Centrelink has revealed substantial increases to the number of fortnightly payments issued to millions of Australians, coming into effect on the 20th of September 2025, the focus being on easing the burden of cost of living pressures on the beneficiaries of these payments. In the formal release, details of the changes to the payment types provided, along with eligibility. practical aspects of life of the recipients, clarifying the impact these changes have on the daily life of Australians.
New Fortnightly Payments (from 20 Sep 2025)
| Payment Type | Single | Couple (each) |
|---|---|---|
| Age Pension | $1,178.70 | $888.50 |
| JobSeeker | $793.60 | $726.50 |
| Parenting Payment | $1,039.70 | $726.50 |
Summary of the payment increases
The pensioners, job seekers, parents, and indeed any Australian who relies on Centrelink, will notice sizeable increases to standard payment allocations. Age pensioners who are unmarried will automatically receive $1,178.70, an increase of $29.70 every fortnight. Each member of the couple on the Age Pension will now receive $888.50 every fortnight, an increase of $22.40 per fortnight. Aged 22 and above single recipients of the JobSeeker payment will now receive $793.60, an increase of $12.50, whilst partnered recipients will receive $726.50, an increase of $11.40, each. Single parents who receive the Parenting Payment will now receive up to $1,039.70, an increase of $16.20, during the one claiming period.
Explanation for the Update
The changes are caused by the payment increase for inflation, as the cost of living is increasing substantially. The primary goal is to enforce that people on welfare do not get left behind as prices continue to rise on everyday basic needs like food and housing of all kinds. Rising rates of reckoning income investment also are changing the economy and so is at least some of deeming benefits setups.
Impact of the New Rates
All five million Australians are to benefit from the changes directly, and among them are 2.6 million pensioners, as well as JobSeeker recipients, Disability Support Pension claimers, and some family and parenting payment recipients. The changes are fully automated and do not require any actions from recipients, as they primary almost always get paid. Low-income Australians are cared for through the safety net of Indexation, especially those who are the most defenseless to the changes in the cost of living.[2][7][1]
Consequences of Increasing Deeming Rates
To those payments, deeming rates, the first in the pandemic to carrying income attributed from financial assets, are also climbing. For those whose assets are in the boundaries of $56,400 (singles) and $93,600 (couples), the deeming rate increases to 0.75%. Assets which are of greater value, are either unlimited income earning assets so they are also counted at a 2.75% deeming rate. This is to suggest that some recipients may fall under these changes and so they are greatly encouraged to check their Centrelink online accounts.[1]
Tailored Assistance to Households
People who are struggling with basic essential family needs and paying the bills have a little added encouragement with these payment system changes. Supplementary benefits such as the Energy Supplement and Rent Assistance payments are attached to the primary benefits and always provided in tandem to cover the essential needs.
What to Expect Next
All such changes come into effect automatically and do not require any application. People in Australia who are most affected are advised to examine their payment summaries and plan their spending.
