We only include the amount of the real estate you own in your assets test. If you have a mortgage, we work out the percentage you own. To do this, we take away the loan amount you owe for the property from your share of the total value.
Assets test
Your or your partner's income can reduce how much we pay you. Assets are property or items you or your partner own in full or part, or have an interest in. They can affect your payment.
You need to tell us when your circumstances change. Then we can assess your eligibility for payments and services using the correct details. This includes changes to real estate assets for you and your partner. Read more about real estate assets and how they can affect your payment.
You and your partner must have no more than $5,000 in combined readily available funds. This includes any liquid assets you can sell. Liquid assets include cash you have on hand, money you have in the bank and financial investments you have. They also include gifts and other money available to you at short notice.
You may not be eligible for another income support payment because any of the following apply: you haven't lived in Australia long enough. you're the holder of a temporary visa. you're an Australian resident younger than 16.
How Centrelink knows your assets without you telling them. Centrelink has multiple data-sharing agreements with government organisations like the ATO, Medicare, PayG and more. This helps them to maintain a view of your assets, and in certain circumstances they may apply additional scrutiny to individuals.
The Work Bonus income bank is useful for pensioners who wish to work, particularly those who undertake intermittent or occasional work. Note: from 1 December 2022 to 31 December 2023, a one-off, temporary credit of $4,000 applies to Work Bonus income bank balances.
For example, it has the power to obtain your information from other government agencies as well as accessing information from banks, building societies and credit union accounts. It can do this without your prior consent or knowledge. Centrelink's investigation is not limited to recent deposits.
Bank interest reviews. We check your bank account information is up to date. We do this to check we paid you the right payment and amount in the past.
Is my home considered an asset? Your home is not counted as an asset when calculating pension or payment, but it does affect how your pension or payment is assessed under the assets test. If you are a homeowner your asset value limit is lower than someone who does not own their residence.
A homeowner is an income support recipient who has, or whose partner (1.1. P. 85) has: a right or interest in the place they occupy, AND. the right or interest gives them reasonable security of tenure.
We only include the amount of the real estate you own in your assets test. If you have a mortgage, we work out the percentage you own. To do this, we take away the loan amount you owe for the property from your share of the total value.
1 You must declare all gross employment income paid in the last 14 days up to and including your reporting day. 2 You must declare your gross employment income. This is the amount paid before tax and other deductions. This can be found on your payslip.
Assets Test
A single homeowner can have up to $656,500 of assessable assets and receive a part pension – for a single non-homeowner the higher threshold is $898,500. For a couple, the higher threshold to $986,500 for a homeowner and $1,228,500 for a non-homeowner.
For your Special Benefit claim you must provide bank statements for the last 3 months for all accounts you have. This includes any overseas accounts. If you have a partner, we'll also require bank statements for all accounts held by them.
There are no laws limiting the amount of cash you can keep at home. This makes sense as many businesses, especially retail stores, keep large amounts of money with them merely as floating cash.
You can request a Statement of Debt for any 5 year period going back to 1998. You can make more than one request.
The payment rates for Age Pension, Carer Payment and Disability Support Pension are increasing from 20 March 2023. Age Pension, Carer Payment and Disability Support Pension will increase by $37.50 a fortnight for singles and $56.40 a fortnight for couples combined.
This measure extends the increase to 31 December 2023. The Work Bonus concession of $300 per fortnight will stay the same. Eligible pensioners now have until 31 December 2023 to use their bigger Work Bonus balance. Any Work Bonus balance above $7,800 after 31 December 2023 will reset to $7,800.
have a Pensioner Concession Card, (including those issued by the Department of Veterans' Affairs) (DVA) have a Health Care Card (including Low Income Health Care Card) have a DVA Gold Card. have a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (including those issued by DVA)
Centrelink: Call 136 150
Advance Lump Sum $1000 – check how much your benefit would reduce each fortnight to see if you can manage it.
The impact of the inheritance on your Centrelink benefit will depend on the type of benefit you are receiving from Centrelink and whether you are subject to the asset and/or income test. Under the Centrelink income test, some lump sum payments are excluded from the income test.
Once Centrelink has suspected a person has committed a Centrelink fraud, in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), they may first invite the person for an interview or go to their house for investigation. Alternatively, they will launch an investigation into the matter without notice to the person.