Centrelink pay boost is coming for millions of Aussies on JobSeeker
Centrelink pay boost is coming for millions of Aussies on JobSeeker
Australians on JobSeeker can expect an increase in their payments as the cost of living rises, but other benefit recipients will have to wait to find out what happens to their income.
The JobSeeker rate is indexed to inflation twice a year, but in September the pay will increase by another $40 after a budget increase in the base rate.
Including a six-monthly indexation increase of 2.2 percent, the basic rate for job seekers will increase by $56 every two weeks if the House of Representatives passes the Social Security changes announced in the May budget.
But those on other forms of assistance, such as single-parent incomes, will have to wait to see their payments update as cost-of-living pressures persist.
“Some of the other measures, such as the pension and single parent payment, have a choice of indexation measures,” Social Affairs Secretary Amanda Rishworth told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.
Australians on JobSeeker can expect an increase in their payments as the cost of living rises, but other benefit recipients will have to wait to find out what happens to their income.
“So we have to go through those.”
Ms Rishworth said high inflation played a part in the considerations, but all moves had to be weighed against budgetary pressures and added to inflationary pressures.
Older people who qualify for higher JobSeeker pay will receive up to $109 more every two weeks starting in September under the changes.
The government is under pressure from the social sector to increase benefits and unveil new cost-of-living measures following a better-than-expected budget.
The budget is expected to exceed $20 billion in the black for the past fiscal year, but the treasurer will put most of the money in the bank, citing structural strain on the state coffers.
Ms Rishworth said the projected surplus was only temporary and welfare gains had to be weighed against the long-term health of the budget.
The minister said that measures already announced by the government meet that balance.
“The changes we’re making — whether it’s hiring help, JobSeeker — are structural changes, they’re ongoing increases that will be applied,” she said.
“So when you talk about last year’s surplus, that’s a very different circumstance than the reforms we’ve put in place and are underway.
“We calibrated these to be responsible for helping people who are struggling, but also to be sustainable over the long term.”