Bonus Payments for Carers

Are you a carer of a person living with a disability or medical condition? If you receive Carer Allowance or Carer Payment from Services Australia in respect of that care receiver, you are likely to receive a Carer Supplement in July each year.

The Carer Supplement was introduced in July 2009 and was designed to be a one-off payment to assist carers financially. However, this has been paid annually since then as a bonus for unpaid carers who often face financial pressures due to their caring role.

You do not need to make a separate application for this. It will be paid automatically to your nominated bank account where you receive your regular payments.

The Carer Supplement is $600 per care receiver.

Additionally, if the care receiver is a child under 16 and lives with a disability or severe medical condition, you will automatically receive a payment of $1,000 each year. This is referred to as the Child Disability Assistance Payment.

Please note you do not receive this payment if you only receive Carer Allowance (Health Care Card only) for a child.

Carer Allowance and Carer Payment

If you are providing care for multiple people, you can receive Carer Allowance for up to two adult care receivers in your care. For care receivers under 16, there is no maximum amount of children you can receive Carer Allowance for.

Carer Payment is generally paid to a carer for one care receiver who requires constant care and attention because of their disability or medical condition (daily care, at least the equivalent of a normal working day). This is an income support payment for people who, because of their caring responsibilities, are unable to participate in substantive paid employment or other activities, such as study, training and volunteering.

Both are subject to residency requirements, medical eligibility and income tests. Because Carer Payment is an income support payment, this has stricter income and asset test eligibility criteria for both the carer and the care receiver.

Carer Adjustment Payment

The Carer Adjustment Payment is a one-off ex-gratia payment that may be payable if you provide care to a child younger than seven who has a severe onset of a disability or suffers a catastrophic event. This payment is up to $10,000 and is assessed on a case-by-case basis. You need to demonstrate a strong need for financial assistance, provide care full time to the child, and be in receipt of Carer Allowance for the child. You must claim within 2 years of event causing severe disability or diagnosis.

Be aware!

There are a number of fake announcements in circulation about one-off Centrelink payments for carers. We recommend you test any entitlements directly with Services Australia www.servicesaustralia.gov.au or www.my.gov.au.

By Rosie Bouton, Financial Adviser, We Plan Pty Ltd