{"id":101944,"date":"2025-03-02T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=101944"},"modified":"2025-03-02T15:28:34","modified_gmt":"2025-03-02T04:28:34","slug":"millions-of-australians-to-receive-a-centrelink-boost-in-march-see-the-latest-payout-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/millions-of-australians-to-receive-a-centrelink-boost-in-march-see-the-latest-payout-figures\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions of Australians to Receive a Centrelink Boost in March\u2013 See the Latest Payout Figures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>More than <strong>five million Australians<\/strong> are bracing for an increase in their <strong>Centrelink payments<\/strong>, including the Age Pension, JobSeeker, Disability Support Pension, and Carer Payment this March. While some reports have speculated about a <strong>$450 to $790<\/strong> increase, the official figures will be confirmed in early March. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s happening on <strong>March 20, 2025<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>On March 20, 2025, the government\u2019s <strong>biannual indexation<\/strong> of welfare payments will take effect. This process happens every March and September to ensure that <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/millions-of-australians-set-for-a-cash-boost-as-centrelink-payments-rise-in-weeks\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"101867\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Centrelink payments keep up with inflation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The increases are determined by the highest movement among three key inflation measures: the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Wage Price Index, and the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index. This means that the final figures could change, depending on the latest economic data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How much will the <strong>Age Pension<\/strong> increase?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Preliminary estimates suggest that <strong>single pensioners<\/strong> will see an increase of approximately <strong>$4.52 per fortnight<\/strong>, bringing the total to <strong>$1,148.92 per fortnight<\/strong>, including <strong>supplements<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Couples<\/strong> receiving a combined pension are expected to receive an additional <strong>$6.84 per fortnight<\/strong>, raising their total to <strong>$1,732.02 per fortnight<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While this increase is modest compared to the <strong>$28.10 rise<\/strong> in <strong>September 2024<\/strong>, it still provides much-needed relief for pensioners feeling the squeeze of rising costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>JobSeeker<\/strong>, <strong>Parenting Payment<\/strong>, and <strong>Rent Assistance<\/strong> updates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>JobSeeker Payment<\/strong> and <strong>Parenting Payment Single<\/strong> will also see increases in March, but the exact figures will be confirmed closer to the date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For <strong>renters<\/strong>, the Commonwealth Rent Assistance saw a <strong>10 percent boost<\/strong> in September 2024, which added <strong>$23 per fortnight <\/strong>for singles and <strong>$27.02 <\/strong>for families with up to two children. Further adjustments could follow in March, depending on indexation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Will the <strong>income and asset test limits<\/strong> change?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to payment increases, the income and asset test limits for the Age Pension will also be adjusted on March 20, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These changes could mean that more Australians may become eligible for a partial pension, while current pensioners could see their payments increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The exact <strong>limits<\/strong> will be updated by <strong>Services Australia<\/strong> as the <strong>indexation date<\/strong> approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Major <strong>Centrelink policy changes<\/strong> from <strong>March 2025<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not just the payment rates that are changing\u2014several important policy updates will also take effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Newly registered job seekers with Workforce Australia or Disability Employment Services will not face penalties for their first failure to meet a requirement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Job seekers working <strong>30 or more hours per fortnight<\/strong> for two months will avoid payment cuts if they miss an appointment with their employment provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, Services Australia staff will now review all compliance actions in the <strong>\u201cpenalty zone\u201d<\/strong> before applying financial penalties, ending automatic payment suspensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carers will also have more flexibility when it comes to their working hours. From March 20, 2025, they will be able to <strong>work up to 100 hours<\/strong> over a <strong>four-week period<\/strong> instead of the current <strong>25-hour weekly limit<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They will still need to report their hours fortnightly but will no longer be required to report study, training, volunteering, or travel time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who occasionally exceed <strong>100 hours<\/strong> will still be able to use <strong>respite days<\/strong> to maintain their payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the official payment figures will be released in early March, pensioners and welfare recipients should prepare for the upcoming changes. Checking eligibility for increased payments or new benefits will be crucial in the weeks ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.servicesaustralia.gov.au\/centrelink?context=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Services Australia<\/a><\/strong> will provide official <strong>updates<\/strong> confirming the new <strong>payment amounts<\/strong>, and those affected should stay informed about how these changes might impact their financial situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Millions of Australians will see their Centrelink payments increase in March 2025, but the final figures are yet to be confirmed. The latest indexation update will bring changes to the Age Pension, JobSeeker, and welfare benefits, with some recipients getting more than others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":101951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-welfare","category-retirement","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\/101944","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=101944"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101953,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101944\/revisions\/101953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}