How the tests work · guide
Centrelink payment rates, all in one place
The maximum fortnightly rate of each main payment, with the date it took effect and the guide section it comes from.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
From 20 September 2026, the full Age Pension and Carer Payment are $1,237.70 a fortnight for a single person and $933 each for a couple; Parenting Payment single is $1,080.20; JobSeeker is $824.90 for a single adult without children, $883.30 with a dependent child and $755.10 each for a couple, before the Energy Supplement; Youth Allowance for a student living away from home is $677.20 and Carer Allowance $162.60. Family Tax Benefit for the 2026-27 income year pays up to $235.48 a fortnight per child under 13 in Part A and up to $200.34 in Part B. Rent Assistance reaches $223.80 for a single person without children. These are maximum rates: income and assets tests reduce most of them, and Family Tax Benefit is also reduced by family income unless a parent receives income support. Pensions and allowances move again on 20 March 2027.
Maximum fortnightly rate of a payment
Maximum per fortnight
$1,237.70
| What it includes | Supplements included |
| Per year | $32,180.20 |
Pensions and allowances, per fortnight
| Payment | Maximum per fortnight | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Age Pension, single | $1,237.70 | supplements included |
| Age Pension, couple (each) | $933 | supplements included |
| Carer Payment, single | $1,237.70 | as Age Pension |
| Parenting Payment single | $1,080.20 | pension supplement basic amount and Energy Supplement included |
| JobSeeker, single, no children | $824.90 | plus $8.80 Energy Supplement |
| JobSeeker, single with a child, or 55+ after 9 months | $883.30 | plus $9.50 Energy Supplement |
| JobSeeker or Parenting Payment, partnered (each) | $755.10 | plus $7.90 Energy Supplement |
| Youth Allowance, under 18 at home | $418.90 | plus $3.90 Energy Supplement |
| Youth Allowance, 18+ at home | $482.40 | plus $4.60 Energy Supplement |
| Youth Allowance, away from home | $677.20 | plus $7 Energy Supplement |
| Austudy, single | $677.20 | plus $7 Energy Supplement |
| Carer Allowance | $162.60 | flat rate |
| Rent Assistance, single maximum | $223.80 | rent above $157.80 |
| Rent Assistance, couple maximum | $211 | rent above $255.80 |
Family payments
| Payment | Per fortnight | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| FTB Part A, child under 13 (maximum) | $235.48 | $6,139.30 |
| FTB Part A, child 13 to 19 at school (maximum) | $306.46 | $7,989.85 |
| FTB Part A, base rate per child | $75.60 | $1,971 |
| FTB Part B, youngest under 5 | $200.34 | $5,223.15 |
| FTB Part B, youngest 5 or over | $139.86 | $3,646.35 |
| Rent Assistance with FTB, 1 or 2 children (maximum) | $263.06 | $6,858.35 |
| Parental Leave Pay (per day) | $200.94 | 130 days at most |
Child Care Subsidy is not a fortnightly amount but a percentage of fees: 90% up to $88,520 of family income, up to the hourly cap of $15.19 for day care before school, for at least 72 hours a fortnight.
Reading the tables
Each figure is a maximum: what a person receives with no other income and assets under the free areas. Most recipients receive less, because the income test reduces pensions by 50 cents per dollar above the free area (25 cents each for a couple), Parenting Payment single by 40 cents, and allowances by 50 then 60 cents. Family Tax Benefit is reduced by family income unless a parent receives income support, in which case the maximum is paid. A few figures are paid in addition to others: Rent Assistance with a pension or allowance, Carer Allowance alongside almost anything, Family Tax Benefit with every payment.
The amounts include what Centrelink calls supplements where the guide includes them in the maximum rate. For pensions, that is the Pension Supplement and the Energy Supplement; for Parenting Payment single, the pension supplement basic amount and the Energy Supplement. For allowances, the Energy Supplement is shown separately in the note column, because the guide lists the basic rate on its own.
From rates to your amount
The rate table answers "how much at most?". The question most households need answered is "how much for us, all together?", which depends on how the payments interact: an income support payment lifts Family Tax Benefit to the maximum, Rent Assistance is paid once, a partner's income counts differently for each payment. The household calculator applies those rules to your figures, and each payment has its own calculator and guide in the menus.
Three households, three totals
Rates on their own say little about what a household receives. A single pensioner who owns her home and has modest savings receives the single rate above and nothing else. A single parent on Parenting Payment with two children under 13 who rents receives Parenting Payment, the maximum of both parts of Family Tax Benefit and Rent Assistance through Part A, which together come to roughly double the Parenting Payment rate alone. A couple where one partner works full time and the other is at home with a toddler may receive no main payment at all but still some Family Tax Benefit and, if the toddler goes to day care, Child Care Subsidy. Each of these is worked through on its own page in the household examples.
The rates also change at different moments. A household combining a pension, Family Tax Benefit and Youth Allowance for an older child sees three separate changes over the year: in January for the student payment, in July for the family payment, and in March and September for the pension. Keeping the rate table and the dates side by side avoids surprises when one payment moves and the others do not.
When these rates change
Pensions, JobSeeker, Parenting Payment and Rent Assistance are indexed on 20 March and 20 September; Youth Allowance, Austudy and Carer Allowance on 1 January; Family Tax Benefit, Child Care Subsidy thresholds and caps, Paid Parental Leave and the pension free areas on 1 July. See indexation dates for what moves when.