September 20, 2023 was a big day for many single parents, with the eligibility for Parenting Payment Single (PPS) being extended to until the youngest child turns 14. At the time, we explained how the transition onto PPS was expected to happen. Six months down the track, we’ve got an update.
The PPS eligibility increase followed a prolonged campaign from community groups, including SSRV, concerned that being moved onto the lower rate of JobSeeker Payment once the youngest child turned eight was contributing to families experiencing poverty.
Many of our clients had reported that this drop in income has caused them financial stress and made it challenging to balance work and family responsibilities.
Single mother advocacy groups also argued that single mothers are not unemployed, they are performing unpaid work.
Transitioning from JobSeeker Payment to Parenting Payment Single
On 20 September 2023, eligibility for PPS was expanded to Centrelink clients whose youngest child is under 14 years. If you, or the person you are supporting, were on JobSeeker Payment but entitled to PPS on that date you should have automatically been transferred.
Even if you had been transferred from PPS to the JobSeeker Payment due to your youngest child turning eight years old before 20 September 2023, the transfer back to PPS should have occurred with no action required by you.
Six months on from the changes to PPS, it’s worth checking that this happened as it should have.
It’s important to note, if you were on the JobSeeker Payment on that date but suspended for any reason, you needed to address the issue causing the suspension and then lodge an application for PPS.
Our recommendation
Centrelink payments, eligibility, and the use of technology can be complicated. It is likely that some people expected the transfer to occur automatically, but this did not happen for them.
If you, or your client, expected an automatic transfer from the Jobseeker Payment to PPS in September 2023, we recommend checking your Centrelink payments and MyGov account to ensure the transfer did occur correctly, and pick up any issues that may have arisen.
If you experienced issues with the automatic transfer which have not yet resolved, we recommend you speak with a Centrelink officer to discuss what prevented the transfer and what is required to fix the issue.
SSRV can assist if you, or your client, experienced issues with the PPS transfer that you are unable to resolve quickly with Centrelink.
SSRV is an independent community legal centre; we don’t have access to Centrelink systems. We can, however, talk you through the processes available to resolve your dispute with Centrelink, and give you advice on your rights of review.
