Students left with $13 a day as youth allowance falls behind rent rises, analysis finds

Over the past two years youth allowance has increased by 10% but rents have surged 24%, Homelessness Australia says. Photograph: Kilito Chan/Getty Images

Students are being left with as little as $13 a day to live on as the youth allowance fails to keep pace with soaring rents, a new analysis from Homelessness Australia shows.

The report compared the cost of sharing an average two-bedroom apartment against the maximum income support payments available to young student renters, revealing they are left with little money to cover food, transport, medicine, utilities and other costs.