More than five million Australians receiving Centrelink income support will see a cash boost in their accounts today.
Indexation of pensions and payments, including age pensions, disability support pensions and carer payments, Commonwealth rental assistance, jobseeker’s payments and parenting payments, will put more money into people’s pockets from Friday.
The half-yearly indexation increase, announced earlier this month by Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, will see the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment rise by $28.10 a fortnight for single people and $42.40 a fortnight for couples.
Renters and the unemployed will also see additional money with changes to Rental Assistance and jobseeker payments that also go into effect Friday.
Commonwealth rental assistance maximum rates will increase by 10 percent.
Single renters without children who receive the maximum rental assistance rate will receive an additional $23 per biweekly.
For families with one or two children, the biweekly payment will increase by $27.02 to help with rent.
Those who use JobSeeker will also receive an increase in their payments thanks to indexation to the cost of living.
Indexation of pensions and payments, including age pensions, disability support and carer’s pensions, Commonwealth rental assistance, JobSeeker and parenting payments, will put more money into people’s pockets from this Friday 20 September.
‘JobSeeker One-Time Payment recipients with an assessed partial ability to work from zero to 14 hours per week will move to the higher rate of JobSeeker and receive $849.50 per fortnight,’ the Department of Social Services said in a news release.
For those recipients who move to a higher rate, the biweekly payment will increase by $71.20.
Other JobSeeker recipients, such as single people without children, will receive a $15.30 increase in their payments, while single recipients with one dependent child will receive a $19.80 increase.
“This Government recognises that many Australians continue to be directly impacted by cost of living pressures,” said Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth.
‘Indexation, together with our budget measures, means that Commonwealth Rental Assistance maximum rates will have increased by around 45 per cent since the Albanese Government was elected.’
‘This indexation will provide timely boosts to people receiving benefit and pension payments, ensuring that these vulnerable cohorts have more money in their pockets for everyday expenses.’
Australians receiving pensions will also benefit from the increases.
Other JobSeeker recipients, such as single people without children, will receive a $15.30 increase in their payments, while single recipients with one dependent child will receive a $19.80 increase (file image)
Single pensioners will see an increase of $28.10 in their fortnightly payments, while couples receiving a pension will receive a combined increase of $42.40.
People receiving Disability Support Pension and Carer’s Payment receive the same increase which, together with the government’s energy supplement, increases fortnightly payments to $1,114.40 for single people and $862.60 for each member of a couple.
Single Parent Payment recipients will see an increase of $19.80 every fortnight.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, all five cost of living indices (LCI), which measure the change in prices of goods and services and their effect on the living expenses of specific types of households, rose between 1.2 percent and 1.4 percent in the June 2024 quarter.
Over the 12 months to the June 2024 quarter, LCIs increased by between 3.7% and 6.2%.
‘Rent and electricity prices drove house price increases for most household types,’ the ABS said.
‘Rents continued to rise, reflecting the tightness of the rental market and low vacancy rates. Out-of-pocket electricity costs rose as eligible households gradually used up rebates from the Energy Bill Relief Fund.’