Hobbs; Secretary, Department of Social Services and (Social services second review)

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms Hobbs, a 16-year-old claimant, against the rejection of her application for Youth Allowance. Ms Hobbs was boarding at Ballarat Grammar School, located 228 kilometres from her permanent home in Douglas, a small town. The core dispute revolved around whether Ms Hobbs met the eligibility requirements to receive Youth Allowance on the basis of living away from home for the purposes of education.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether Ms Hobbs needed to live away from her parental home for the purpose of education, training, searching for employment, or preparing for employment, as stipulated by subsection 1067D(1)(c)(i) of the relevant Act. Secondly, the Tribunal had to consider whether the likelihood of Ms Hobbs obtaining employment would be significantly increased by her living away from home, pursuant to subsection 1067D(1)(c)(ii) of the Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Ms Hobbs's choice to attend Ballarat Grammar was a valid and rational decision, it was a preferred educational option rather than a necessity. The Tribunal noted that the local school, Balmoral Community College, offered Year 11 tuition and was within a reasonable travelling distance from her home. Although Ms Hobbs's representative argued that the local school lacked specialist teachers and offered limited social development opportunities, the Tribunal found that this did not constitute a necessity to live away from home for the purposes of her education or future employment prospects. The Tribunal applied the principle that Youth Allowance, particularly the "living away from home" rate, is granted on the premise of necessity, not choice.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Ms Hobbs did not meet the criteria under subsection 1067D(1)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Act. The Tribunal set aside the previous decision and substituted a new decision finding that Ms Hobbs did not qualify for Youth Allowance on the basis of needing to live away from home for her studies.