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1 million Aussies get Centrelink increase on 1 January

Some Centrelink payments will increase from 1 January. (Sources: Getty)
Some Centrelink payments will increase from 1 January. (Sources: Getty)

Australians receiving carer, youth and student allowances will see their Centrelink payments increased from 1 January 2022, in line with indexation.

Around 1 million recipients are expected to see payments increase by 3.5 per cent, with the increase ranging from $4.60 to $23 a fortnight, Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said.

Austudy and Youth Allowance payments for young people living out of home will increase by $17.90 to $537.60 per fortnight. Those who are living at home will see their Youth Allowance increase by $12.40 to $371.60.

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Additionally, singles with children receiving the Austudy allowance will see their payments increase $23 a fortnight to $688.20.

And people receiving the Carer Allowance will see their payments climb $4.60 to $136.50 a fortnight.

“This is putting money in the pockets of Australians who rely on our social security system and ensuring they maintain their purchasing power,” Ruston said.

“For many of these payments, this indexation builds on the $50 per fortnight permanent increase to the rate of a range of income support payments we delivered in April.”

It comes amid concerns the Omicron variant poses a particular risk to disadvantaged and vulnerable people.

“Australia is far from finished with tackling this pandemic, and the people most at risk from infection remain people on the lowest incomes, those who experience disadvantage and who suffer hardship,” Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) acting CEO Edwina MacDonald said.

“People living in the lowest socioeconomic group have experienced almost four times as many COVID-19 deaths as people in the highest income group.”

She said governments needed to step up to protect communities by ensuring access to booster shots and vaccinations were equitable and targeted at vulnerable groups.

“We’re incredibly concerned that the early mistakes of the rollout will not be learned for the booster shots, our systems will not evolve, and we’ll see people on low incomes left behind yet again, exposed to Omicron and other variants,” MacDonald said.

“If that happens, it will end in tragedy for many households and families experiencing disadvantage and hardship.”

A new ACOSS report also found demand for social services continued to grow, with 58 per cent of services surveyed warning they had seen an increase in the number of clients they were unable to support.

The same report found only 6 per cent of services had the ability to consistently meet demand.

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