Carer support · Calculator

Carer Payment & Allowance Calculator

Confirm the main residence and care rules, then estimate regular Carer Payment and Carer Allowance without mixing one claimant’s rate with a couple-combined rate or annual July lump sums.

Eligibility firstCurrent July 2026 testsCP + CA
01 —INPUTS

A partnered estimate is for the claimant only, not both members of the couple.

Carer and care receivers generally need to be Australian residents; waiting periods or agreement rules may require formal assessment.

This is used to choose Working Credit or the Age Pension-age Work Bonus. Services Australia confirms payment eligibility.

Confirm daily care roughly equal to a normal working day, expected for at least 6 months, or care for someone at the end of life.

Carer Payment normally needs both total 25+ and health-professional component 10+.

If yes, the standard care-receiver income and assets limits are not applied here.

Enter 0 if none. Up to 100 hours can remain within the ordinary rule; respite or suspension rules may apply above it.

Enter 0 if none. Use gross employment income before tax.

Enter 0 if none. Investment income is calculated from financial assets using deeming.

Enter 0 if you have no Working Credits. Credits offset employment income, up to a $1,000 balance.

Enter 0 if none. Include savings, shares and other deemed investments.

Enter 0 if none. Include assessable assets but exclude the principal home.

Each person must need ongoing daily care for at least 12 months, or have a terminal condition, with the medical and care assessment confirmed by Services Australia.

Enter 0 where none. Carer Allowance can cover up to 2 adults and more than one child; shared-care part rates are not modelled.

Enter 0 if none. Carer Allowance requires family adjusted taxable income below $250,000. Include deemed income from account-based income streams if Services Australia assesses it.

02 —RESULTS
Awaiting input

Confirm residence and care eligibility, then enter every required amount — use 0 where none
Estimate boundary

Payment rate and formal care eligibility are separate questions

Calculated directly

Single, partnered and illness-separated maximum rates; Working Credit or Work Bonus; deeming; carer income and assets tests; Carer Allowance count and family income cap.

Directed to formal assessment

Unconfirmed child pathways, excess work hours, care-receiver means above standard limits, shared-care part rates and detailed medical or residence decisions.

Maximum rates

One partnered claimant receives the “couple each” rate

Component or situation Rate
Carer Payment — single maximum basic rate $1,100.30/fn
Single Pension Supplement $86.50/fn
Single Energy Supplement $14.10/fn
Single total $1,200.90/fn
Carer Payment — partnered claimant maximum basic rate for one claimant $829.40/fn
Partnered Pension Supplement $65.20/fn
Partnered Energy Supplement $10.60/fn
Partnered claimant total $905.20/fn
Separated due to illness single-rate claimant $1,200.90/fn
Carer Allowance per qualifying care receiver $162.60/fn

Rates effective 20 March 2026. Carer Payment components are maximum claimant rates before means testing; Carer Allowance is per qualifying care receiver.

The official $$1,810.40 couple-combined total describes two pension-rate recipients. It must not be used as the estimate for one partnered Carer Payment claimant.

Income test

The claimant’s age changes the employment-income concession

Below Age Pension age

Working Credits can offset employment income dollar-for-dollar, up to a stored balance of $1,000. There is no automatic $300 Work Bonus.

Age Pension age or older

Eligible recipients can use the regular $300.00/fortnight Work Bonus plus any entered Work Bonus bank balance.

Single$226.00/fn free area, then 50c per $1
Partnered or illness-separated$396.00/fn combined free area, then 25c per $1 from this claimant’s rate
Deeming$66,800 single / $110,600 couple combined at 1.25%, then 3.25%
Assets test

Current 1 July 2026 full-rate thresholds and cut-offs

SituationHomeowner thresholdNon-homeowner thresholdHomeowner cut-off
Single$333,000$600,000$733,500
Partnered, one eligible$499,000$766,000$1,102,500
Separated due to illness$499,000$766,000$1,300,000

A single claimant’s rate reduces by $3 per $1,000 over the threshold. For one partnered claimant, that person’s share reduces by $1.50 per $1,000 of combined couple assets.

Care and work rules

The means-tested dollar figure is not, by itself, an eligibility decision

Adult ADAT pathTotal score 25+ and professional component 10+ for standard Carer Payment qualification
Child pathSeparate child assessment and combined-care rules; the calculator requires confirmation or marks the rate formal
Terminal illnessScore requirement is treated as met, subject to medical certification and the remaining rules
Paid workUp to 100 hours in 4 weeks under the ordinary rule; respite or suspension may apply above it
Care receiver meansIf no Australian income-support/DVA payment: standard income below $143,752 and assets below $886,750
Allowance and July payments

Keep regular fortnightly income separate from annual lump sums

Carer Allowance

$162.60/fn each

Each eligible child and up to two eligible adults; shared-care part rates are outside this calculator.

Carer Supplement

$600 each

Potentially one for Carer Payment and one per qualifying Carer Allowance care receiver held for a period including 1 July.

Child assistance

Up to $1,000

Per eligible child under 16 receiving Carer Allowance for a period including 1 July.

Worked examples

Examples generated by the same calculation engine

Single carer, both payments

Age 45, no assessable income or assets, qualifying adult care assessment and one Carer Allowance.

$1,363.50 /fortnight regular

CP $1,200.90 + CA $162.60

Partnered carer, partner earns $796/fn

The combined couple free area is $396; the claimant’s payment reduces by 25c per excess dollar.

$967.80 /fortnight regular

CP $805.20 + CA $162.60

$800 wages, 600 Working Credits

Working Credits offset $600 of employment income before the pension income free area applies.

$1,363.50 /fortnight regular

CP $1,200.90 + CA $162.60

FAQ
What are the maximum Carer Payment rates from 20 March 2026?
The maximum total is $1,200.90/fortnight for a single claimant and $905.20/fortnight for one partnered claimant, including Pension Supplement and Energy Supplement. The couple-combined figure on official rate tables is not the payment of one partnered carer.
What is the difference between Carer Payment and Carer Allowance?
Carer Payment is a pension-rate income-support payment for a person whose caring role limits substantial paid work. It uses income and assets tests. Carer Allowance is a supplementary $162.60/fortnight per qualifying care receiver, has no assets test and has a hard family adjusted-taxable-income cap below $250,000. Enter the Services Australia adjusted-taxable-income figure, including deemed account-based income-stream income where applicable.
What ADAT score is needed for adult Carer Payment?
The standard adult Carer Payment pathway requires both a total Adult Disability Assessment Tool score of at least 25 and a health-professional component score of at least 10. Carer Allowance adult uses different minimums, and terminal-illness and child pathways have separate rules.
Can I work while receiving Carer Payment?
You may remain payable while doing paid or self-employed work for up to 100 hours in a 4-week period, provided the income test and caring rules are still met. Above that, respite-day or suspension provisions may apply, so the calculator sends the case to formal assessment instead of assuming immediate cancellation.
Does every carer get the $300 Work Bonus?
No. Work Bonus is available to eligible Carer Payment recipients who have reached Age Pension age. A recipient below Age Pension age may instead use Working Credits, with a maximum balance of $1,000. The calculator asks for age so it does not apply the wrong concession.
Does the person receiving care have an income and assets test?
If the care receiver does not get an Australian income-support or DVA payment, the standard limits are income below $143,752 a year and assets below $886,750. Alternative provisions can apply when assets exceed the standard limit, so those cases require formal assessment.
How much is Carer Supplement?
Carer Supplement is up to $600 for each eligible payment held for a period including 1 July. A person receiving both Carer Payment and one Carer Allowance may therefore receive $1,200. Each qualifying Carer Allowance care receiver can generate a separate supplement.
What annual payment applies when caring for a child?
A person receiving Carer Allowance for a child under 16 for a period including 1 July can receive up to $1,000 per eligible child. It is separate from Carer Supplement and from regular fortnightly Carer Allowance.

Related guides

Family Tax Benefit Rates 2026-27: Part A & Part B ExplainedThe current FTB Part A and Part B maximum and base rates, the $69,131 free area, the $123,078 higher threshold, and how the two income tests taper your payment.Family Tax Benefit Supplements 2026: The $80,000 Threshold & End-of-Year Top-UpHow the FTB Part A ($970.90/child) and Part B ($478.15/family) supplements work — the $80,000 income cliff, the balancing-time payout, and the immunisation gate.How Much Can You Earn Before JobSeeker Stops? (2026)The two-band JobSeeker income test explained — the $150 free area, the 50c and 60c tapers, the ~$1,515.50/fn cut-off, the partner income test, and how Working Credit fits in.

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Tax Accuracy & Sources

Reviewed: July 2026 · Tax year: 2026-27

This calculator estimates standard-rate Carer Payment and entered qualifying Carer Allowances. It does not determine medical or residence qualification, shared-care part rates, respite-day use, waiting periods, tax, transitional pension rates or alternative care-receiver means provisions. Annual July payments remain conditional and are not added to regular annual income.