There is no escaping the fact that the outbreak of COVID-19 in Australia is hitting the Australian economy hard.
If you're one of the many Australians that have lost their jobs permanently or temporarily, I would highly recommend that you look at the Federal government's stimulus packages. These have been put in place to support households and businesses and address the significant economic consequences of the coronavirus.
In respect to individuals, the government has announced a new, time-limited coronavirus supplement to be paid at a rate of $550 per fortnight.
Who is eligible?
According to the Treasury, the income support payment categories eligible to receive the coronavirus supplement are:
- Jobseeker Payment (and all payments progressively transitioning to JobSeeker Payment; those currently receiving Partner Allowance, Widow Allowance, Sickness Allowance and Wife Pension)
- Youth Allowance Jobseeker
- Parenting Payment (Partnered and Single)
- Farm Household Allowance
- Special Benefit recipients
Anyone who is eligible for the coronavirus supplement will receive the full rate of the supplement of $550 per fortnight on top of their usual payment.
What will this be in total?
The rates that job seekers receive outside this supplement depend on a range of factors including age, residence, relationship status, and whether or not you have children. Those rates can be found here.
But as an example, if you are single, have no children, you're aged 18 or older, and live at your parent's home, you are entitled to a maximum of $304.60 per fortnight according to Services Australia. Including the coronavirus supplement, this increases to $854.60 per fortnight.
Whereas if you're single, have no children, aged over 18, and live away from home, you're entitled to a maximum of $462.50 per fortnight. With the coronavirus supplement, this lifts to $1012.50 per fortnight. Incidentally, this is the same if you are part of a couple as well.
A final example, if you're a single parent you can receive up to a maximum of $606.00 per fortnight or $1,156 per fortnight including the coronavirus supplement.
