Social security payments will increase from 20 March in line with indexation. The Federal Government promises that almost 5 million Australians will benefit from boosts that will help them keep up with the increases in the cost of living.
Anne Ruston, Federal Minister for Families and Social Services, said indexation was an integral part of Australia’s social security safety net, and ensured pensioners and jobseekers maintained their purchasing power within the economy.
But the ACT Council of Social Services believes the changes are inadequate. “These are just normal indexation increases which are nowhere near enough given the huge increases in cost of living we are seeing,” said ACTCOSS CEO, Dr Emma Campbell.
- Cost of living to dominate Australia’s election cycle
- Cost of living too high for many, ACTCOSS reveals
Full details of new rates and thresholds are available at www.dss.gov.au/about-the-department/benefits-payments/previous-indexation-rates
Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, and Carer Payment rates will increase by $20.10 a fortnight for singles to $987.60, and by $30.20 a fortnight for couples combined to $1,488.80, Ms Ruston announced.
Asset test limits will increase, which Ms Ruston said would allow more senior Australians to access a part pension. For example, the asset limit for a single homeowner will be boosted by $6,750 to $599,750, and for a homeowner couple by $10,000 to $901,500.
“Pensioners will see a 2.1 per cent increase to their payments – the largest increase since 2013,” Ms Ruston said.
“This is putting money in the pockets of all Australians who rely on our social security system, and, in particular, older Australians.”
Since March 2013, the rate for single pensioners has increased by $179.20 a fortnight, while the rate for pensioner couples combined has increased by $270 a fortnight.
More than 5 million pensioners and other payment recipients received $2,000 extra in Economic Support Payments throughout the pandemic.
The basic rate of Jobseeker Payment will increase by $13.20 a fortnight to $629.50 for singles without children, while Parenting Payment Single will increase by $18.10 to $874.10, including Pension Supplement and Energy Supplement.
Since March 2013, the basic rate of Jobseeker Payment (formerly Newstart) for a single person without children increased by $145.70 a fortnight, including a $50 per fortnight increase in April 2021.
“Anyone who has a car, anyone who buys fruit and veggies, anyone trying to cover the basic living costs will tell you that an extra $6.60 a week for JobSeeker recipients is not going to cover the huge increases in living costs that we’re seeing right now,” Dr Campbell said.
“Even with this increase, JobSeeker will still only be a measly $46.50 per day. You can’t get a tank of fuel for that anymore, let alone cover living costs for the day.”
The fortnightly maximum rate of Rent Assistance will increase to $145.80 for single recipients with no children, $171.50 for families with up to two children, and $193.62 for families with three or more children.
“Rent Assistance is going up by $1.50 a week to $73 per week,” Dr Campbell said. “There are no affordable private rentals for someone on JobSeeker in the Canberra and Queanbeyan region, and that will continue with this tiny increase.”
More than 38,000 Canberrans are living in poverty, including more than 9,000 children, Dr Campbell noted.
“The next Australian government must act and lift JobSeeker above the poverty line. It has been completely inadequate for a long time, and the huge cost of living increases we’re witnessing only drives people deeper and deeper into destitution.”
Dr Campbell also called on the Australian and ACT governments to significantly invest in social housing.
Canberra Daily would love to hear from you about a story idea in the Canberra and surrounding region. Click here to submit a news tip.
