Working age, students and new parents · calculator
Parenting Payment calculator
For the main carer of a young child: single or partnered rate, after your earnings, your partner’s income and your assets.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Parenting Payment is the income support payment for the principal carer of a young child. A single parent whose youngest child is under 14 can receive Parenting Payment single, $1,080.20 a fortnight since 20 September 2026 including the pension supplement basic amount and the Energy Supplement; a partnered parent whose youngest child is under 6 can receive Parenting Payment partnered, $763 a fortnight including the Energy Supplement. The single rate has a generous income test: a free area of $257 a fortnight with two children, then 40 cents per dollar, so a single parent of two earning $600 still receives about $943.08. The partnered rate uses the allowance income test and the partner income test. Both stop if assets exceed the free area. While Parenting Payment is paid, Family Tax Benefit is worked out without the family income test.
Parenting Payment (single) per fortnight
$1,023.08
Stops at about $2,958 of income a fortnight
| Maximum rate (Energy Supplement included) | $1,080.20 |
| Reduction for your income | − $57.12 |
Single rate: 40 cents less for each dollar above the free area, which rises with each child. How this is worked out.
Single or partnered: two different payments
Parenting Payment comes in two categories with different rules (Social Security Guide 1.2.4.10). Parenting Payment single is paid at a pension-like rate, is reduced by 40 cents per dollar above a free area that grows with each child, and includes the pension supplement basic amount. Parenting Payment partnered is paid at the partnered JobSeeker rate and uses the allowance income test, with the partner income test on top. Only one person in a couple can receive it, the principal carer; the other parent may be able to claim JobSeeker.
| Single | Partnered | |
|---|---|---|
| Youngest child | under 14 | under 6 |
| Maximum per fortnight | $1,080.20 | $763 |
| Income free area | $208 plus $24.60 a child | $150 |
| Taper | 40 cents | 50 cents, then 60 cents above $256 |
| Partner income | not applicable | 60 cents above about $1,440 |
The youngest child rule
Eligibility depends on the age of the youngest child in your care. Parenting Payment single ends on the youngest child's 14th birthday and Parenting Payment partnered on the 6th. A parent who still needs income support afterwards usually moves to JobSeeker, which pays less to a single parent, $883.30 a fortnight before supplements, and has different income rules. Planning for that birthday is one of the most useful things a single parent can do.
An example for each category
A single mother of two, youngest aged 4, earning $600 a fortnight: her free area is $257, she loses 40 cents on each of the $343 above it, and receives about $943.08. A partnered father caring for a 3-year-old while his partner earns $1,500 a fortnight: his own income is nil, his partner's is below the partner free area of about $1,440, so he receives the full partnered rate of $763. If his partner's pay rose to $2,200, the partner test would take about $456 off.
Earnings, assets and child support
Gross earnings, business income and deemed income on savings count in the income test; child support received does not count for Parenting Payment, although it can reduce Family Tax Benefit Part A through the maintenance income test. Assets above the free area, $333,000 for a single homeowner or $600,000 for a single renter, stop the payment altogether, because Parenting Payment uses the allowance assets test (Social Security Guide 4.2.4.10).