{"id":102355,"date":"2025-03-11T12:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T01:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/?p=102355"},"modified":"2025-03-11T12:38:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T01:38:01","slug":"cost-of-living-crisis-millions-of-australians-to-receive-a-centrelink-boost-in-the-coming-days-who-benefits-most","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/cost-of-living-crisis-millions-of-australians-to-receive-a-centrelink-boost-in-the-coming-days-who-benefits-most\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost of Living Crisis: Millions of Australians to Receive a Centrelink Boost in the Coming Days\u2014Who Benefits Most?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Millions of Australians receiving <strong>Centrelink payments<\/strong> will see a slight increase in their benefits this month as part of the country\u2019s routine social security indexation. The adjustment, which occurs twice a year in March and September, ensures that payments keep pace with inflation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest increase will take effect on <strong>March 20, 2025<\/strong>, providing modest financial relief for pensioners and low-income Australians as cost-of-living pressures continue to mount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Are Payments Increasing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Australia\u2019s social security system undergoes <strong>biannual indexation<\/strong>, a process that adjusts payments based on changes in the <strong>Consumer Price Index (CPI)<\/strong> and the <strong>Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index (PBLCI)<\/strong>. This policy aims to maintain the purchasing power of government support programs as inflation fluctuates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest adjustment comes at a critical time, just months before the next federal election, where economic challenges\u2014including the rising costs of food, housing, and utilities\u2014are expected to be key issues for voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Much Will Pensioners Receive?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Aged Pension<\/strong>, Australia\u2019s largest welfare payment, will see the most significant increase. <strong>Single pensioners <\/strong>on the maximum rate will receive an additional <strong>$4.60 per fortnight<\/strong>, bringing their total fortnightly payment to <strong>$1,149<\/strong>. For <strong>couples<\/strong>, the increase will be <strong>$7 per fortnight<\/strong>, bringing their combined payments to <strong>$866.10 each<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Social Services Minister <strong>Amanda Rishworth<\/strong>, the adjustments will help ease financial burdens for older Australians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cIndexation is a critical part of our social security safety net,\u201d Rishworth stated. \u201cFor pensioners and other payment recipients receiving this financial boost, this will help ease some pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What About Jobseeker Recipients?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/centrelink-special-payment-2025-who-gets-the-750-and-when\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"101698\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JobSeeker Payment<\/a><\/strong>, which supports approximately <strong>850,000 Australians<\/strong> who are unemployed or underemployed, will also increase\u2014though by a much smaller margin. Single recipients will receive an extra <strong>$3.10 per fortnight<\/strong>, while <strong>couples<\/strong> will see a <strong>$2.80<\/strong> boost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These increases equate to <strong>$72.80 and $80.60 per year<\/strong>, respectively\u2014less than half the average weekly grocery bill in Australia, according to market research firm <strong>Canstar Blue<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the Albanese government has significantly raised JobSeeker rates over the past three years, many advocacy groups argue the payments remain far below the poverty line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Have Payments Changed Under the Albanese Government?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took office in May 2022, social security benefits have seen notable increases. Depending on eligibility, JobSeeker recipients are now receiving between <strong>$3,374 and $5,038 more per year<\/strong> than they did under the previous government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Single parents, a majority of whom are women, have experienced the most significant gains, with annual increases of at least <strong>$7,579<\/strong>. This boost follows reforms that extended the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.servicesaustralia.gov.au\/how-much-parenting-payment-you-can-get?context=22196\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Single Parenting Payment<\/a><\/strong> until the youngest child turns <strong>14 years old<\/strong>, rather than <strong>eight<\/strong>, as was previously the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How Much Has the Government Invested in Social Security?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Albanese government<\/strong> has committed <strong>$11.5 billion<\/strong> over the past two federal budgets to strengthen Australia\u2019s welfare system. However, with inflation still above <strong>3%<\/strong>, cost-of-living concerns remain at the forefront of public discourse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Advocacy groups, including <strong>ACOSS (Australian Council of Social Service)<\/strong>, argue that the increases are far too modest to lift vulnerable Australians out of financial hardship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many are calling for <strong>structural reforms<\/strong> to ensure welfare payments remain sufficient to cover essential expenses like rent, food, and healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Millions of Australians will see a small boost in their Centrelink payments this month, but it may not be enough to ease mounting financial pressures. Pensioners and JobSeeker recipients are set for a modest increase, with the next adjustment months away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":102359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102355","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\/102355","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=102355"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102364,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102355\/revisions\/102364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}