Income and assets tests
Three tests decide the money side: yours (income and assets) and the care receiver's.
Carer Payment is means tested three times over. First, your income is tested under the pension income test. Second, your assets are tested under the pension assets test, and you are paid the lower of the two results. Third, the person you care for is tested under a separate care receiver income and assets test. All figures below are in Australian dollars. Pension test figures are the current published settings; check them with Services Australia if you are reading this after an indexation date (pension rates move on 20 March and 20 September; full-rate assets thresholds move each 1 July; part-pension cut-offs move on 20 March and 20 September).
Your income test
Services Australia assesses your income and your partner's income from all sources, including employment, rental income, business income, and deemed income from financial assets. The free areas are $226 per fortnight for a single person and $396 per fortnight combined for a couple. Above the free area, a single person's payment reduces by 50 cents for each dollar of extra income, and each partnered person's payment reduces by 25 cents for each dollar of combined income above $396. Financial assets are deemed to earn income at set rates rather than assessed on their actual return: from 20 September 2026 the deeming rates are 1.75% on the first $66,800 of financial assets for a single person (or $110,600 combined for a couple) and 3.75% above that. Working Credit may also help workforce-age carers keep more of their payment when they work; ask Services Australia whether you hold a Working Credit balance.
Your assets test
Your assets and your partner's assets are added together. The principal home you live in is generally excluded, along with up to two hectares of land on the same title, but savings, investments, superannuation once you reach Age Pension age, investment properties, vehicles, and household contents generally count. The full-rate thresholds from 1 July 2026 are $333,000 for a single homeowner and $600,000 for a single non-homeowner, and $499,000 combined for a couple who own their home and $766,000 combined for a couple who do not. Above the full-rate threshold the payment tapers down by $3 per fortnight for each $1,000 of extra assets. The payment cuts out entirely above the part-pension cut-offs in force from 20 September 2026: $745,750 for a single homeowner and $1,012,750 for a single non-homeowner; $1,121,000 combined for a couple who own their home and $1,388,000 combined for a couple who do not; and $1,324,500 and $1,591,500 respectively for couples separated due to illness. If you also receive Rent Assistance, your cut-off is higher.
The care receiver income and assets test
If the person you care for does not already receive an income support payment from Services Australia or the Department of Veterans' Affairs, their income must be less than $143,752 a year before tax and their assets must be worth less than $886,750. This test includes the income and assets of their partner and dependent children. Their principal home and the first two hectares around it do not count, and Services Australia notes that you may still be able to get Carer Payment in some circumstances even if the care receiver's assets are above $886,750, so an asset figure above the line is a reason to ask, not necessarily a reason to give up. These care receiver limits are indexed each 1 January.
Worked examples (assumptions labelled)
Example 1 — single carer, part-time wages. Assumptions: single, homeowner, no partner, no other income, fortnightly wages of $426, maximum rate $1,237.70 from 20 September 2026. Income above the $226 free area is $200, so the income-test reduction is 50 cents × $200 = $100.00. Payment under the income test: $1,237.70 − $100.00 = $1,137.70 per fortnight, provided the assets test gives a higher figure and the care receiver test is met. The wages also count towards the 100-hour work limit, but hours and dollars are separate tests: passing one does not guarantee passing the other.
Example 2 — single carer, assets above the full-rate threshold. Assumptions: single homeowner with $400,000 in assessable assets (home excluded), no income. Assets above the $333,000 threshold: $67,000, so the assets-test reduction is $3 × 67 = $201.00 per fortnight. Payment under the assets test: $1,237.70 − $201.00 = $1,036.70 per fortnight, provided the income test gives a higher figure. Because $400,000 is below the $745,750 cut-off, a part payment remains payable on the assets test.
Example 3 — partnered carers. Assumptions: a couple living together, combined fortnightly income of $796, maximum rate $933.00 each. Combined income above the $396 free area is $400, so each person's payment reduces by 25 cents × $400 = $100.00. Each receives $833.00 per fortnight under the income test, or $1,666.00 combined, subject to the assets test and the care receiver test. Worked examples are illustrations only: deeming, Working Credit, Rent Assistance, and the care receiver test can all change the real figure.
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.