The Australian government offers many Centrelink benefits to support the citizens and help them to manage their expenses due to the rising cost of living and other circumstances. Millions of Australians receive the Centrelink benefits and get the needed support.
The government ensures the payment matches with inflation through indexation so that it is enough for the recipient to survive. Next indexation will happen in March 2025, which could increase the Centrelink payments. Centrelink payment recipients wondering about the payment increase from March 2025 can check the full details here.
Centrelink Payment Increase March 2025
The Australian government maintains the purchasing power of the Centrelink recipients in pace with inflation through indexation. The indexation generally puts more money into the pockets of recipients and helps them cope with rising cost of living. The government generally indexes the Centrelink payment twice a year, but sometimes it can depend on inflation as well.
The previous indexation occurred on 20 Sep 2024, which has increased the Centrelink payment for various government benefits. The indexation depends on the Consumer Price Index or the wage price index that helps to set the boost for the Centrelink payments. As the next indexation date approaches, Australians are expecting the increase in the Centrelink payment.
According to the reports, the next indexation for Centrelink payments will be announced on 20 March 2025 and Australians who receive government benefits like Jobseeker payment, pensioners, Carer payment, Disability Support, and others can expect a boost in their payment. Around five million Australians will see the changes in their Centrelink payment after 20 March 2025.
What will be the Centrelink payment after the increase in March 2025?
The Australians wondering about the Centrelink payment increase after the next indexation can check their affected benefit and their expected increase in payment below:
- The age pensions for singles will increase by $4.52, making the fortnightly payment $1,148.92, whereas the couples payment will increase by the rate of $6.84, increasing the fortnightly payment to $1732.02.
- The carer allowance will also increase with the March 2025 indexation, based on the January 2025, the current carer allowance is $159.30, which was increased by the rate of $5.80.
- The Jobseekers payment will also increase from the current payment rate based on the family situation and inflation.
Apart from the above benefits, the Australians can expect the increase in payments of other benefits like Austudy, ABSTUDY living allowance, Youth Allowance, parenting payment, Commonwealth Rent Assistance, and many others.
How can you check your Centrelink payment increase?
The Centrelink recipients can find out about the Centrelink payment increases through the following methods:
- First, you can visit the Department of Social Services website, where they update the indexation report and download the benefits payment increase PDF. The PDF will have all the benefits of the payment increase, you can easily see how much payment you will receive after the indexation.
- You can also log into the myGov account on the Services Australia website and check your Centrelink payment details. You can see the Centrelink payment change and adjustment on the app, and you can also set the reminder for your upcoming payment to manage your finances.
What are the new changes for JobSeekers?
Recently, the Australian government has announced a change for job seekers related to its compliance measures. The change will be effective from March 2025, hence the job seekers benefit recipients should know that they won’t have to face compliance measures in some situations to determine their circumstances.
So, following people do not have to face the compliance action in some situations when they are receiving the job seekers’ benefits:
- A person who is newly registered on Workforce Australia or Disability Employment services;
- People who have done work for at least 30 hours biweekly for 2 months or more, and the work is paid work.
Services Australia will look after the compliance actions investigation and see the penalty zone before the financial penalty is applied to the job seeker applicants. In the penalty zone, the payment of the recipients can be cancelled, so you should immediately contact your provider to take timely actions to avoid losing your payment.
What are the changes for carers from March 2025?
The Australian government also comes up with changes for carer’s payment that may affect the payout and eligibility. According to the Carer payment guideline, the carer who provides constant care to someone who requires care for at least 6 months or caring for someone on their deathbed.
Under the carer payment guidelines, the carers can still get the payment if they are working, studying, or training up to 25 hours a week, but this rule will not change from 20 March 2025. From 20 March 2025, the carers can work up to 100 hours in four weeks and you still need to provide the care to the person who needs care. The 100 hours of work includes paid work, self-employment, but it won’t include the following activities:
- Study,
- Volunteer work
- Travel
- Training
Other changes that will be effective from 20 March 2025 are that the officials can suspend your payment for 6 months, when you meet the following conditions:
- You have worked for 100 hours a week and you haven’t used the respite days to stay on carer payment;
- You already earn too much from your employment;
- You don’t have the respite days to rest and relax.
Once your situation changes, you can contact the authority, and the officials will resume your carer payment.
The Australian government will soon release the March 2025 indexation on 20 March 2025, the Centrelink recipients can expect the rise in their payment as well as the income threshold, so you must check the indexation whenever it is announced.