Millions of Australians are about to receive a welcome boost<\/strong> to their Centrelink payments<\/strong>, with increases kicking in from March 20<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From higher Age Pension <\/strong>and JobSeeker payments<\/strong> to more flexibility for carers <\/strong>and job seekers<\/strong>, these changes are set to impact over five million people<\/strong> across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s not all\u2014there are also major shifts in compliance rules, meaning fewer people will have their payments cut off if they miss obligations. Here\u2019s everything you need to know about the changes coming your way in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From March 20, millions of Age Pensioners<\/a>, JobSeekers, Disability Support Pension<\/a> recipients, carers, and parents will see their payments go up<\/strong>. This is part of the government\u2019s twice-yearly indexation<\/strong> to keep up with the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the final figures will be officially announced in early March, estimates suggest:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other payments, including JobSeeker, Parenting Payment, and Commonwealth Rent Assistance, will also increase<\/strong>, with final amounts determined by the Consumer Price Index<\/a> (CPI)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From March, fewer JobSeeker recipients will face sudden payment suspensions<\/strong>. Key changes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is a big shift<\/strong> from the previous system, where missing a single appointment<\/strong> could lead to immediate financial penalties<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carers <\/strong>are also getting a break, with new rules allowing them to work more hours<\/strong> without losing their Carer Payment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means greater work flexibility for carers who are juggling financial needs and family responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With cost-of-living pressures mounting<\/strong>, these payment increases and rule changes come as a much-needed relief for millions of Australians. While small, the increases could help many stay afloat as inflation continues to hit household budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final payment amounts will be confirmed early next month<\/strong>, but for now, recipients can look forward to a boost in their bank accounts from March 20<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Millions of Australians are set to receive a boost to their Centrelink payments in just weeks, but not everyone will see the same increase. New rules for job seekers and carers will also shake up how payments are handled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101503,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-welfare","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101867"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101875,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101867\/revisions\/101875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}