It flew under the radar, but more than a million Australian families turned to a little-known support option this past year. As prices rise and school returns loom, many have quietly leaned on Centrelink advances just to keep things ticking over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The holiday season comes with good intentions and often bad decisions. It\u2019s easy to swipe now and stress later. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia<\/a>, credit card balances that were accruing interest reached over $19.7 billion right before Christmas. And in November alone, Australians took out more than 783,000 cash advances on personal credit cards\u2014often at the worst possible terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That kind of debt doesn\u2019t wait. Interest kicks in straight away. With average credit card rates sitting around 18.5%, the hangover from December can linger for months. For families already stretched by housing costs and grocery prices, even a small debt can throw everything off balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where Centrelink advance payments come in. They allow eligible recipients to access a portion of their existing benefits early\u2014without interest, without hidden fees. The amount is paid upfront, and then automatically repaid through 13 smaller deductions from future payments. No paperwork shuffle, no credit checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n