Services Australia: Millions of Aussies on social services payments set for cash boost

A small cash boost is coming to 2.4 million Australians receiving social services payments.

Services Australia payments, thresholds and limits will be indexed by 2.4 per cent from July 1.

Families and pensioners will be beneficiaries of the boost to payments for Paid Parental Leave, Family Tax Benefit A and B, the Newborn Supplement, Multiple Birth Allowance, Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment.

“Indexation is a crucial way to help families when cost of living rises,” Minister for Social Services Tanya Plibersek said.

“Millions of recipients of social security recipients will see more money in their bank accounts.”

For a family with a child under the age of 13, receiving Family Tax Benefit A, it will equate to an extra $5 a fortnight.

For families with children aged 13 or over, the rate will increase to $295.82 a fortnight.

First-time parents of a newborn child will pocket an extra $48 over 13 weeks.

Those who pop out triplets will receive an extra $120 in their allowance for the year.

The Paid Parental Leave (PPL) annual income limits will also increase, with the individual limit increasing to $180,007 per year and the family limit increasing to $373,094 per year.

The July indexation will affect neither youth and student payments, which are annually indexed in January, nor other pensions and allowances such as JobSeeker, which are indexed in March and September.

While the payments for those youth and student payments will not go up in the July indexation, some thresholds and asset limits will still increase by 2.4 per cent.

Asset limits for recipients of JobSeeker Payment, Youth Allowance, Austudy, ABSTUDY Living Allowance, Parenting Payment, and Special Benefit, and the income threshold for Parenting Payment Single will all be indexed on July 1.

Full details of the new rates and thresholds can be found on the Department of Social Services website.