Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions carers ask most — with the dates and the cautions attached.
How much is Carer Payment?
The maximum total from 20 September 2026 is $1,237.70 per fortnight for a single carer and $933.00 per fortnight for each partnered carer ($1,866.00 combined). Your actual payment depends on the income test, the assets test, and the care receiver test. Anyone quoting $1,200.90 single is quoting the previous rate, in force from 20 March to 19 September 2026.
Can I get Carer Payment and Carer Allowance together?
Yes, if you separately qualify for each. Carer Allowance is $162.60 per fortnight, has no assets test, and is capped by combined family adjusted taxable income under $250,000 a year. Together with the single maximum Carer Payment, the combined maximum is $1,400.30 per fortnight, plus up to $1,200 a year in Carer Supplements if you hold both over 1 July.
Do I have to live with the person I care for?
No. You must provide the care in the care receiver's private home, but you are not required to live there. Carers who live nearby and attend daily can qualify, provided the care is constant and the other rules are met.
Can I work while receiving Carer Payment?
Yes, up to 100 hours of paid or self-employed work in a four-week period. Study, training, volunteering, and travel time do not count towards that limit since 20 March 2025. Your earnings still count in the income test, and you must tell Services Australia within 14 days of starting work or changing hours.
What is the ADAT score I need?
For an adult care receiver, a total ADAT score of at least 25, including at least 10 from the treating health professional's part. The lower pathway is 20 in total including 8 from the health professional, where the care receiver also cares for a dependent child (under 6, or 6 to under 16 and attracting Carer Allowance). For a child, the DCLAD rating must be “intense”.
How many respite days do I get?
Up to 63 days per calendar year without your payment stopping. Hospitalisation days for a care receiver aged 16 or over are counted separately from respite days. Tell Services Australia within 14 days of any break or hospital admission.
Is Carer Payment taxable?
If you or the person you care for are Age Pension age or above, Services Australia states that Carer Payment is a taxable Centrelink payment, and you can ask for tax to be withheld. Carer Allowance is not taxable income. Check your own tax position with Services Australia or the Australian Taxation Office.
Is this the same as the UK Carer's Allowance?
No. The UK benefit is a different country's payment in pounds sterling, with its own rules. This site covers Australia only. The UK benefit is covered on our sister site for the United Kingdom.
What if my claim is refused?
Ask Services Australia to review the decision, provide any extra evidence, and watch the time limit in the refusal letter. If the review does not change the outcome, you may appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal. A change in circumstances can also support a new claim. Lodge the review first and add evidence as it arrives.
How do I avoid scams?
Services Australia and Centrelink will never ask you for your myGov password, and will never ask you to pay a fee to release a payment. Only use myGov and the Services Australia website for claims and updates, never a link in an unexpected message. If a message claims your Carer Payment is suspended and asks you to log in through the message, treat it as a scam, do not click, and report it through the official scam reporting channels.
Where can I get support that is not money?
The Carer Gateway (1800 422 737) offers counselling, coaching, peer support, emergency respite, skills courses, and practical help for unpaid carers across Australia, free of charge. State and territory carer organisations also run local support groups and respite programs. None of these affect your Carer Payment.
How often should I re-check the figures on this site?
After every indexation date: 20 March and 20 September for pension rates and part-pension cut-offs, 1 July for full-rate assets thresholds, and 1 January for Carer Allowance and the care receiver limits. If any figure on this site is older than the most recent indexation date, check it with Services Australia before relying on it.
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.