The results from this service are indicative only and are not a guarantee of payments.

Based on the information you provide the service will suggest payments for you to explore further. If any information you provide is incorrect, the payments displayed could also be incorrect. Changes to policy, the law, your circumstances and future events may mean that the payment you actually receive differs from the results provided

For a wide range of reasons the results generated by the service may not be accurate in particular cases, for example, the service does not take into account:

• if you are repaying any money to Centrelink, or have had your payment reduced, or;
• the complete assets test, or;
• if you are subject to a waiting or preclusion period, or;
• if you are paid under an International Social Security Agreement, or;
• if you are overseas.

The Australian Government:

• disclaims, any representations and warranties, express or implied, of any kind in respect of the Service, and;
• shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever (including loss or damage caused by human, technical or processing error or malfunction, or negligence of any kind or loss or damage that is incidental or consequential) arising out of or in connection with any use of, or reliance on the Service.

What you will need

What information you will need to provide to use this service

• Information about your accommodation
• Relationship details
• Your income and asset details
• Children in your care

Australian resident

An Australian resident is a person who is living in Australia and is either:

• an Australian citizen
• a permanent visa holder, or
• a protected Special Category visa (SCV) holder

Australia includes the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Territory of Christmas Island, Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.

You cannot claim an Australian payment unless you are residing in Australia or in an agreement country. If you live in a country that has an international social security agreement with Australia, the agreement may assist you to claim Australian payments that are covered by the agreement.

Non-Protected Special Category visa (SCV) holder

A Special Category visa (SCV) is issued to New Zealand citizens who arrive in Australia on their New Zealand passport. New Zealand citizens who arrived in Australia after 26 February 2001 are generally non-protected SCV holders. Therefore, they do not meet the above definition of an Australian resident. To qualify for most payments, you must satisfy residence requirements. Usually, this means you must be an Australian resident.

Protected Special Category visa (SCV) holder

Protected SCV holders are those who arrived in Australia on a New Zealand passport and were:

• in Australia on 26 February 2001
• in Australia for 12 months in the 2 years immediately before this date, or
• assessed as protected SCV holders before 26 February 2004

From 1 July 2016, protected SCV holder rules apply to Norfolk Island. New Zealand citizens who were present on Norfolk Island on 26 February 2001 or in Australia including Norfolk Island, for 12 months in the 2 years immediately before this date are protected SCV holders.

You are considered to be a single (i.e. not partnered) person if:

• you are not a member of a couple (either opposite or same sex).

You are considered as a member of a couple if you live with or usually live with another person as your partner and you’re:

• married, or
• in a registered relationship - opposite sex or same sex, or
• in a de facto relationship - opposite sex or same sex

If you are in receipt of Youth Allowance then you are generally considered to be a member of a Youth Allowance couple if you are:

• Legally married, or
• In a registered relationship, or
• In a de facto relationship for 12 months.

Gender is a part of a person’s personal and social identity - it refers to the way a person feels, presents and is recognised within the community.

Non-binary

A gender category which describes those who do not exclusively identify as either male or female. Non-binary can also be known as gender diverse, gender queer, gender fluid or indeterminate.

Accommodation is the term used to describe your living arrangements. The types of accommodation to choose from are:

• Own home – If you or your partner (if you have one) own or are buying a residence.
• Rent – If you are paying rent for living at a residence. This does not include any meals. This also includes mooring fees, site fees, and fees for a nursing home or retirement village.
• Board and Lodging – Board and lodgings (often referred to just as 'board') means the provision of meals on a regular basis in connection with the provision of lodging.
• Living with parents – You live with your parents or guardians in their principal home.
• Government rent – Government rent is if you live in a rental residence where you pay rent to the Government (such as a state housing authority).
• No rent paid – No rent paid is if you pay no money at all for accommodation, such as free board and lodgings.

To be considered dependent, a child must be:

• your birth, adoptive or relationship child, and
• completely or mostly dependent on you or your partner, or was completely or mostly dependent on you or your partner if the child was in your partner’s care during your partnership

The dependent child may have been adopted or placed into another person’s care. The child may have died or been stillborn.

A Principal Carer is a person who provides ongoing daily care for a dependent child or children under sixteen years either solely or for the majority of the time, in order to qualify for relevant social welfare payments, supplementary payments or concession cards. Under Social Security and family assistance law, only one parent or guardian may be the Principal Carer.

A disability or medical condition is a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment. It also means you are unable to work or be retrained for work, for 15 hours or more per week.

A carer provides daily care for someone who has a severe disability, medical condition or who is frail aged

Natural Disaster

You may be considered as adversely affected by a major disaster if:

• You have experienced a major fire, flood, cyclone, earthquake or similar event, and
• You, your child or an immediate family member:
  • have been seriously injured, or
  • have been killed or are missing
• The claimant's principal place of residence was destroyed or sustained major damage, or

In certain circumstances a professional assessment by a Centrelink Social Worker is also needed.

Help In a Crisis

Financial hardship

• not a member of a couple and the person's available funds are less than the equivalent of two weeks of the maximum payment rate of their social security pension or benefit which they currently receive, or
• a member of a couple and their (the couple's) available funds are less than twice the equivalent of two weeks of the maximum payment rate of their social security pension or benefit that they currently receive.

Unable to remain at home

• an event has made the home unable to be lived in or unsafe to remain in.
• Been recently released from prison and requires assistance to establish a new home

In certain circumstances a professional assessment by a Centrelink Social Worker is also needed.

Family and domestic violence

Family and domestic violence is conduct that is violent, threatening, coercive or controlling, or intended to cause the family or household member to be fearful.

It can include:

• physical, verbal, emotional, sexual or psychogical abuse
• neglect
• financial abuse (controlling money)
• stalking
• harm to an animal or property
• restricting spiritual or cultural participation
• exposing children to the effects of these behaviours.

People from all walks of life can be affected, no matter their age or gender. It can occur in all types of relationships including:

• family members
• past or current intimate relationships
• relatives, carers and guardians.

People affected by family and domestic violence may live in fear for themselves and their family, even when they have left an abusive relationship.

For more information, visit our website humanservices.gov.au/enough

Check to see if your family home qualifies as inner regional, outer regional, remote or very remote using the Student Regional Area Search service.

You must also be a full time student who needs to move away from home to study. Since leaving secondary school you must have:

• earned at least 75% of Wage Level A for the National Training Wage schedule included in a modern award, in 18 months, or
• worked part time for at least 15 hours each week for at least 2 years

Check the National Training Wage schedule on the Department of Social Services website.

Your parents’ or guardians’ income must also be under $150,000 in the base tax year, or in the current tax year if their income has dropped or risen a lot. The base tax year is the tax year that ended on 30 June in the calendar year before the calendar year in which you are claiming ABSTUDY. For example, if you claim ABSTUDY between 1 July and 31 December 2015, the base tax year is 2013-14. If you claim between 1 January and 30 June 2016, the base tax year is 2014-15.

We may ask you to prove that you meet the requirements and to give us details of your working hours or earnings.

For example, Gavin went to secondary school in Parkes, in regional NSW. He finished school in 2013, then took a gap year in 2014, lived at home and earned $28,000 doing casual and part time work. Gavin’s parents earned $120,000 in the 2013-14 tax year. In 2015, Gavin starts a full time Bachelor of Science degree in Sydney, so he needs to live away from home. Gavin meets the conditions for independent status from May 2015 - 18 months since he finished school.

An Income Support Payment is a pension or benefit, like Youth Allowance, Newstart Allowance or Age Pension, paid by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Income Support Payments do not include family assistance payments such as Family Tax Benefit Part A, Family Tax Benefit Part B, Carer Allowance, Child Care Benefit or Child Care Rebate.

Income Support Payment may include the following:

Social Security Benefits:

• Newstart Allowance
• Youth Allowance
• Partner Allowance
• Austudy Payment
• Widow Allowance
• Parenting Payment (partnered)
• Sickness Allowance
• Special Benefit
• Farm Household Allowance

Social Security Pensions:

• Age Pension
• Wife Pension
• Widow B Pension
• Parenting Payment (single)
• Bereavement Allowance (non-taxable)
• Disability Support Pension and
• Carer Payment
• Wife Pension - if under Age Pension age

Service Pensions:

• Age Service Pension
• Invalidity Service Pension
• Partner Service Pension
• Carer Service Pension

Education Support Payment:

• ABSTUDY Living Allowance
• Department of Veterans Affairs income support supplement

The income we use to work out your payment rate. If you have a partner, we take both of your incomes into account.

Income is

• an amount you earn, derive or receive for your own use or benefit
• profits, the amount of earnings in excess of expenses, whether of a capital nature or not, and
• a periodic payment or benefit you receive as a gift or allowance

Income includes

• gross employment income, earnings for work performed including wages, salaries, bonuses, penalty rates, overtime, commission or honoraria, and stipends including fringe benefits and amounts salary sacrificed into superannuation
• income from sole trader or partnership businesses, including from farms
• deemed income from financial investments, including money in superannuation funds if you have reached age pension age
• income streams which are a regular series of payments made to you directly from accumulated superannuation contributions or purchased using either superannuation or ordinary monies
• distributions or dividends from private trusts and private companies
• real estate income, including net income or losses from rental property, and income from boarders and lodgers
• reportable superannuation contributions
• income from outside Australia, including non-Australian pensions and other income from sources outside Australia
• some lump sums
• some types of income specific to Indigenous Australians
• valuable consideration, you receive goods, services or some other benefit in exchange for an item, action or promise
• Paid Parental Leave Scheme payments including Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay, either paid by us or your employer

Assets include property and items you or your partner own or have an interest in, including assets held outside Australia, can affect your payment.

We take most of your assets into account when calculating your payment. The value of your assets is what you would get for them if you sold them at market value.

Generally, we deduct any debt secured against a particular asset from the value of that asset.

Asset types:

• real estate that’s not your principal home.
• granny flat
• retirement village contributions
• life interests
• financial investments
• superannuation investments
• income streams
• business assets
• private trusts and private companies.
• funeral bonds and prepaid funerals.
• assets given away – gifting
• other assets such as:
  • motor vehicles
  • boats and caravans
  • licences, for example fishing or taxi
  • surrender value of life insurance policies
  • trading, hobby or investment collections, and
  • household contents and personal effects