Everything You Should Know About A Centrelink Advance Payment

The advance payment is credited to your account, where you receive Centrelink benefits, in one or two instalments and on the dates as selected during the application process. You must apply for a minimum amount equivalent to a week’s pension, allowance or financial support you are receiving from Centrelink. The maximum advance payment you should seek must not exceed what you are entitled to get over 3 weeks.

You are required to repay the loan through fortnightly deductions from the financial support you are entitled to. It starts as soon as you receive the first payment immediately after taking the advance and it continues over the next 26 weeks. The repayment is done through 13 fortnightly payments. For example, if the advance payment is $500, it’s recovered by deducting $38.50 from the next 13 fortnightly payments. Prepayment options are also available.

A beneficiary is entitled to get three advance payments within 26 weeks. However, it is subject to the maximum limit you are qualified to receive. For example, if you are eligible for a $1,000 advance payment, you can apply for it 3 times within 26 weeks without the cumulative loan not exceeding the said amount. It can be $200, $300, and $500 or $400 twice and $200 once.

A Centrelink advance payment is similar to a personal loan just without the interest. You may have it subject to approval and the limit allowed and repay it in 13 fortnightly instalments. Apart from this, there is no provision for other loans from Centrelink.

However, those receiving Centrelink payments are free to seek personal loans from banks, credit unions and other lenders. You can use your Centrelink income statement as part of the application to showcase a regular source of income to repay the loan.

You may get a crisis payment from Centrelink if you face extreme financial hardship. A crisis payment is defined as the early delivery of a recipient’s entitlement. It is not an extra payment but paying a part or whole of the benefit ahead of the due date. However, this is granted only when you face exceptional and unforeseen situations. If you receive a crisis payment, it reduces the subsequent allowance you receive on the delivery day. Again, you can not apply for more than 2 crisis payments within a period of 1 year.

To get a crisis payment from Centrelink, one must be facing any of the following conditions.

• are experiencing family and domestic violence
• get out after 14 days from prison or psychiatric confinement as a result of an offence
• are a Humanitarian Entrant into Australia for the first time
• go through a natural disaster not covered by the Disaster Recovery Payment
• are in Australia when the event occurred, and when you submit your claim
• are eligible for an income support payment.

The presence of conditions does not make one automatically qualified for Centrelink payment in advance. You have to establish that you are facing severe financial hardship due to and this will aggravate unless you get funds urgently. There may be the verification of the claim if it is considered appropriate.

A crisis payment is different from Centrelink hardship advance payment, which is given as a grant to those vulnerable to potential financial hardship.

No, Centrelink cannot directly look into your bank account. It cannot spot check bank accounts. However, it has indirect access to all your data, account and tax details. If required to examine your qualification and prevent welfare fraud, it can check the details before granting any allowances or Centrelink advance payment.

Legally speaking Centrelink has no power to look into your bank account. However, as an agency of the government, it has the authority to match data sourced from or through other government agencies to verify applications for payments and eliminate any chance of welfare fraud. You are required to provide Centrelink details of income and assets so that the agency can verify and establish your qualification as a recipient of its payment. If the data matching software puts a red flag on your data for differences in figures and information you submitted at Centrelink and ATO, this enables the former to investigate and request your account details from banks. The specialized staff are there to review any such discrepancy.

Though Centrelink is not empowered to remove money from your bank account, it has the power to recover any amount you are not entitled to. To recoup any such funds, the agency can send you an Account Payable letter with details and demands. It can even reduce the payment by 15%. It can hire a debt collection agency to contact you regarding the amount. Apart from legal action, it is authorized to issue a garnishment against your wages, tax returns, salary or bank account to recover its money.

No, there is no provision to get the Centrelink advance payment early. Being a government agency, it has its set procedure for application, processing of it, approval and disbursement. There is no flexibility to give priority to an individual’s needs. Even if you become proactive and follow up about your application, there is less chance of getting approved quickly. During the application process, you can suggest the date for receiving the payment. However, instant approval is highly unlikely.

Still, you have alternatives. You may apply for a personal loan from bank or market lenders. At Nifty Personals Loans we understand that when people need cash, a lot of the time, they need it quickly. That’s why we specialise in fast online personal loans. If approved, you could have your money in as little as 60 seconds*. You are also entitled to get a loan of up to $10,000. Nifty uses the latest and greatest in banking technology to ensure we can access a read-only copy of your bank statements. It’s this technology that allows us to assess your application and give you a super-fast response!

Not only that but Nifty takes a fresh approach to lending.  We can offer fast personal loans to people on Centrelink and to people with bad credit. So, what are you waiting for? Apply with Nifty for the cash you need today and we’ll do our best to get back to you with a speedy outcome.