Dealing with Centrelink

If cancer is stopping you from working or studying, Centrelink has payments designed for young people in your situation. Cancer Hub can help you work out what applies.

For young people aged 16 to 24, the main Centrelink pathways are Youth Allowance (for students, apprentices, job seekers and young people unable to work, with a medical exemption available if you cannot meet activity requirements due to illness), Disability Support Pension (for young people with a permanent or long-term medical condition affecting work or study), and Mobility Allowance (if you need help getting to medical appointments and treatment). Sickness coverage that used to sit under Sickness Allowance is now built into JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance with medical exemptions. Financial Assistance (Redkite), accessed through Cancer Hub, also helps your family with essential costs.

When you are a young person dealing with cancer, the financial side often gets handled by your parents in the early stages, but the Centrelink payments are in your name once you turn 16. Knowing what you qualify for matters, especially if you live out of home or your study or work is on hold. The intake team can help.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Yes. For young people with cancer, financial help is available from Centrelink (for income support) and from Cancer Hub partner Redkite (for essential family costs).

Centrelink payments that may apply to young people aged 16 to 24 include Youth Allowance (with a medical exemption if you cannot meet study or work requirements due to illness), Disability Support Pension (for long-term or permanent conditions), and Mobility Allowance (for transport to medical appointments). If you have a partner or family member providing constant care, they may be eligible for the Carer Payment and Carer Allowance. Financial Assistance (Redkite) helps your family with essentials like fuel, groceries, electricity and school costs.

The Centrelink system is not designed to walk you through what applies to your situation. You have to ask the right questions and provide the right paperwork. Cancer Hub’s intake team can help you understand what to apply for, in what order, and what supporting documents you will need from your treating team.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Yes, with a medical exemption. Youth Allowance is the main Centrelink payment for young Australians aged 16 to 24 who are studying, apprenticing, looking for work, or unable to work due to illness.

If cancer is stopping you from meeting your study or work requirements, you can apply for Youth Allowance with a medical exemption — the activity test gets paused while you are unwell. You will need a medical certificate from your treating doctor. Rate Assistance applies if you live away from your parents’ home. Mobility Allowance may also apply if you need help getting to medical appointments. Financial Assistance (Redkite), accessed through Cancer Hub, can also help your family with essential costs.

Once you turn 16, Centrelink payments related to your situation usually go in your name rather than your parents’. That can feel like a lot to manage on top of treatment — the Cancer Hub intake team can walk you through it.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Yes – Mobility Allowance through Centrelink, plus Financial Assistance (Redkite) for fuel and transport costs.

Mobility Allowance is a Centrelink payment for people whose disability or medical condition means they cannot use public transport without substantial assistance. For young people with cancer, this often applies during treatment – chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hospital appointments. The payment is supplementary, not means-tested in the standard way, and is intended to offset transport costs. On top of that, Redkite Financial Assistance through Cancer Hub helps with fuel, parking and travel-related expenses for hospital trips.

When you are a young person with cancer, getting to treatment can be one of the most expensive ongoing costs. Petrol, parking, missed work or lost shifts because of appointment days – it adds up. The intake team can help you set up both payments at the same time.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Youth Allowance for full-time students, with a medical exemption from study requirements if cancer is affecting your capacity. Plus Centrelink supplementary payments and Redkite assistance.

Youth Allowance is the standard payment for students aged 16 to 24. If you cannot maintain a full study load due to cancer, you can apply for a reduced study load on medical grounds without losing the payment. The Pensioner Education Supplement, Rent Assistance (if you live away from home), and ABSTUDY (for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students) may also apply. Financial Assistance (Redkite) helps with everyday family costs. Canteen also offers Education and Career Support for young people 15 to 25 – tutoring, scholarships, return-to-study help.

Treatment disrupts study in ways tutors and universities do not always see. Canteen’s Education and Career Support team plus Centrelink together cover most of that gap, but you do have to set them up.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Once you turn 16, the Centrelink payments related to your situation (Youth Allowance, Disability Support Pension, Mobility Allowance) go in your name rather than your parents’. You are the applicant.

Your parents may still be involved through their own payments (Carer Payment, Carer Allowance, Family Tax Benefit), but the payments meant for you – covering your income, your study disruption, your transport – go through your account. You will need a Customer Reference Number (CRN) and a myGov account linked to Centrelink. If you do not have these set up, call Centrelink on 132 717 or visit a Service Centre before starting a claim. The Cancer Hub intake team can help you understand what to apply for first, in what order, and what supporting documents you will need from your treating team.

Managing Centrelink as a 16 or 17 year old going through cancer treatment is genuinely hard. You do not have to do it alone – that is what Cancer Hub’s intake is for.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.

Financial Assistance (Redkite) operates like a grant – direct payment for essentials, no repayment required, accessed through the Cancer Hub intake process. It is available to families where a young person has cancer.

On the Centrelink side, one-off payments include Crisis Payment for severe financial hardship and the Pensioner Education Supplement for students. There are no Cancer Hub loans. If you are being directed to a commercial loan for cancer costs, talk to the intake team first – there is usually a Redkite or Centrelink option that applies before a loan becomes the answer.

When you are a young person with cancer, you can end up looking at financial options the rest of your peer group never has to think about. Most of those options are not loans – they are payments and grants you may not know exist. The intake team can map them with you.

Call 1800 431 312 or visit our get support page.