Centrelink payments will rise from Monday 20 March, as part of the twice yearly increases driven by indexation. While the rises are welcome, they are still not enough.
Single age and disability pension recipients and carers will receive an increase of $37.50 a fortnight, and couples a combined $56.40. The maximum fortnightly pension rate will jump to $1064 for singles and $1604 for couples.
JobSeeker and adult ABSTUDY payments will also be indexed, with singles aged over 22 with no children to receive $701.90 a fortnight, up $24.70.
Couples will get $22.50 per fortnight each, bumping the payment to $639.10.
Indexation will bump assistance payments up by $5.60 a fortnight for singles without children, $6.58 for maximum rate recipients with one or two children and $7.42 for those with three or more children.
Single parents on the parenting payment will get a boost of $33.90 a fortnight, increasing to $967.90.
Youth Allowance and other student payments are only indexed once a year and will not be increased on Monday.
The JobSeeker increase breaks down to just $1.77 a day and the payment will still be 57 per cent below the minimum wage, 34 per cent below the pension and well below the poverty line, according to ACOSS.
These payment increases will not cover the increase in the cost of living, and higher increases are needed. While a significant increase has been widely tipped for the May budget, it has not been confirmed by the government.
“People on JobSeeker and related payments cannot afford to eat enough, cannot get essential medication or healthcare, and often go into debt to pay their energy bills,” ACOSS said.
“While every little bit extra helps, this indexation will not ensure that people can cover basic costs because their incomes were grossly inadequate before prices rose.
“The only way to address this problem is to deliver a real increase to JobSeeker and related payments so that they are lifted to at least the same level as the pension.”
The government has also said that income and asset limits may change as a result of payment indexation, though they haven’t said whether the thresholds will be lifted or lowered.
Meanwhile, the stage three tax cuts will go ahead, meaning a significant increase in the take home pay for Australia’s wealthiest. If these were to be abandoned, Centrelink payments could increase to a liveable rate.
Craig Hill is a Brisbane-based Social Justice Campaigner, Writer, Teacher and Business Consultant. He has campaigned for social justice in Australia, promoted human rights in China and worked with the homeless in Honolulu. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Business, a Graduate Certificate in Education and a degree in Management. He is also the General Manager of The Australian Business and Leadership School.
If you liked this article, please click “Subscribe To My Blog” in the sidebar to receive an email each time a new article is published.
Visit the Australian Book and Language Studio
Discover more from Craig Hill
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Craig Hill 
It’s great to see that Centrelink payments are increasing for age and disability pension recipients, carers, and JobSeeker recipients. However, higher increases are needed as the rises will not cover the increase in the cost of living.