Australians receiving Centrelink JobSeeker payments expect to receive an increased payment from 20 September.
The JobSeeker payment increased by $56 a fortnight as part of the government’s regular indexation, lifting the rate by 2.2 per cent.
Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The National Briefing – keeping you in the loop with news as it hits:
The government’s regular indexation is set to change twice yearly to ensure welfare payments align with the rising cost-of-living.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the cost-of-living grew again in the June quarter, rising 0.8 per cent and six per cent annually.
ABS Head of Prices Statistics Michelle Marquardt said: “While prices continued to rise for most goods and services, there were some offsetting price falls this quarter, including for domestic holiday travel and accommodation and automotive fuel”.
Commonwealth Rent Assistance recipients will receive a 2.2 per cent increase on top of the 15 per cent increase announced in the budget.
Shadow Social Services Minister Michale Sukkar said that measure would save the budget $2.9 billion over the next four years.
“There are 808,000 JobSeeker recipients across the nation, of which more than 75 per cent have zero reported earnings, with no part-time work,” Mr Sukkar told ABC.
“Increasing the income-free area before benefits are reduced incentivises those on working age payments to take up employment opportunities.”
The government is also set to provide an increase to older Australians on JobSeeker by lowering the age threshold.
With this change, individuals in this age group are expected to receive up to $109 more per fortnight.
Social security payments are adjusted for inflation automatically, while the final rate of indexation for the single parenting payment and the pension are yet to be identified.
Subscribe to The Briefing, Australia’s fastest-growing news podcast on Listnr today. The Briefing serves up the latest news headlines and a deep dive into a topic affecting you. All in under 20 minutes.