Centrelink payments

About Centrelink payments

Centrelink payments are social security payments given by the Australian Government to support individuals and families in various situations. These payments are managed by Services Australia.

Knowing which Centrelink payment to apply for is crucial to ensure you are eligible, get the most appropriate assistance, avoid overpayment and so your application is processed as quickly as possible. 

Disability Support Pension

If you have a permanent physical, intellectual or mental condition that prevents you from working you may be eligible to apply for the Disability Support Pension. 

You will need to meet the medical and non-medical rules and be assessed by a job capacity assessor and/or a doctor. 

For more information, see Disability Support Pension.

Income support payments 

If you need help with living costs you may be eligible for an income support payment. There are various types of income support payments available, depending on your circumstances.

Workforce Australia manages these payments, and the mutual obligations for jobseekers. 

For more information, see Income support payments.

Centrelink debts

If you get a letter from Centrelink about money you owe, don’t ignore it. If you ignore it, Centrelink can start debt recovery.

If you owe money to Centrelink, you can ask them to give you with a Statement of Debt that explains your debt for the last five years. You can enter into a repayment plan with Centrelink.

If you don’t agree to owing the debt, you can ask for a review of the decision. Before asking for a review, you should get legal advice.

Recent changes to Centrelink debts 

After the findings of the Robodebt Royal Commission, the law has changed to fix problems caused by the way Centrelink use to chase up debts. These changes may affect your rights and options.

Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme

Centrelink previously calculated some debts using a method called income apportionment, which sometimes caused incorrect or inflated debts.

The government has now set up the Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme to recognise the impact of those errors. You may be able to receive a one-off payment of up to $600 for each affected debt.

Applications are open from 30 January 2026 to 29 January 2027. These payments are not taxable and won’t affect your current Centrelink payments. For information, see Income Apportionment Resolution Scheme on the Services Australia website.

If you get an offer under the scheme, you should get legal advice before you accept it. This is because by accepting an offer you often are giving up your right to take any future legal action about that debt.

Mandatory waiver of small debts

Centrelink must waive (wipe) any debt that is, or is likely to be, less than $250. This amount is indexed each year on 1 July.

Centrelink has removed certain old small amounts that were in the system but had never been raised as debts.

If your debt is under $250, ask Centrelink whether it should be automatically waived.

Benefit Restriction Notices

Centrelink payments can now be restricted if a person has an outstanding arrest warrant for a serious violent or sexual offence, or where national security risks are identified.

This happens through a Benefit Restriction Notice issued by the AFP Minister or ASIO Minister. 

If you get a notice, you should get urgent legal advice.  In some cases notices can be reviewed or revoked.  

Appealing a Centrelink decision

If you disagree with a Centrelink decision, you can apply for a formal review of the decision. You don’t have to ask for an explanation first.  

When you apply for a formal review an Authorised Review Officer (ARO) will review the decision. The ARO will:

• speak with you about the decision
• look at the facts, the law and the policy involved
• change the direction if wrong, and
• contact you to let you know the outcome of the formal review. 

Reviews to an ARO about a payment, suspension or cancellation should be made within 13 weeks.

There is no time limit to appeal debts. You can also request a pause on debt repayments during a formal review of a debt decision.

You can apply for a formal review of most Family Tax Benefit (FTB) decisions. This should be done within one year from the date that you were told about the decision. This time frame does not apply to FTB by instalment decisions.

The Administrative Review Tribunal

You can apply for a first review of a social security decision to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) within 13 weeks of being given the notice of the ARO decision.

There is no time limit to review debts.

Some reviews to the ART have time limits. You can apply for a first review of:

• a paid parental leave decision to the ART within 28 days after the ARO decision
• family assistance decisions, except for family assistance payments by instalment and debt decisions, within 90 days after the ARO decision.

You can apply for second review of a social security decision in the ART within 28 days of receiving the first review decision. 

Some social security matters can be referred by the President of the ART to the Guidance and Appeals Panel (GAP). The President can refer matters where there is an issue of significance to administrative decision-making. 

You can appeal the decision of the ART to the Federal Court within 28 days.

Before appealing a Centrelink decision with the ART, you should get legal advice.

For more information, see Centrelink payments on the ART website.

To find out what happens after you apply, see After applying on the ART website.