More than 4.7 million Australians are set to receive a boost to their Centrelink benefits.
The rise is part of twice-yearly yearly indexation of welfare payments, designed to keep payments in line with the rising cost of living.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Centrelink boss Hank Jongen explains latest changes to welfare and assistance payments.
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From Monday, fortnightly pensions will increase by around 3.7 per cent across the board.
For a single pensioner, the rate will increase to $1064 per fortnight, while a couple on the pension will now receive $1604 per fortnight.
This is an increase of $37.50 for singles and $56.40 for couples.
“These increases are on top of similar increases that were made in September last year,” Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen said.
“What that means is a pensioner couple for example are now receiving something like $115 a fortnight more than they were receiving in August last year.”
Jobseeker payments will also increase by $24.70 for singles and $22.50 per person in a couple.
For parenting payments there will also be increases of $33.90 for single parents and $22.50 each for partnered parents.
“It really depends on your individual circumstances,” Jongen said.
“What I suggest people do is go to the Services Australia website, servicesaustralia.com.au, and look up rates because it can depend on your family situation.”
Aussies receiving payments don’t need to do anything to get the new rates.
The new rates come in on Monday so some recipients may receive a combination of the old rate and new rate in their next payment.
“One of my key pieces of advice is make sure your bank details with Medicare are up to date,” Jongen said.
“Right now there’s $200 million of outstanding Medicare rebates owing to people that we simply can’t pay because we don’t have their bank account details.”
Updating your bank details will ensure you can be paid any cash owed to you.
Services Australia will automatically identify if money is owed and the rebate should appear in your bank account in around three days.
More support needed
While Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the changes will support Australians in need who are “feeling the pinch”, the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) has called on the government to do more to help the millions of Australians living in poverty.
ACOSS says it wants a “real” increase to income support payments, explaining that indexation in line with the Consumer Price Index does not address the needs of those on income support.
In its budget submissions to the federal government this week, the organisation called for unemployment payments to be raised to at least $76 a day, up from the current $48 a day.
ACOSS said it regularly heard of people on JobSeeker and related payments going without food and essential medication or healthcare even before the cost-of-living crisis gripping Australia, ACOSS head Cassandra Goldie said.
“This is not about the cost of a cup of coffee, this is about the essentials of life,” she said.
The JobSeeker increase breaks down to just $1.77 a day — making the payment 57 per cent below the minimum wage and 34 per cent below the pension.
Even with the increase, recipients will still be living well below the poverty line, ACOSS says.
Goldie said it was the right time for the government to step in and fix the adequacy of key social protections.
“The government has the tools to build a more equal Australia,” she said.
– With AAP
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