Carer Payment vs Carer Allowance
Two Australian payments, two different jobs — and you can often receive both.
Australia has two carer payments, and confusing them is the single most common misunderstanding in this area. Carer Payment replaces your income because you cannot work full time. Carer Allowance helps with the extra costs of caring, on top of whatever income you have. They have different tests, different rates, and different care thresholds, and qualifying for one does not automatically qualify you for the other — although many carers do qualify for both.
| Feature | Carer Payment | Carer Allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Income support: replaces earnings you cannot make while giving constant care | Supplement: helps with the extra costs of giving daily care and attention |
| Maximum rate | $1,237.70 per fortnight (single) / $933.00 each (partnered), from 20 September 2026 | $162.60 per fortnight, set rate, adjusted each 1 January |
| Care level | Constant care in a private home; high assessment score required | Daily care and attention; lower threshold than Carer Payment |
| Income test | Pension income test (free areas $226 single / $396 couple combined per fortnight) | Family adjusted taxable income under $250,000 a year (you and your partner combined) |
| Assets test | Yes, pension assets test | No assets test |
| Care receiver test | Yes, income under $143,752 a year and assets under $886,750 (unless already on income support) | Different care receiver rules; check the Carer Allowance page |
| Work limit | Paid/self-employed work up to 100 hours in a four-week period | No equivalent work-hour limit; you must still give daily care and attention |
| Taxable | Taxable if you or the care receiver are Age Pension age or above | Not part of your taxable income |
| Can you get both? | Yes, if you separately qualify for each. Combined single maximum: $1,400.30 per fortnight. | |
Why the Allowance has an income cap instead of a taper
Carer Allowance is a set rate, not a tapered rate. If your combined family adjusted taxable income is under $250,000 a year, you receive the full $162.60 per fortnight (subject to shared-care rules); if it is $250,000 or more, you do not receive it. Your wages do not reduce the Allowance dollar by dollar the way they reduce Carer Payment. That is why a carer with a working partner, or with part-time earnings too high for Carer Payment, may still receive Carer Allowance, and why a carer receiving the Age Pension may also receive Carer Allowance on top.
Shared care and part payments
If you share the care of a person with another carer who is not your partner, and that carer also claims Carer Allowance, you may each receive a part payment based on the percentage of care you provide. Services Australia gives the example of two sisters sharing the care of their father: the sister who cares during the week and the sister who cares at weekends each receive a part payment reflecting their share. Carer Payment sharing rules differ, and two carers qualifying for Carer Payment for the same adult care receiver is possible only in particular circumstances — ask Services Australia how sharing affects your claim rather than assuming an even split.
More than one care receiver
You may receive Carer Allowance for more than one person you care for, within the rules for each care receiver, and the annual Carer Supplement is paid for each eligible payment you hold over a period including 1 July. For Carer Payment, caring for two or more people can also combine towards the constant-care threshold even when no single person's needs reach it alone. Keep the two ideas separate: the Allowance can multiply across care receivers, while the Payment is a single income support payment whose threshold can be met by combined care.
And the United Kingdom's Carer's Allowance?
The United Kingdom's Carer's Allowance (with an apostrophe) is an entirely separate benefit paid in pounds sterling, with its own weekly rate, its own earnings limit, and its own 35-hour care rule. It is covered on our sister site for the United Kingdom. Australian carers should ignore UK figures, and UK carers should ignore Australian figures, even though the names sound almost identical. The only safe question to ask of any carer payment page is: which country is this for?
Sources: Services Australia, Carer Payment pages (including “How much Carer Payment you can get”, last updated 20 September 2026; “Income and assets test for Carer Payment”; “How much Carer Allowance you can get”; “Working while you get Carer Payment”; “Breaks from caring when you get Carer Payment”); Services Australia pension income and assets test pages. Photo credits: see IMAGE_MANIFEST.md in the site build notes; every photograph is a freely licensed Wikimedia Commons image.