Working age, students and new parents · guide
The JobSeeker income test: how much you can earn
Every fortnight, your reported earnings decide your JobSeeker. The free area, the two tapers and the single parent exception.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
JobSeeker Payment is reduced by your income each fortnight. The first $150 a fortnight of income does not affect it. Income between $150 and $256 reduces the payment by 50 cents per dollar, and income above $256 by 60 cents per dollar, which is why a single person without children receiving $833.70 at the maximum rate keeps some JobSeeker until earnings reach about $1,557 a fortnight, or higher with Rent Assistance. A single principal carer of a dependent child is treated more gently: only 40 cents per dollar above $150. The test uses gross income before tax, counted in the fortnight it is earned for employment income, and includes deemed income from savings. For a couple, a separate partner income test also applies. Work always increases the household's total income, because no taper takes a full dollar.
Earn while on JobSeeker: what you keep
JobSeeker this fortnight
$634.30
| Reduction | $199.40 |
| Earnings plus payment | $1,134 |
| Payment stops at | $1,557 |
The four steps
The Social Security Guide 4.2.2 sets the test out in steps. Work out your ordinary income for the fortnight. Take away the free area of $150. Multiply income between $150 and $256 by 0.5 and income above $256 by 0.6, or, for a single principal carer, everything above $150 by 0.4. Add any partner income reduction. Subtract the result from your maximum rate, which includes the Energy Supplement and any Rent Assistance.
| Earnings per fortnight | JobSeeker, single | Earnings plus JobSeeker | JobSeeker, single parent |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | $833.70 | $834 | $892.80 |
| $150 | $833.70 | $984 | $892.80 |
| $256 | $780.70 | $1,037 | $850.40 |
| $400 | $694.30 | $1,094 | $792.80 |
| $600 | $574.30 | $1,174 | $712.80 |
| $800 | $454.30 | $1,254 | $632.80 |
| $1,000 | $334.30 | $1,334 | $552.80 |
| $1,200 | $214.30 | $1,414 | $472.80 |
| $1,400 | $94.30 | $1,494 | $392.80 |
What the table tells you
Read the third column. Earnings plus JobSeeker rise all the way down the table: each extra dollar earned adds at least 40 cents to the household's total, and up to a dollar while earnings stay under $150. The first $106 above the free area cost $53 in total; after that, each $100 costs $60. Tax on the earnings comes on top, but many JobSeeker recipients earning part-time wages pay little or none.
The single parent column shows a different shape. The 40 cent taper is gentler than the 60 cent one, and the payment starts higher, so a single parent on JobSeeker keeps some payment to a much higher income: about $2,382 a fortnight before Rent Assistance.
What counts as income
Gross wages before tax, income from self-employment after business expenses, rent received, and deemed income from financial assets all count. Deemed income replaces actual interest and dividends: from 20 September 2026, a single person's financial assets earn a notional 1.75% up to $66,800 and 3.75% above (Social Security Guide 4.4.1.10). Employment income counts in the fortnight it is earned, not when it is paid. Lump-sum leave or redundancy payments can delay JobSeeker through an income maintenance period covering the time they represent.
Three fortnights of casual work
Casual work rarely brings the same income every fortnight, and JobSeeker follows it. Imagine Sam, single, on the full rate of $833.70. In the first fortnight he works one shift and earns $140: under the free area, he keeps the whole payment. In the second he earns $520, and his JobSeeker drops to $622.30. In the third, a busy fortnight, he earns $1,600, above the cut-out, so no JobSeeker is paid for that fortnight. Over the six weeks he received $3,716 in wages and payments together, against $2,501 from JobSeeker alone had he not worked.
The same arithmetic explains why reporting matters. If Sam reports the busy fortnight's wages in the following fortnight by mistake, both fortnights are assessed wrongly, and the difference shows up later as a debt, sometimes months after the work was done, when Services Australia matches the wages with the employer's records through the tax system.
Reporting and the cut-out
Earnings must be reported each fortnight, even when they are below the free area. If your income in a fortnight is above the cut-out, no JobSeeker is paid for it, but you may stay on the system for a period and return to payment without a new claim if your hours drop again. A mistake in reporting is the most common reason for a JobSeeker debt; the payment summary in your Centrelink online account shows the income used for each fortnight.