If care stops
Breaks, hospital stays, and endings each have their own rules — and a 14-day duty to tell Services Australia.
Carer Payment does not stop the moment you take a break, and it does not automatically continue forever when the caring role changes. The rules distinguish between a temporary break, a hospital stay, a temporary excess of work hours, and a permanent end to care. Knowing which category you are in, and telling Services Australia within 14 days, is what protects your payment and prevents a debt.
Respite: 63 days a year
You can have up to 63 days of respite in each calendar year (1 January to 31 December) without your payment stopping. Respite days can be used for anything — a holiday, a rest, or simply a break — and during the break the person you care for may be in formal respite care, at home, or looked after by a friend, neighbour, or family member. Respite days are also the mechanism for handling a temporary excess of work: since 20 March 2025, if you exceed 100 hours of paid or self-employed work in a four-week period, you can use respite days to cover the excess period instead of losing the payment. If you may need a longer break for exceptional reasons, speak to Services Australia about your situation rather than simply taking it.
Hospital stays
Hospitalisation days are different from respite days. If the person you care for is aged 16 or over and goes into hospital, you can use hospitalisation days, which are counted separately from your 63 respite days. If the care receiver is younger than 16, different hospital rules apply. Tell Services Australia within 14 days of a hospital admission as well as of a respite break, and keep the admission and discharge dates: the count of days is what decides whether the payment continues, and a miscounted admission is a common source of overpayment.
If you exceed the work limit on an ongoing basis
A one-off busy period can be covered with respite days. An ongoing excess is different. If you will keep exceeding 100 hours in a four-week period, or your employment income reduces your rate to nil, you may be able to enter an extended suspension period of up to 26 weeks, during which the payment is suspended rather than cancelled, so that it can resume if your hours fall again. If you do not want to use respite days, or you have used them up, ask Services Australia about suspension before the payment is cancelled: a cancellation means a new claim later, while a suspension preserves the claim. Study, training, volunteering, and travel time do not count towards the 100-hour limit, so do not count them against yourself — but do count every hour of paid and self-employed work.
When care ends permanently
Carer Payment ends when the caring role ends: the person you care for no longer needs constant care, moves permanently into residential care, or dies; or you stop providing the care, for example because another carer takes over or your own health prevents you continuing. In each case, tell Services Australia promptly — the 14-day rule applies — and ask what other payment you may be eligible for, such as JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, or the Age Pension, because a gap between payments is avoidable if the next claim is lodged in time. If the care receiver dies, bereavement provisions may apply to the final payment period; ask Services Australia what applies in your case rather than assuming the payment simply stops on the day.
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.