Yahoo Finance Centrelink $600 cash boost coming within weeks
The annual Carer Supplement will be automatically paid into bank accounts from July 3.
Thousands of Aussie carers will see an extra Centrelink payment in their accounts from next month. The payment is made on top of ongoing regular payments.
The Carer Supplement will be automatically paid into eligible people’s bank accounts from July 3. This is an annual payment of up to $600 for those who receive certain carer and veterans’ affairs payments.
“If you get an eligible payment for a period that includes 1 July 2024, we’ll pay you Carer Supplement for each eligible person in your care,” Services Australia said.
"You don’t need to do anything to get this payment. If you’re eligible, we’ll pay it straight into your bank account between 3 July and 2 August 2024.”
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Eligible payments include the Carer Payment, which is currently paid to more than 300,000 people who provide constant care to someone with a disability, medical condition or who is frail aged.
It also includes the Carer Allowance, which is a supplementary payment that covers around 640,000 carers who care for someone who needs daily support.
Recipients of the Department Veterans’ Affairs Partner Service Pension and Carer Allowance, and Department of Veterans’ Affairs Carer Service Pension are also eligible for the automatic payment.
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How much are the payments?
The Carer Supplement, which was introduced in 2009, is an annual payment of $600 for each eligible payment you get. It is made on top of your regular payment.
You can get the Carer Supplement for each eligible payment you receive. For example, if you get the Carer Payment and Carer Allowance, you’ll get two Carer Supplements.
If you get a part payment of the Carer Allowance, you will get a part payment of the Carer Supplement. The amount depends on the percentage of care you provide.
Calls for carer payments to be boosted
It comes as some carers call for higher Centrelink payments, saying they are struggling to get by with the current high cost of living.
Toowoomba resident George Helon currently receives the Carer Allowance and has been caring for his mother Elizabeth, 80, full-time for the past 13 years.
The Carer Allowance is currently $153.50 per fortnight, which Helon said doesn’t even cover the cost of putting petrol in his car. He is currently not eligible for the higher Carer Payment, which is $11,16.30 per fortnight, as it is both income- and asset-tested.
“Carers like myself are being absolutely driven into poverty … There is no respecting what we do and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a bloody insult. It’s just an injustice,” Helon told Yahoo Finance.
Carer Queensland chairman Jim Toohey said unpaid carers provided more than $40 billion of unpaid care per year to some of Australia’s most vulnerable citizens.
“Typically, unpaid carers will make continual sacrifices, which can significantly impact on their physical and mental health to meet their caring duties. It's in their DNA,” Toohey told Yahoo Finance.
“The rate is modest and considering how much unpaid carers save the taxpayer, an increase would be welcome.”
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