Indexed 20 March & 20 September Sourced from the Social Security Guide
Centrelink Payment Rates
What each payment actually pays, from the government’s own administration guide — with the date each rate took effect. No estimates, no "about" figures, and we say plainly which numbers we could not verify.
The headline rates right now
| Payment | Rate |
|---|---|
| Age Pension — single | $1,237.70 a fortnight |
| Age Pension — partnered (each) | $933.00 a fortnight |
| JobSeeker — single, no children, 22+ | $824.90 a fortnight |
| JobSeeker — single, with children | $883.30 a fortnight |
| JobSeeker — partnered (each) | $755.10 a fortnight |
| Rent Assistance — single, maximum | $223.80 a fortnight |
| Rent Assistance — partnered, maximum | $211.00 a fortnight |
These are maximum basic rates, before the income and assets tests. Pension rates took effect 20 September 2026; benefit rates and Rent Assistance rates took effect 20 September 2026.
Age Pension rates
The maximum for a single person and a couple, and how the income and assets tests reduce it.
JobSeeker payment rates
Every basic rate — single, partnered, with children, 55 or over, and the large family rate.
Rent Assistance calculator
Work out your RA from your rent, using the current thresholds, maximums and the 75 cent taper.
How these rates are built
- Maximum basic rate — the legislated rate for your situation.
- Pension supplement — added to pensions. People below Age Pension age on a working-age payment get the basic amount instead, which is why two payments can look similar on paper but pay differently.
- Energy supplement — included in the maximum payment rate, and paid for up to six weeks of temporary absence from Australia.
- Supplementary payments — Rent Assistance, Pharmaceutical Allowance and others, added on top where you qualify.
There are three indexation dates a year, not one. Pension and benefit rates move on 20 March and 20 September. Income and assets free areas move on 1 July. If a calculator gives you a precise-looking figure without telling you which date it used, treat it with suspicion.
Frequently asked questions
Where do these rates come from?
The Department of Social Services Social Security Guide — the publication used to administer the law. It is updated as rates change, and each rate page on this site shows the date it took effect and the date we checked it.
Why do you not show the income free areas?
Because we could not verify them. The free areas for pensions and allowances are indexed each 1 July and are published by Services Australia, which does not allow automated access. Rather than copy a number we cannot check, we quote only what the Guide itself publishes — which includes the tapers, and those are the part most people get wrong.
How often do these rates change?
Pension and allowance rates are indexed on 20 March and 20 September each year. Rent Assistance thresholds and maximums move on the same dates. Income and assets free areas move on 1 July. So there are three dates a year when something here can go stale.
Is Rent Assistance paid separately?
No. It is paid on top of another payment — JobSeeker, Age Pension, Parenting Payment, or Family Tax Benefit if you have children. You cannot receive it on its own.
Are these the amounts I will actually be paid?
No — they are the maximum rates before any means testing. Your actual payment depends on your income, your assets, and whether you are single, partnered or a member of a couple who is ill, in respite care or separated by circumstances. Use Services Australia’s own estimator for a personalised figure.
What about other payments — Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment, Parenting Payment?
We are working through them. Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment share the same common pension rates as the Age Pension, so the figures on the Age Pension page apply to those too — the tests differ, not the maximum rate.
Related calculators
- Family Tax Benefit calculator — Part A and Part B together
- Child Care Subsidy calculator
- Rental bond calculator — all 8 states and territories
Rates from the Department of Social Services — Social Security Guide (1.342 (21 September 2026)), checked 12 October 2026. General information only — not financial advice. Your actual entitlement is assessed by Services Australia.