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A Sydney University student has been forced to live off $20 a week after the government's financial Covid benefits left him with very little support.
The 19-year-old, whose identity has been withheld for privacy reasons, moved out of his parents house in February this year after landing a spot in the university's Bachelor of Health Science degree.
He moved into a shared flat in the inner-city suburb of Rozelle and got two jobs, one as a waiter and the other as a bartender to support himself.
A young Sydney University student is living off just $20 per week due to the Covid-19 pandemic and government benefits (stock image)
He would work 20 hours a week to pay off his rent, which was $225 per week, and was only receiving $40 in benefits from the government's youth allowance.
But when Covid hit his shifts all but stopped and a caveat in the $500 weekly Covid Disaster Payments meant that he wouldn't receive any benefits.
Until this week, anyone already receiving government help was excluded from the Covid-19 supplement, meaning he was expected to survive on
