Double Orphan Pension Australia

Who the Double Orphan Pension Is For

The Double Orphan Pension (DOP) is a Centrelink payment for people caring for a child whose parents have died or cannot care for them in specified circumstances.

It is one of the few Centrelink payments with no means test. Your income, assets and employment status do not affect DOP eligibility or the payment rate, but the child and carer must still meet the conditions below.

How Much It Pays

The DOP is paid fortnightly on top of Family Tax Benefit. The rate is set by the government and indexed periodically — check the Services Australia website for the current amount, as it adjusts with each indexation cycle.

The payment is per child, so if you are caring for two orphaned siblings, you receive the DOP for each child separately.

Eligibility Conditions

You must be:

• Meeting Services Australia's residence rules
• Having claimed Family Tax Benefit for the child, or having claimed but being unable to get it
• Providing at least 35% actual care
• Not receiving another Centrelink payment for the child or an Orphan Pension from the Department of Veterans' Affairs

The child must be:

• Aged 15 or under, or aged 16 to 19 and meeting study requirements
• A double orphan (both parents deceased), or a child with one deceased parent and the other parent in prison for at least 10 years, in custody facing a possible sentence of 10 or more years, in a psychiatric institution or nursing home indefinitely, or of unknown whereabouts
• A refugee child who has not lived in Australia with either parent, where both parents are outside Australia or their whereabouts are unknown

How It Stacks With Other Payments

DOP is designed to sit alongside other support, not replace it:

• Family Tax Benefit Parts A and B — DOP is paid in addition to FTB, not instead of it
• DCJ Care Allowances — if the child is in formal kinship care under a Children's Court order in NSW, you can receive both the DCJ fortnightly allowance and the DOP simultaneously
• Carer Allowance — if the child also has a disability, the Carer Allowance stacks with both DOP and FTB
• Foster Child Health Care Card — available regardless of DOP status

DOP has no means test of its own and can be paid alongside FTB or DCJ care allowances. If you receive another income support payment, ask Services Australia whether DOP affects that payment's assessment.

How to Claim

Call 1800 245 965 (Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser line) and tell the adviser you need to claim the Double Orphan Pension. They will guide you through the claim process and the specific evidence required.

You will need:

• Death certificates for the deceased parent(s), or evidence of the surviving parent's qualifying circumstances
• Proof that you are providing care for the child (same evidence as any non-parent carer claim — statutory declaration, school records, medical records)
• Your own identity documents and bank details

If you cannot obtain a death certificate or other record, contact Services Australia and ask what alternative evidence it will accept for your circumstances.

The Claim Date Matters

Do not assume the FTB claim-date rule applies to DOP. Contact Services Australia promptly and ask what date can be used for the DOP claim.

When Circumstances Change

You must notify Centrelink within 14 days if:

• The surviving parent is released from prison or discharged from an institution
• The missing parent is located
• The child leaves your care or the care arrangement changes
• You move or your household composition changes

Failure to report changes can result in an overpayment debt that Centrelink recovers from future payments or tax refunds.

The NSW Kinship Carer Support guide includes a claim tracker that covers every Centrelink payment a kinship carer can access — including the Double Orphan Pension — with date fields for when you lodged, what evidence you submitted, and when to follow up.

See more New South Wales guides →