Summer’s plan

Summer is 18 years old and wants to go to TAFE. Some parts of the course are only available in the evening. Summer is worried about her safety as the TAFE is located in an isolated area and there are not many people around at 8pm. In addition, public transport is limited.

The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) approves payment of costs for a parking station that is located near the TAFE unit block. There is no need to assist with parking during the daytime sessions when public transport is more readily available and Summer feels safer.

Measure of Wellbeing – Training and employment

This example illustrates flexibility, tailoring to individual circumstances and thinking broadly about the types of expense that could fall under each category.

While parking is not a direct educational cost such as course fees, in Summer’s case it is a necessary expense to progress her education and employment prospects in a safe manner. The rationale makes it clear how this assistance will benefit Summer.

It is reasonable for DCJ to assist with this expense in accordance with the Principles contained in the Guidelines as it relates directly to Summer’s safety and supports her goal for further education.

If this assistance was approved but not associated with Education it would be considered an Out-of-Guidelines approval which requires additional steps and possibly a longer timeframe.

In this case a purchase order was raised for the total amount and the service provider invoiced DCJ on a monthly basis.  When car parking is no longer needed, the financial will be closed.

Practice point - Leaving care planning may have used the Independent Living Skills Checklist (PDF, 600.0 KB) to help Summer gain confidence in catching public transport and Transition to Independent Living Allowance (PDF, 574.6 KB) might have been used to pay for her car registration.