Plain-English help

Centrelink adds up the income you (and your partner) receive each fortnight. Up to a “free area”, nothing is taken off your pension. Above it, your pension goes down by 50 cents for every dollar of extra income (for a couple, 25 cents each).

Centrelink looks at what you own, like savings, investments, a second property, a car and household contents. Your own home isn’t counted. Above a limit, your pension goes down by $3 a fortnight for every $1,000 of assets.

Centrelink works out your pension under both tests and pays whichever gives the smaller amount. That’s why a person with modest income but plenty of savings can still get a reduced pension.

Centrelink assumes your financial assets (like bank accounts, shares and super) earn a set rate of interest, whatever they actually earn. That assumed income is counted in the income test.

If you work, the first $300 of your pay each fortnight isn’t counted in the income test. Unused amounts build up (to a limit) so you can earn more later. Our calculator applies the $300 and doesn’t include the saved-up balance.

If you’re over the full-pension limits but under the cut-off points, you get a reduced payment called a part pension. You may also qualify for concession cards.

Extra amounts paid with the Age Pension. Our “full rate” figures include them.

Your home isn’t counted as an asset. But because renters have higher housing costs, the asset limits are higher for people who don’t own their home.

On each results page you can choose “Add to my summary”. The My summary page then adds up your payments for you and your household, per fortnight and per year. We only count one main payment, because you can generally only get one at a time. You decide whether the summary is kept on your device, and you can delete it at any time.

It’s your taxable income plus a few extra amounts, like reportable fringe benefits, reportable super contributions and net investment losses. Family payments, Child Care Subsidy and Parental Leave Pay all use it.

Extra help with rent that’s paid on top of another payment. It starts once your rent is over a threshold, and pays 75 cents for each dollar above it, up to a maximum.

Since 5 January 2026, every family that gets Child Care Subsidy can have at least 72 subsidised hours of care per child each fortnight (three days a week), whatever their work or study.

If you get JobSeeker or a similar allowance, unused parts of your free area can build up as credits. They can protect your payment in weeks you earn more. Our calculators don’t include them, so your payment could be higher.

Youth Allowance is for people aged 16 to 21 looking for work, and for full-time students and apprentices aged 16 to 24. JobSeeker is for people aged 22 up to Age Pension age who are looking for work.

For most payments, couples are assessed together. Your partner’s income can reduce your payment, even if they don’t get a payment themselves.

We cover Austudy for single students aged 25 and over, but not ABSTUDY or Special Benefit. They have extra tests that we haven’t built yet.