You can expect to hear from us within 21 days of submitting your claim. It's best to submit your claim as soon as possible after your circumstances change, or you stop getting another payment from us.
Previously, a person could make an intent to claim. If they lodged an intent to claim and then lodged their completed claim within 14 days, their payments could be backdated to the date they first made contact with Centrelink, i.e. when they lodged their intent to claim.
Processing times vary for a multitude of reasons such as the complexity of a person's situation and the volume of claims Centrelink is trying to manage at the time. People experiencing hardship are also (rightfully) elevated the top of the list.
If you have submitted a claim for a benefit, and not received a response within 13 weeks, we recommend contacting the Centrelink complaints line on 1800 132 468 to see if the issue can be resolved over the phone.
You may get part of your income support payment or Family Tax Benefit (Part A) early. This is an advance payment. You pay it back later out of your payments from us.
The amount of Crisis Payment is equal to one week's payment of your basic Centrelink pension or benefit. This doesn't include additional payments such as Rent Assistance or Pharmaceutical Allowance. This payment is a one-off addition to your regular fortnightly payment.
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.
We aim to finish a formal review within 49 days. Some may take longer than this. It depends on the details of the case.
Centrelink will investigate if they suspect you have received unentitled payments. Once Centrelink decide to investigate, Centrelink can require your bank or employer to disclose your financial details relevant to Centrelink purposes. This process can take week to months.
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.
Your claim has been submitted and received by Centrelink. Once you have provided all support documents, Centrelink will then assess your eligibility for other payment you have claimed. You will be contacted about the outcome of your claim, or if any further information is needed.
If Centrelink decide you are not eligible for the DSP they will reject your application. If you do not agree with this decision, you may ask Centrelink to review it.
If you have defrauded Centrelink, you may be charged under section 134.2 – obtaining a financial advantage by deception. If you are found guilty, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment. You may instead, or also, receive a fine between $10,000 and $100,000 and be made to repay the benefit to Centrelink.
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.
A lump sum is any one-off amount of money that you may receive for a variety of reasons. Some of these lump sum payments will be included in your income test for the Age Pensions and they may affect the amount of pension that you receive from Centrelink.
You can expect to hear from us within 21 days of submitting your claim. It's best to submit your claim as soon as possible after your circumstances change, or you stop getting another payment from us. This way there may be less time between your last payment from your employer and your first payment from us.
Call 136 240 to: check payment information, such as past and future payments.
If you don't have a waiting period, you'll get your first payment within 2 weeks, if your claim is successful. You can expect to hear from us within 42 days of submitting your claim. We'll give you an estimated completion date when you submit your claim online. We often process claims before the date we estimate.
On 1 February 2022, the Federal Government announced aged care workers would be eligible to receive a bonus payment of up to $800.
The Carer Supplement is an annual payment of $600 which is attached to each Carer Allowance. The Supplement is paid in July each year.
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) get Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A or B.
It allows money to be instantly transferred into a recipient's account. Previously, batch file processing delays resulted in a processing time of 24 to 48 hours.
An urgent payment is an early delivery of a recipient's entitlement, which is made because the recipient is in severe financial hardship as a result of exceptional and unforeseen circumstances.
Centrelink: Call 136 150
Advance Lump Sum $1000 – check how much your benefit would reduce each fortnight to see if you can manage it.