Why does my Centrelink payment keep changing?

Ever wondered why your Centrelink payment keeps changing. Perhaps you are still unsure where your responsibility lies with regards to updating Centrelink and what information Centrelink already have access to.

There are several reasons why your Centrelink payment might keep changing:

1. Income and Assets: If your income or asset values change, it can affect your payment rate. It is a common misconception that Centrelink have access to your financial information. Generally speaking they do not. If you have a Superannuation income stream (pension), the fund generally update Centrelink twice a year.  Centrelink will also update the share price of your personal holdings based on publicly available price information. Outside of this, it is upon you to keep Centrelink up to date with your bank balances, change of cars and well, everything else.
2. Indexation: Centrelink payments are indexed to keep up with inflation. This means your payment amount can change after March 20th and September 20th each year.
3. Policy Changes: Government policy changes can also impact your payment. These changes might include adjustments to eligibility criteria or payment rates. Most policy changes are announced in the annual budget in May and implemented the proceeding July or January.   
4. Administrative Adjustments: Sometimes, Centrelink may make administrative adjustments to correct errors or update your payment details. For example, if you were overpaid for a period of time, Centrelink have the scope to recoup the overpaid amount by deducting a regular amount from your benefit payment.

If you’re unsure why your payment has changed, it will generally be one of the above reasons. 

Still confused? Call our office on 03 5224 2700 and we can unpack the mystery that is Centrelink.