Carer Payment Grandparent Raising Grandchild

Two Carer Payments, Different Rules

Centrelink runs two separate payments for carers, and the names cause constant confusion:

Carer Payment is an income support payment — it replaces your main income (like the Age Pension or JobSeeker would). You may receive it when you provide constant care for someone with a severe disability or medical condition for at least six months, for a child with a short-term or episodic condition requiring care for at least three months, or for someone with a terminal illness. It is means-tested against income and assets.

Carer Allowance is a supplementary payment — a fortnightly top-up you receive for providing daily care to someone with a recognised disability. It is not means-tested against assets, and has a separate income threshold that is considerably higher. You can receive it alongside the Age Pension, another income support payment, or while working.

If you are a grandparent raising a grandchild with a significant disability, you may qualify for one or both.

Carer Payment: When Full-Time Care Prevents Work

Carer Payment is designed for situations where the child's constant care needs stop you working full-time. The eligibility requirements are strict:

• The child must have a severe disability or medical condition, with care needs assessed by Centrelink
• You must provide constant care in the child's home — roughly a normal working day — for at least six months, for at least three months if the child has a short-term or episodic condition, or for a child with a terminal illness
• You and the child must meet the applicable income and assets tests

If you are Age Pension age, you must choose between Carer Payment and the Age Pension; you cannot receive both at the same time. You can still claim Carer Allowance if you meet its separate criteria.

For grandparents who are under Age Pension age and not working because of the grandchild's care needs, Carer Payment may be the primary income support option.

Carer Allowance: The Supplementary Payment

Carer Allowance is easier to access and stacks with almost everything else:

• The child needs a recognised physical, intellectual or medical disability and ongoing daily assistance for at least 12 months, or a terminal medical condition; the child does not need to require constant care
• You need to provide daily care and attention
• The income test is based on your combined adjusted taxable income, with a threshold well above average earnings
• There is no assets test

The current Carer Allowance rate is approximately $153.50 per fortnight (indexed periodically). It is paid per person you care for, so if you are caring for two grandchildren who both have qualifying conditions, you receive it for each.

Carer Allowance stacks with:

• Age Pension
• Carer Payment
• Family Tax Benefit Parts A and B
• DCJ care allowances (Statutory, Supported or Guardianship)
• Double Orphan Pension
• Foster Child Health Care Card

The Medical Assessment

Both Carer Payment and Carer Allowance require an assessment. For a child under 16, Services Australia may require the Carer Payment and Carer Allowance Medical Report (SA431), completed by a treating health professional, along with information from you about the care you provide.

Services Australia assesses the child's care needs and supporting medical evidence. A diagnosis alone does not determine eligibility.

GP reports, specialist letters and hospital discharge summaries should all be gathered before you start the assessment. The more clinical evidence you provide, the smoother the process.

NDIS and Carer Payments

If your grandchild has an NDIS plan, that does not affect your eligibility for Carer Payment or Carer Allowance. NDIS funding covers disability-specific supports (therapy, equipment, respite workers), while Carer Payment and Allowance recognise the personal care burden on you. They are administered by different agencies and assessed independently.

However, NDIS plan funding cannot be used for everyday living expenses like food, clothing or school fees — those remain covered by FTB, DCJ allowances and Carer Allowance.

If the child is in formal kinship care in NSW, ask your DCJ caseworker about a Care +1 or Care +2 loading assessment as well. The DCJ care allowance loading for complex needs can add $344 to $926 per fortnight on top of the standard rate, depending on the child's age and loading tier, and it does not reduce Centrelink carer payments.

How to Start the Claim

Call 1800 245 965 (Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser line) and explain that you are a grandparent carer and the child has a disability. The adviser will determine which claims to lodge — Carer Payment, Carer Allowance, or both — and walk you through the medical assessment process.

If you are already receiving the Age Pension and only want Carer Allowance (the supplementary payment), you can add it without changing your pension. If Carer Payment would pay more than your pension, the adviser will explain the switch.

The NSW Kinship Carer Support guide covers the full matrix of payments that stack for kinship carers — including how DCJ care allowances, Carer Allowance, FTB and NDIS interact — with a tracker to record what you are receiving and what you may be missing.

See more New South Wales guides →