Payment rates
The maximum rates from 20 September 2026, broken down so you can see what each part is.
Carer Payment is paid fortnightly at the pension rate. The Department of Social Services adjusts the rates every 20 March and 20 September. The figures below are the maximum rates published by Services Australia, with the page last updated on 20 September 2026. They are the starting point for every calculation: your actual payment is the maximum minus any reduction under the income test or the assets test, whichever gives the lower figure.
| Rate per fortnight | Single | Couple, each | Couple, combined | Couple, each, separated due to ill health |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum basic rate | $1,135.40 | $855.90 | $1,711.80 | $1,135.40 |
| Maximum Pension Supplement | $88.20 | $66.50 | $133.00 | $88.20 |
| Energy Supplement | $14.10 | $10.60 | $21.20 | $14.10 |
| Total maximum | $1,237.70 | $933.00 | $1,866.00 | $1,237.70 |
The Pension Supplement helps with the cost of utilities, phone, internet, and medicines, and the Energy Supplement is a fixed amount towards energy costs. A minimum Pension Supplement applies even when the basic rate is reduced, which is why a part-rate payment is not always a simple proportion of the maximum. If your relationship status changes — you become partnered, separate, or your partner's circumstances change — tell Services Australia promptly, because the rate that applies to you changes with it.
When rates change
Pension rates are indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year, following movements in prices and, for pensions, a benchmark against average earnings. The September 2026 increase lifted the single maximum from $1,200.90 to $1,237.70 per fortnight, a rise of $36.80, and the partnered rate from $905.20 to $933.00 each, a rise of $27.80. Carer Allowance, by contrast, is adjusted only on 1 January each year, and the care receiver income and assets limits are also indexed each 1 January, so the three sets of figures do not all move on the same date. Always check which date a figure you are quoting comes from.
Tax
Services Australia states that if you or the person you care for are Age Pension age or above, your Carer Payment is a taxable Centrelink payment. Tax is not automatically deducted, but you can ask Services Australia to deduct it for you, which can help avoid a debt at tax time. Carer Allowance is not part of your taxable income. The annual Carer Supplement is also paid separately and is not a fortnightly rate — do not add it into a fortnightly budget as if it were.
Carer Payment plus Carer Allowance
If you qualify for both payments, the combined maximum for a single carer from 20 September 2026 is $1,237.70 + $162.60 = $1,400.30 per fortnight, plus the annual Carer Supplement of $600 for each payment held over a period including 1 July, which is up to $1,200 a year in supplements for someone holding both. That combined figure is arithmetic from the two published maximums, not a separate published rate, and both payments are still subject to their own tests: Carer Payment is income and asset tested, while Carer Allowance is capped by family adjusted taxable income (see the next page).
A note on older figures you may find online
Many guides still quote $1,200.90 single and $905.20 partnered. Those were the correct maximums from 20 March 2026 until 19 September 2026, and they are now out of date. Others quote $1,178.70 single or $153.50 for Carer Allowance, which are older still. If a page gives no date for its figures, or quotes a single figure without saying whether it is the basic rate or the total including supplements, do not rely on it. The total including supplements is the figure that reaches your bank account.
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.