What age do you think of as the beginning of adulthood?
Although you can hold down a job from the tender age of 13 and are quite possibly capable of procreation around the same time, I think most of us would agree that young teenagers are not yet adults.
Do you become an adult at age 16, which is the legal age of consent (in Queensland anyway). Or maybe it’s 17, when you can obtain your driver’s licence?
Perhaps adulthood begins once we have finished high school, aged 17 or 18.
I think most Australians would agree that you reach adulthood on your 18th birthday – the age at which you can legally leave home, get married, drink, vote, gamble, buy cigarettes and get a tattoo (but hopefully not all at once, LOL).
If you happen to live in the United States you would probably say “21”, as you have to wait until then for most of these adult rights and responsibilities.
I think it’s pretty clear that most of us would consider that we are definitely an adult when we reach 21.
Except, apparently if you are Centrelink. That’s when an adult is NOT an adult!
A couple of years back I wrote a couple of ranty posts here on the blog about my daughter’s predicament when she was injured at the ice skating rink. (You can read them here: A Whinge About Centrelink, and The Centrelink Saga Continues).
A tendon in her hand was severed, requiring surgery and forcing her to take approximately three months off from her job as a barista at a busy cafe. At the time she was employed – like most young people – on a casual basis, with irregular hours, no sick leave, and no holiday pay.
Despite not having a fulltime job, she moved out of our home not long after her 18th birthday. After the initial shock, we were proud of her maturity, her ability to manage her finances, and to live independently, despite not having a permanent job (in fact, kudos to her for making it work on very ordinary wages!). There was no question in our mind that she was living as a fully-fledged adult, even though she was not yet 21.
But then there was the ice skating accident and she lost her income temporarily through no fault of her own. Like most young people, she had not yet even had a chance to think about income protection insurance or the like.
In her time of need, she sought financial help from Centrelink, only to be knocked back. Apparently, despite all evidence to the contrary, they determined that she was NOT an adult, nor living independently. Therefore she didn’t receive ANY income for nearly 3 months!
Problem is, during that time she still had adult responsibilities, like paying the rent. But how was she meant to do that without any income? It’s not as if she could just break her lease and come home to mum and dad for the duration!
According to the Centrelink gods, she needed to be not 21, but 22 to be considered an adult living independently and eligible for any assistance.
We fought it long and hard, petitioning our local member, obtaining various documents, testimonials, etc – but to no avail. Not a cent of support did she receive; once she was back at work, we gave up in disgust.
Then a young man we know well, came up against the same insane ruling.
At 21 he was living at home, and had a casual job (which only gave him about one shift a week) – until his parents’ marriage imploded. As is often the case in these situations, the (adult) children find they are forced to take sides. He was now estranged from his mother, who still lived in the family home. His father was taken in by relatives, while he stayed with friends.
Once again, Centrelink deemed that he “needed” to live with his parents. Ummm, hello?! Bit difficult given the circumstances; his mum didn’t want him, and his dad was basically homeless. As per the famous line from the soup nazi in Seinfeld: NO CENTRELINK FOR YOU!!!!!
All this because an adult of 21 is not an adult, according to Centrelink – oh no, you have to wait until you’re 22.
And so began an epic battle – and this time, thankfully, his application for income support was eventually approved. But you can only imagine the stress and anxiety it created, when his life was already in complete disarray.
What is wrong with our welfare system when it is putting our young people at risk of homelessness, despair and suicide? How do we make the powers-that-be sit up and take notice? Since when did the age of adulthood begin at 22?!