. We also began reducing the age of independence for full-time students receiving youth allowance. The implementation was phased so that the age of independence was reduced to 24 years from 1 April last year, 23 years from 1 January this year and 22 years from 1 January 2012. With effect from 1 April 2010, all university students receiving student income support have also been entitled to a start-up scholarship for each year of their course. The scholarship provides essential assistance to university students for the high up-front cost of textbooks and specialised equipment. We also introduced a relocation scholarship. With effect from April 2010, all dependent university students receiving student income support who need to relocate to study receive a relocation scholarship. The scholarship will assist students with the high cost of establishing accommodation. This scholarship is also indexed. In 2011, it is valued at $4,124. I am particularly pleased to say that, from 1 January 2012, students enrolled in all masters by coursework programs will also be eligible to apply for student income support. This is an excellent incentive for more mature people to upskill. From 1 July 2012, the personal income threshold will rise from $236 per fortnight to $400 per fortnight. Students receiving support will be able to earn up to $400 per fortnight without having their payments reduced. The student income bank will also increase from $6,000 to $10,000. All of these changes significantly improve the capacity of students, particularly those from low-income areas, to access a university education. We have already seen, in the last year, the number of students from disadvantaged households enrolled in universities increase by eight per cent—a substantial improvement over past years. There are 793 people who live in Parramatta who are now receiving youth allowance because of this government's changes to the youth allowance arrangements—that is out of a total of 3,517 receiving student income. This is a very good result for the people of my electorate. Parramatta has the 51st highest number of new youth allowance recipients across the country, and I am very pleased to be a member of the government which has delivered this benefit to people in my electorate. I am also delighted to say that Parramatta ranks very highly for numbers of start-up scholarships. We are in the top quarter in that list, and we rank about halfway on the list of areas where people have received relocation assistance. Of course, we are blessed with an excellent university campus in the Parramatta region. Many students also receive relocation grants to attend that university, and they are of course extremely welcome in Parramatta. We will reap the rewards of this key investment in years to come. Unlike the coalition, who could have invested the proceeds of the mining boom mark 1 in education but chose not to, this government knows the value of investment in education and training and the value of supporting young people as they work hard to better themselves. We are already seeing the effects of the changes flow through our communities. Labor's landmark reforms to youth allowance give more students the opportunity to go to university by targeting financial assistance to those with the greatest need. Just 12 months on, you can see significant flow-on benefits. Students who need support are receiving it, and hundreds of students are becoming the first members of their families to attend university. In just 12 months the number of dependent students from disadvantaged backgrounds receiving the maximum youth allowance payment has increased by 108 per cent, and the number of rural and regional university students receiving youth allowance has increased by 22 per cent. I should point out that under the coalition government the proportion fell but it has increased in the last year by 22 per cent. There has been a 15 per cent increase in the total number of university students receiving youth allowance; this is effectively an increase of 21,000 university students. New scholarships have also been hugely successful over the past year. There have been 240,000 university students who have received a Student Start-Up Scholarship and more than 55,000 of those are from rural and regional areas. More than 36,000 university students who need to move away from home to study have received the Relocation Scholarship and 15,000 of those are from rural and regional areas. More than 107,000 young people have already benefited from our changes because they are either eligible for youth allowance for the first time or they are receiving more money than before, and more than 36,000 of those are from rural and regional areas. These figures show that after only 12 months the government's reforms have already resulted in a fairer and more equitable targeting of youth allowance payments. More than 18,000 students have achieved independence since 1 April 2010 as a result of the age of independence being lowered from 25 to 23, and 2,800 of those students are from rural and regional areas. From 1 July 2012 students will be allowed to earn more money through part-time work before their payments are affected when the personal income test threshold increases to $400 per fortnight. During the coalition's time in office the story was quite different. The participation rates of young people from regional areas declined. Regional participation rates fell from 18.7 percent to about 18.1 percent. Under this Labor government that number is tracking back up again. The government's recent reforms to student income support have significantly improved the financial assistance to students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, including regional students. The government is responding positively to concerns about the current eligibility arrangements for youth allowance. The current arrangements for youth allowance were determined following an agreement between the government and the coalition in March last year. The government is committed to removing eligibility distinctions between inner regional and outer regional students by 1 January 2012. To facilitate this the government has brought forward a legislated comprehensive review of student income support with a particular focus on the capacity of rural and regional students to access higher education. The review is headed by an independent chair, Professor Kwong Lee Dow, and will report by 1 July this year. Options for implementing new eligibility arrangements are being considered as part of the review. The review is also considering appropriate savings that can be made to pay for extensions in eligibility for youth allowance. Following the review, the government will implement new eligibility arrangements for youth allowance to remove eligibility distinctions by 1 January 2012. I am particularly proud to talk about our achievements in reforming student allowances. They have made a significant difference in my electorate and clearly they have made significant improvements in regional and rural areas as well.