Carer Payment Calculator 2026 — Rates, Income Test and Work Hours

Carer Payment Rates From 20 September 2026

Carer Payment is paid at the pension rate. These are the figures on Services Australia's Carer Payment rates page, adjusted every 20 March and 20 September.

A couple separated due to ill health each get the single rate. You also get the $600 Carer Supplement each year if you are on Carer Payment on 1 July. Carer Payment is taxable only if you or the person you care for are Age Pension age or older.

Carer Payment Income Test

Services Australia uses the pension income test for Carer Payment. It counts your and your partner's income from all sources, including deemed income on financial assets.

How Many Hours Can You Work on Carer Payment?

You can do paid work or self-employment for up to 100 hours in a 4-week period — an average of 25 hours a week — and keep Carer Payment. The count only includes time working when you are not providing care; hours worked from home count if you can't stop working when the person you care for needs help.

• Not counted: travel to and from work, study, training and volunteering. You don't report these.
• Over 100 hours now and then: use respite days — up to 63 a calendar year.
• Over the limit without respite, or earning too much: the payment can be suspended for up to 6 months. You keep your Pensioner Concession Card, and can ask for the payment to be restored if your hours or income drop within that time.
• Report every fortnight: your gross pay and the hours you worked for each employer, even if zero. Tell Services Australia within 14 days if you start or stop work.

Carer Payment Assets Test

Your payment is the lower of the income-test and assets-test results. Assets above the full-pension limit reduce the payment; above the cut-off it stops. Your home isn't counted, which is why homeowners have lower limits. Figures from 20 September 2026 (couples are combined).

Cut-offs are higher if you get Rent Assistance. The person you care for has separate limits: income under $143,752 a year and assets under $886,750 (not counting their home), unless they get an income support payment. Those index on 1 January.

Who Can Get Carer Payment

• You give constant care — roughly a normal working day, every day — to someone with a disability or medical condition likely to last at least 6 months, someone who is frail aged, or someone at the end of their life.
• The care is in their home; it can be physical help, guidance or supervision. You can care for more than one person.
• You and the person you care for are Australian residents and meet the income and assets tests.
• The person's treating doctor completes a medical form, and you describe the care you give.

You can claim any time, but you're usually paid only from the date you claim. The first payment usually arrives about 2 weeks after approval, later if a waiting period applies. If you already get JobSeeker or Parenting Payment, that stops when Carer Payment is granted.

Related Calculators and Guides

• Centrelink income test guide — free areas, tapers and cut-offs for every payment
• Carer Allowance — the fortnightly supplement and its $250,000 income limit
• Centrelink advance payment calculator — how much you can borrow and what comes off each fortnight
• Crisis Payment — the one-off payment after an extreme circumstance
• Centrelink debt — overpayments, refunds and the income apportionment scheme
• Cost of living payment 2026 — what actually exists this year
• Paid Parental Leave calculator — 26 weeks from 1 July 2026, days, split and super
• JobSeeker payment calculator — what you keep when you work part-time
• Age Pension calculator — rates from 20 September 2026 and the income test, with the Work Bonus
• Age Pension assets test calculator — limits, the $3-per-$1,000 taper and which test applies
• Deeming rates and calculator — 1.75% and 3.75% from 20 September 2026
• Disability Support Pension calculator — rates, the income test and the 29-hour work rule
• Commonwealth Seniors Health Card — the income limit, deeming and a quick eligibility check
• Child Care Subsidy calculator — your CCS % on family income and the gap fee
• Parenting Payment calculator — single and partnered
• Fortnightly pay calculator — the gross fortnightly figure Centrelink asks for

Frequently Asked Questions