Major Centrelink payment change just weeks away: '$18.6 million'
Services Australia has revealed that the Carers Payment is set to undergo a significant change from next month. The Centrelink subsidy is delivered to tens of thousands of Australians who are providing constant care for someone for at least six months.
At the moment, a recipient on this payment is only allowed to work or study for up to 25 hours every four weeks. But the government body is quadrupling this allowance, with the change set to kick in on March 20.
"You will still report your hours each fortnight, but you will not have to report study, training, volunteering or travel time," Services Australia said."If you sometimes work more than 100 hours, you'll still be able to use respite days so you can keep your payment.
The 2024-25 federal budget had $18.6 million allocated to this change, which will be rolled out over five years.
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The funding boost was designed to give carers "greater flexibility and choice to structure their work commitments around their caring role".The government acknowledged that the 25-hour rule greatly limited carers in how much work or study they could undertake, which also restricted their ability to get better employment in the future.
A 2023 study found that 47 per cent of carers on the Centrelink payment said they were doing less paid work than what they would like to, and more than 67 per cent reported low satisfaction with the current rules.
Services Australia estimated that 31,000 Carer Payment recipients currently work and will likely benefit from the change next month.
However, it warned that if you work more than 100 hours during the four-week reporting period then your payments could be suspended for up to six months.
People wanting to get the Carers Payment will have to undergo income and assets tests, which will determine how much they're eligible to receive from Centrelink.
The tests get recalculated on January 1 each year and they are currently at:
Income must be less than $140,795 a year before tax
Assets must be worth less than $868,500
The maximum base rate for a single person on the Carer Payment is $1,047.10.
It's $789.30 for each person in a couple or $1,578.60 combined.
To access this payment, you and the person you care for need to be Australian residents. You are also allowed to receive payments if you're caring for more than one person, but there are different rules that apply, which you can find out about here.
The person needing care has to require it for at least six months, or they are at the end of their life.
Care can include:
Physical help, such as needing to be lifted or help to get dressed
Guidance, such as support shopping and taking the right medication
Supervision, to support independence and safety.Sign in to access your portfolio
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