How Much Can You Earn Before JobSeeker Stops? (2026)

General information only. This is not tax or financial advice, nor financial-counselling advice. Income-test free areas and taper rates are set by Services Australia and change periodically — confirm current figures with Services Australia before relying on them.

JobSeeker Payment doesn’t cut off the moment you start earning — it tapers away gradually as your income rises, through two separate bands with two different taper rates. Knowing where those bands sit lets you work out, before your next fortnight even starts, roughly how much of your payment a given amount of work will cost you.

The two-band income test

Your fortnightly employment and other income is assessed against a free area, then two taper bands:

• $0–$150 per fortnight: free area. Income in this range doesn’t reduce your payment at all.
• $150–$256 per fortnight (Band 1): 50 cents in the dollar. Every dollar earned in this band reduces your payment by 50 cents. The maximum reduction from this band alone is $53 (the $106 span of the band multiplied by 50%).
• Above $256 per fortnight (Band 2): 60 cents in the dollar. Once your income clears $256/fn, every additional dollar reduces your payment by 60 cents.

Because the taper rate steps up from 50c to 60c partway through, the income test isn’t a single straight line — it bends more steeply once you’re earning more than $256 a fortnight. A person earning $200/fn loses $25 of payment (50c × $50 over the free area). A person earning $400/fn loses the full $53 from Band 1, plus 60c × $144 (the amount over $256) — a total reduction of $139.40.

Where payment reaches zero: the personal cut-off

Because the maximum JobSeeker rate differs by circumstance (single, partnered, with or without children, 55+), the exact income at which your payment reaches $0 differs too — but for a single person with no children, payment tapers to zero at $1,530.17 per fortnight (Services Australia, current rate). Above that point, income alone rules you out of payment for that fortnight, regardless of your assets position.

The cut-off moves for other situations: a higher maximum rate (partnered, principal carer, or 55+ rates) pushes the cut-off higher, because there’s more payment for the taper to work through before it hits zero. If your own situation carries a different maximum rate, use the JobSeeker Payment calculator rather than applying the single-rate figure — it applies the two-band taper to your actual maximum rate and tells you your personal cut-off.

Note also that this is a per-fortnight test, not an annual one. Working extra hours in one fortnight and fewer in the next doesn’t average out automatically — each fortnight’s assessable income is tested against the bands independently, which is one reason irregular or seasonal work can produce a very uneven payment pattern from one fortnight to the next.

The partner income test

If you’re partnered, your own income isn’t the only thing tested — your partner’s income is assessed separately, under its own free area and taper:

• Partner free area: $1,415 per fortnight. Your partner’s income up to this amount doesn’t affect your payment.
• Taper: 60 cents in the dollar above the $1,415 free area.

This test runs alongside (not instead of) your own personal income test — Services Australia calculates the reduction from each test independently, and whichever produces the lower payment amount is the one that applies. A partner earning solidly above the $1,415 free area can reduce or eliminate your JobSeeker payment even if your own income sits comfortably under the personal free area, so it’s worth checking both sides of the household ledger, not just your own payslip.

How Working Credit fits in

Working Credit is a separate mechanism that sits on top of the income test rather than replacing it. While you’re receiving an eligible working-age payment (including JobSeeker) and your income is below the relevant threshold, you accrue Working Credit balance. When you then earn income above the free area in a later fortnight, your accumulated Working Credit is drawn down first, offsetting assessable income dollar-for-dollar before the taper bands apply.

In practice, this means someone who has had a run of low- or no-income fortnights can take on a burst of paid work — a short-term contract, extra shifts, seasonal work — without the income test biting immediately, because the Working Credit balance absorbs part or all of that income before the 50c/60c tapers start reducing payment. It’s designed specifically to reward exactly the kind of irregular, part-time, or intermittent work that a strict fortnight-by-fortnight income test would otherwise penalise heavily.

Putting it together

Your JobSeeker payment in any given fortnight depends on: your own income against the two-band taper, your partner’s income against the partner test (if applicable), and any Working Credit balance offsetting assessable income before either taper applies — with the lower of the personal and partner test results setting your actual payment. Once you understand where you sit against the $1,530.17 single cut-off (or the equivalent for your situation), it becomes much easier to judge in advance how an extra shift or a new part-time role will affect your payment.

These income tests only apply once your waiting periods have cleared and your first payment has started. Use the JobSeeker Payment calculator to model your own income, partner income, and Working Credit position together.