Changes to eligibility criteria for Carer Payment

From 20 March 2025, significant changes to Carer Payment eligibility criteria will be
introduced.

It is anticipated that around 31,000 Carer Payment recipients (25,000 of whom are female)
currently balance work and caring responsibilities and may benefit from these new measures
(source: 2023 Carers Australia survey).

Carer Payment is an income support payment made to individuals who, due to their caring
responsibilities for a person living with disability, are not able to participate in substantial paid
employment or other activities.

The current rules for Carer Payment recipients in relation to work, study, training and
volunteering are restrictive and inflexible. You are not qualified for Carer Payment or may
lose your current entitlement if you work, study, attend training or volunteer more than 25
hours per week, including your travel time to and from the activity. This makes it extremely
difficult for carers to participate in the workforce or keep their skills up to date.

Often, unpaid carers find themselves in caring roles over many years. There are many
barriers that carers face re-entering the workforce once a loved one passes away or moves
into residential aged care due to their increased care needs. The relaxing of these rules is a
step in the right direction, enabling carers to balance their own priorities with their caring
responsibilities if their circumstances allow them to.

Carer payment changes

• Carers will be able to spend up to 100 hours over a four-week period in paid work or
  self-employment without affecting their entitlement to Carer Payment (please note,
  however, any income is assessable as per current rules and may reduce the amount
  of Carer Payment payable or preclude payment altogether.
• No limits on how many hours a carer can spend on study, training or volunteering –
  The new rules only extend to paid work or self-employment.
• Travel time to and from the activity is not included in the above calculation.
• If using respite to offset short periods of exceeding the 100 hour rule, this will be
  applied on a daily basis rather than a weekly basis (for example, currently if you work
  26 hours in a week due to overtime offered, you can use respite to ensure you do not
  lose qualification for this as a one-off, but you will need to use 7 days of your respite
  balance to do this. Otherwise, your payment will cancel and you will have to reapply
  once you requalify under the 25 hour rule).
  What stays the same:
• The income test for Carer Payment will not change.
• The 14 day notification timeframe to changes in your circumstances remains the
  same.
• You will still have access to respite to take a break from caring of up to 63 days per
  calendar year before your payments are cancelled.
• You can offset periods that you temporarily go over the 100-hour limit with single
  respite days if you have these available (as opposed to using a weeks’ respite).
• If you exceed your respite balance, work over the 100 hour rule consistently or earn
  too much income, your payments will be suspended for up to 6 months, negating the
  need to lodge a new claim if circumstances change within this time period.

The changes are a welcome measure to promote workforce participation amongst carers
and are expected to lead to better outcomes for their financial independence, autonomy,
health and wellbeing and future employment prospects.