Centrelink Shock: $3,600 Advance Payment for Women Only? The $3,600 advance payment is provided to eligible Australian citizens, and they can pay it back later. The government of Australia has launched many such payments for the welfare of its citizens. Centrelink has announced the payment worth $3,600 for eligible individuals to provide them financial help. To learn more about the topic “Centrelink Shock: $3,600 Advance Payment for Women Only?”, keep reading the article.
Centrelink Shock: $3,600 Advance Payment for Women Only?
Centrelink has announced the advance payment for its eligible individuals to provide them with financial support. You may get part of your income support or Family Tax Benefit (Part A) early. This is an advance payment. You pay it back later out of your payments from Centrelink.
Let’s first understand what an advance payment is. It is like a loan from your Centrelink payment. You can get some of your income support payment or Family Tax Benefit Part A early as a lump sum amount. Then, you repay that by receiving slightly less in your subsequent thirteen installments.
The main objective of this payment is to provide temporary financial relief to those who are eligible and need it. The advance is repaid via automatic withdrawals from your future Centrelink payments over a period of either 6 or 13 fortnights, depending on the payment type. The payment is gender neutral and does not affect any gender differently.
Eligibility Criteria
You can apply for an advance after at least 3 months of getting one of these payments:
- Age Pension
- Carer Payment
- Disability Support Pension
- Farm Household Allowance
- JobSeeker Payment
- Parenting Payment
- Youth Allowance for job seekers
You can apply for an advance at any time if you’re getting one of these payments:
- ABSTUDY Living Allowance
- Austudy
- Youth Allowance for students
- Family Tax Benefit Part A
- Mobility Allowance
How to Apply?
- Login to MyGov: Navigate to the official portal of Services Australia and locate the MyGov option. If you don’t have an account, then you’ll have to create one.
While applying, you need to mention your income and expenses to verify whether you can repay the advance taken. - Verify Eligibility: Verify your eligibility by reviewing the income, age, and residency needs to ensure you meet the criteria before proceeding further.
- Application: Navigate to the “Apply for Advance” section, where you will find the application form. Fill in the required information accurately. Attach the documents if required.
- Submit and Wait: After submitting your application online, you’ll receive a receipt telling you if it was successful. You’ll also get a summary of your advance payment details.
How Much Can You Get?
There’s a limit on how much money you can get in advance. The amount depends on what kind of payment you get.
Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A
- If you receive FTB Part A, you can get one regular advance at a time. The highest advance amount you can get is $1,348.81. The highest advance you can get depends on if it’s a one-off advance or a regular advance.
Age Pension, Disability Support Pension or Carer Payment
- If you’re single, you can get a minimum amount of $544.95 to the highest amount of $1634.85.
- If you’re part of a couple, you can get a minimum amount of $410.80 to the highest amount of $1232.40.
ABSTUDY, Austudy, JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, Farm Household Allowance
- In these, you can get a minimum of $250 and a maximum of $500.
Repayment of the Advance
The amount you repay each fortnight will be the advance amount divided by 13. This is because you will repay the advance over 13 fortnights. In case you want to increase your repayments, you can do this online or call us on your regular payment line. If you receive Mobility Allowance, you can not make alterations to your repayment amount.
If you receive FTB or a pension payment, you may be able to have multiple advances. If you do, Services Australia will take out more each fortnight to pay for all the advances. If you are having any problem in repaying the advance provided to you, then you can contact Services Australia on your regular payment line to seek help.
Fact Check
It is inaccurate to state that Centrelink is offering a $3,600 advance payment particularly for women only. Centrelink advance payments are available to eligible individuals of different income support payments, irrespective of their gender. The advance payment can be received by both men and women.