As the cost of living continues to soar, millions of Australians who rely on Centrelink payments are facing an uphill battle to make ends meet.

A recent announcement may see a boost in payments, yet many recipients think that this is not enough to get by.

Starting Friday, 20 September, regular indexation will see a payment increase for over five million Aussies, including those receiving JobSeeker and the Age Pension payouts.

Single Age Pension recipients should receive an additional $28.10 for single recipients or $42.40 for couples per fortnight.

This increase could bring total payments up to $1,047.10 for singles and $1,725.20 in total for couples.

Parenting Payment Single base will go up by $19.80 per fortnight, while the Parenting Payment Couple will increase by $14.

According to the government, this increase could provide 'timely cost-of-living relief'.

The increase in payments aimed to alleviate cost-of-living concerns among Australians. Image Credit: Shutterstock/Nils Versemann

However, the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and numerous recipients say otherwise.

'Although the increase per fortnight is certainly appreciated, it is still nowhere near enough to live off in these tough times,' one JobSeeker recipient said.

With rental prices skyrocketing and the general cost of living on the rise, the extra money is seen as a drop in the ocean.

'The Government still doesn't realise how far this money goes when you have rent to pay,' they added.

Another JobSeeker recipient shared her struggle to cover rent, utility bills, and the rising cost of groceries and fuel.

She stated that she could go 'broke' on the same day she received her payment.

According to PropTrack data, the nationwide rent average stayed steady at $600 per week, marking a 9.1 per cent annual increase.

'ACOSS welcomes investment in social security, but the core issue remains: JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, and related payments remain below all measures of adequacy,' ACOSS stated.

The welfare body also called for a raise in pension payments to at least $80 a day to effectively 'cover the basics'.

The organisation also pointed out that less than half of JobSeeker recipients get Rent Assistance.

Despite the upcoming ten per cent increase in Commonwealth Rental Assistance, most will still be in housing stress due to low JobSeeker and Youth Allowance payments.

Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth stated that the government has been 'firmly committed' to assisting Australians facing cost-of-living challenges.

'Indexation, together with our Budget measures, means maximum rates of Commonwealth Rent Assistance will have increased by around 45 per cent since the Albanese Government was elected,' Minister Rishworth said.

'This indexation will deliver timely boosts to people receiving allowance payments and pensions, ensuring that these vulnerable cohorts have more money in their pockets for everyday expenses.'

Yet, the question remains whether these measures are sufficient to support the vulnerable populations who are struggling to afford necessities.

The increases may be a step in the right direction, but the conversation around social security and the cost of living needs to continue.

Key Takeaways

• Over five million Australians should see an increase in their Centrelink payments from starting 20 September, despite being criticised as insufficient.
• JobSeeker and the Age Pension recipients could receive modest increases for their payments, which do not cover necessities.
• ACOSS declared that the social support payment rates are not enough and called to raise them to at least $80 per day.
• Alongside the payment increases, the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rental Assistance will rise by ten per cent, albeit fewer people only get Rent Assistance.

What do you think of the upcoming payment increase? Are they enough to help you manage your expenses? Share your opinions with us in the comments section below.

 

[Bill Schulz]

disability and carers and the age pension and the DOLE all go up twice a year MARCH THE 20TH AND SEPTEMBER THE 20TH
USUALLY AT LEAST LESS THAN HALF IT SHOULD GO UP
THATS AMANDA RISHTONS FAULT AS ITS DONE THAT WAY ON PURPOSE TO PUSH ALL CENTRELINK PATRONS FURTHER AND FURTHER DOWN THE TRAIL OF TEARS

The Carer Allowance only goes up once a year, normally around Feb. Their are 2 types, a Carer's pension. This is almost the same as a normal pension. But you get an extra $600 a year in July each year. The second type is called a Carer Allowance. They too get a $600 a year bonas. This is for someone who is looking after a person that has to rely on someone else for their daily care. This allowance is only $153.50 per fortnight. Nowhere near the real cost of looking after someone else. The Carer Allowance is currently $153.50 a fortnight. This amount changes on 1 January each year to keep up with the cost of living.

 

[lildav1]

We are 67 and retired and rent. The cost of food for us is now a staggering $275 per week. We can't afford to go out for meals and we are reaching the bottom of our savings very quickly Adding petrol, utilities, contents and medical insurance leaves us in debit each fortnight when the pension comes m.

 

[Monks]

The pension will always be available for those that need it. There will be less people on it due to employer superannuation contributions being increased. The government have said the aged pension is sustainable.

Sustainable for who I would like to see them try to live on it, bet they cannot just get them selfs in more det like the rest of us eat when we can and try to stay warm as best we can, IF you think ELBO give a rats ass no he dose not he is in it now for the ride he has past the mark where he will get his BIG FAT PENSION WHEN HE IS VOTED OUT PLUS ALL THE FRINGE BENEFITS THAT GO WITH IT AT OUR EXPENSE and he wont give a shit about us a pension that will let him live like a king compared to us

 

[Suzanne rose]

$28.10 a fortnight equals $730.60 for singles
where do you get$1047 for singles
low income earners just received $74/40 a week payrise due to inflation
THATS$148.80 A FORTNIGHT INCREASE
THATSA BIG DIFFERENCE THAN $28.10
also if it is a working couple thats $289.60 compared to a married couple on a pensionof $42.40
HOW THE HELL IS THAT FAIR

Where did you get $730 from unless you are not getting a full pension due to assets eg money in the bank.

See below for what the pension totals to. It's more again if you fet rent assistance.

 

[Suzanne rose]

Yes, it's not enough and does anyone really believe that any opposition parties, give you anymore?
In the old days every home had a good veggie patch and 1 or 2 hens and you would go to the markets for your .
I know of several families who do and some even use either cordial and milk bottles hanging upside down. Beans and Peas do wonders. PVC pipe for Strawberries. Don't forget the spuds and check uTube
The ideas are endless.

We have an amazing garden, and we are lucky that two sons are addicticted to fishing and every week bring us a huge catch of large fish which we also give to family and friends.

 

[Jan Purcell]

Age pensioners are better of in the UK and New Zealand when you reach retiement age you can still keep on working and get all the age pension, and you don't have to let social security every fortnight of how much you earn. I would love to see our politicians in Australia try living on our age pension, if I remember right a few years ago a lady politician said she could live of our age pension, she only lasted a couple of weeks and found out she couldn't.

 

[BeautifulMousey]

In this wonderful country we should be very thankful for what we receive as well as so many other benefits like PBS and some Dental Care. Remember we are adults and as adults we should have looked to the future to ensure that we could survive older age

In this wonderful country we should be very thankful for what we receive as well as so many other benefits like PBS and some Dental Care. Remember we are adults and as adults we should have looked to the future to ensure that we could survive older age

Adults not, I lost 4 children to state wards as back then we got nothing except child endowment @$2 per child per month. I had 2 boys with Cystic Fibrosis and was not able to keep them and pay for medication on $8 a month. How am I expected to be grateful for what they give us now. Had they paid money to single parents back then I might not have lost my children to the government. My boys only had a short life span. I missed that. I was only single cause my husband and I split up after my second son born and diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.

I do apologise, I have taken you the wrong way obviously. I'm sorry and hope you will forgive me. All the best

 

[Bill Schulz]

I don't quite understand that If I cook, heat my home, pay rent, and use the electric, I am almost $700 worse off a fortnight, than being a couple. Can anyone explain the huge gap .I am certainly not complaining but there is a huge difference between Single and Couple Aged Pensions.

The Government forgets it cost the same to turn on the lights for one person as it does for a 100+ people in the same room. It's the same cost for heating a house, one person or 100 people, make no difference. The same for house and contents insurance, one person or 100 people. For 1 or 2 people that same cost is huge. But shared by a greater number of people that same cost is shared by all. Anyone on a pension has to either limit their heating and light needs to make ends meet. Don't get me started about food or clothing costs. Most pensioners helped build this country, but what thanks to we get, "Sweet Bugger All"

 

[Sabie535]

not enough to offset rent and other cost of living expenses. dON'T THINK GOVERNMENTS CARE ABOUT PEOPLE . WOULD BE NICE TO PUT THOSE IN POWER IN ORDNIARY PEOPLES SHOES OR PENSIONER,

 

[BeautifulMousey]

not enough to offset rent and other cost of living expenses. dON'T THINK GOVERNMENTS CARE ABOUT PEOPLE . WOULD BE NICE TO PUT THOSE IN POWER IN ORDNIARY PEOPLES SHOES OR PENSIONER,

Let them try and live on our pension, not theirs, they would not survive the first day. Talk about greedy.

 

[UNIT1000]

The increase in the pension for either a single pensioner or a couple is only a catch up rate and not an increase to get you over the next 6 months. By the time the next increase is due in March 2025 the pension will be well down below the cost of living again. It is just like a dog chasing its tail. We need an increase of at least $80 for singles and $110 for couples per fortnight to do any good.

insted of spending million on over seas trips what IWANT TO NO WHEN IS OUR DOM GOVERMENT GOING TO SPEN TAX MONEY ON HOUSES DUM PRIME MINESTER GOES CRAPING ALL OVER THE WORLD IS HE POSTPONED HIS WEDING I WOUNDER IF HE WILL WANT THE TAX PAYERS TO PAY FOR IT WOULD NOT ME SUPRISE

 

[Aussie all the Way]

For the Unemployed to receive almost the same as an Age Pension person is an absolute disgrace, to solve your woes of not having enough on Unemployment one sure fix is get a Job, it works wonders for moral and self-respect. I have always said the Age Pension should be the minimum wage, the Government really don't care about you but one thing they should understand is the Age Pensioners when they have disposable money they spend and in lots of cases keep the Economy ticking over. Hopefully when the Liberals get back in they will try and take away the irresponsible rises some recipients have received so they are more likely to look for a job instead doing nothing. MY OPINION

 

[Mickie Stoner]

What about the Disability Support Pension?

 

[mylittletibbies]

You people never disappoint. As soon as I saw it was pension adjustment time I didn’t need to wait long for the whining to start. It doesn’t matter what the Government does it is never enough. Be happy you actually got an increase. From some of the comments it’s no wonder you can’t manage on the amount of money you receive as you are obviously financial illiterate and can’t even work out why you are getting less than the standard pension

You are absolutely right about one thing and that is that "the pension rise is never enough".

Maybe you are lucky, like me, and don't have to rely on the pension alone.
It is a well known fact the pension is below the poverty line and the weekly rent assistance is less than 10% of the average weekly rent here in WA.
Perhaps, as apparently you are so smart and "financial" literate,
as you say, you can post a fortnightly budget on this site showing pensioners just how they can pay rent, utilities, medical expenses and medications, petrol(perhaps you think all pensioners should walk, or take public transport none of which exists where I live) etc, etc and still have enough left over to be able to eat three round meals a day and be able to have an occasional pleasure like a coffee out with a friend or a movie .
You really are a twerp, and that's being polite.
I'm sure many of our members are looking forward to receiving your financial savvy budget.

 

[June E]

Yes, it's not enough and does anyone really believe that any opposition parties, give you anymore?
In the old days every home had a good veggie patch and 1 or 2 hens and you would go to the markets for your .
I know of several families who do and some even use either cordial and milk bottles hanging upside down. Beans and Peas do wonders. PVC pipe for Strawberries. Don't forget the spuds and check uTube
The ideas are endless.

All very well if you can do that. But if you are stuck in private rentals with rent at $500 plus a week and a postage size yard that’s that you are not allowed to plant anything then you are completely stuffed !

 

[Aussie all the Way]

I don't know how many of you realise with all of these fringe Parties we now have in Parliament it is an absolute drain on the coffers, I think we now have about 50+ Parties to choose, but none of them can do anything and most of them just get into Politics because it is an easy ride to a nice fat Superannuation to retire on. We have to stop voting for these minor Parties and get rid of them. I personally have never voted for any of these it just encourages more.

 

[nanajaqui]

Well I for one am thankful what I do get but thank god for Afterpay, yes you heard it right I get my disability pension and by the time I pay for mortgage car insurance car rego fuel ( and I don't go out rarely) can't afford to then gas electricity and yea it's all broken down to $50 here $50 there if I have enough I'll do SOME shopping but usually I use my Afterpay to buy food or another bill that might come up, a trip to the dentist ATM for me trying to fix teeth after domestic violence years ago now going to cost me around $3000 so another $50 to find , or the car needs a service not that I really drive it much, or the cat who had something happen to her other day came home battered and bruises vet bills through the roof, and before anyone says cant afford it , this one along with 4 other kittens was born behind my shed and abandoned by its mother so I hand raised it that's why I have a cat. Otherwise I wouldn't have a pet too expensive to keep more bills .I would love to study and maybe get a part time job but only allowed to earn $300 a fortnight that would probably only just pay for fuel , public transport nope the busses don't go to where the training is to study, already looked into that and due to injuries from domestic violence years ago walking long distances isn't an option especially with vertigo. And a hip problem, it just seems like when you want to get ahead there's always something that pops up and stops you, don't worry I'm still looking into what I can do to make some extra money, selling the house was an option but I only pay 500 a fortnight so if I did I'd still have to buy somewhere else could never afford to rent again I don't know how people who pay these $600 + weekly rentals even get ahead and especially when they have families, probably why there so much domestic violence these days families struggling under so much pressure just to provide for there family parents working away to try get the big dollars but the partners home alone to deal with everything and yet these guys are still broke due to high rent, high groceries, high electricity, Politicians have no idea they sit back on these high wages they give themselves these huge increases in pay yet they get all the perks free cars no rego free trips special discounts for everything cause they work for the government, ridiculous maybe they should try come back down to earth sometime and see how others really struggle

 

[Bill Schulz]

Please correct me if I am wrong. Disability Pension goes up twice a year Feb - March and September.

The Carer Allowance is currently $153.50 a fortnight. This amount changes on 1 January each year to keep up with the cost of living.

 

[darylfoxcroft]

It shows how out of touch the politicians on both sides are. They will all say this is a generous increase while ignoring that costs are actually going up much higher than the official inflation rate. Meanwhile politicians retire on pensions far beyond what most working people willever see.

 

[June E]

Cost of living, what a joke, workers have no idea. It is not my fault that I have to rely on the pension I worked nearly 10 years past my retirement age and at 76 no-one wants to employ you and they can't anyway as I did not have a Uni degree, just was accountant/bookkeeper for nearly 50 years experience counts for nothing. But the budget was supposed to help, huh, where does that idea come from? Nothing in the budget helped me, the rego was paid before the 20% discount came in on 5/8, there is no public transport where I live, yes the electricity rebate will help but I do not use a lot. Food prices, insurance, health cover, petrol and rent just keep increasing ..... and the government think $28 a FORTNIGHT will ease this. I do not think that any government member should sleep at night.

They have no idea how hard it is , and they don’t want to know ! When the premier takes a flight from Brisbane to the Gold Coast to deliver a birthday cake to one of his cronies it’s just rubbing people’s noses in the fact that people are struggling ! They don’t care !