Assessable assets

An asset is any property or item of value you or your partner own or have an interest in, including those held outside Australia.

Most assets are assessable and are taken into account when calculating your Australian Government income support payments.

The value of your assets is what you would get for them if you sold them. Generally, any debt secured against an asset is deducted from the value of that asset.

Assets that are assessed under the assets test

Assets assessed under the assets test - assessable assets - include:

• any cash or money you have in bank, building society or credit union accounts (including interest free accounts), interest bearing deposits, fixed deposits, bonds, debentures, shares, property trusts, friendly society bonds and managed investments
• any assets you hold in superannuation and rollover funds if you are of Age Pension age
• the value of any real estate, including holiday homes, you own (this does not include your principal home)
• the value of any businesses and farms, including goodwill (where goodwill is shown on the balance sheet)
• the surrender value of life insurance policies
• the value of gifts worth more than $10,000 in a single year or more than $30,000 in a 5 year period
• the value of any loans (including interest free loans) you have made to family trusts, members of the family, organisations, and so on
• the value of any motor vehicles you own
• the value of any boats and caravans you own which you do not use as a home
• the value of your household contents and personal effects
• the value of any collections you have for trading, investment or hobby purposes
• the value of your entry contribution to a retirement village if it is less than the difference between the homeowners' and non-homeowners' assets limits
• some income streams products
• the attributed value of a private trust or private company where you are a controller of that trust or company
• the value of a life interest created by you or your partner, or upon the death of your partner.