Ownership checks We check land title records to see what real estate you own. If these records don't match what you've told us, we'll contact you. If the value of your real estate is more than what you've told us: your payments may reduce or stop.
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.
There are limits to how much you can have. We call these the assets test limits. The Department of Social Services reviews these limits and cut off points in January, March, July and September each year. Your assets include any property or possessions you own in full, in part, or have an interest in.
Details Centrelink will ask for when you sell and purchase a home: Settlement letter of both the sale and then the purchase. Bank statements showing the sale and purchase transactions. Other asset updates to understand where the funds have come from.
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.
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.
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.
Centrelink has very wide powers to thoroughly investigate deposits that have been made into your account. 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.
If Centrelink suspect that you are claiming more social security benefits than you are entitled to they will investigate your situation. Centrelink may believe that you have not been honest with them because of routine data matching checks or due to getting a tip-off from a member of the public.
You can request a Statement of Debt for any 5 year period going back to 1998. You can make more than one request.
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.
Usually, settlement of property is not assessed as income, meaning no impact on Centrelink payments.
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.
If you're receiving a Centrelink benefit, your home loan application will be processed the same as any other: you save a deposit and then borrow money from the lender, which you pay back with interest. However, not all lenders accept Centrelink payments as income and those that do, have a stricter application process.
Typically, when you sell an asset you must pay capital gains tax (CGT) on any profit made on the sale.
You have savings or other money
If you or your partner have liquid assets over certain limits, you may have to wait 1 to 13 weeks. Liquid assets are any funds readily available to you or your partner. This includes money owed by your or your partner's employer. Read about liquid assets waiting periods.
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.
Having them ready will help you finish your claim and not delay the process. 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.
It's important to remember that if you do receive winnings, either as a lump sum or periodic payments, you need to let Services Australia know. You can tell us about your changes online, using your Centrelink account through myGov or on your Express Plus Centrelink app.
The liquid assets waiting period is between 1 and 13 weeks. It applies if you have funds equal to or more than either: $5,500 if you're single with no dependants. $11,000 if have a partner or you're single with dependants.
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.
Reporting your income
Every 2 weeks you must report employment income you and your partner were paid in the last 14 days. You'll need to report your income even if it's $0. If you don't report every 2 weeks, your payment will stop. We'll tell you which dates you must report on and when your income reporting will start.