Parenting Payment - Alice's Story
Alice North is a 36 year old single parent of 2 boys, aged 5 and 9. She has been receiving Parenting Payment (Single) since 2000 and owns her own home. Alice was keen to re-enter the workforce when her children became old enough to attend school. So over the last 2 years, Alice has taken advantage of the Pensioner Education Supplement (PES), undertaking part-time business administration and computing courses to help prepare for a return to work.
After her youngest child started school recently, Alice found part-time work through an advertisement on the Australian JobSearch website. The job helps her keep work skills and experience up to date, while increasing her income and providing her with greater future career options.
Alice plans to further increase her hours of work as the children grow older. The graph below shows how Alice's total income from all sources will rise as she increases her earnings from employment.
Alice's income prospects
Total net income after tax
| No work per fortnight | 30 hours work per fortnight | 42 hours work per fortnight | 75 hours work per fortnight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parenting Payment Single (includes a Pension Supplement of $21.00) | $648.50 | $556.58 | $487.78 | $298.98 |
| Family Tax Benefit | $426.86 | $426.86 | $426.86 | $426.86 |
| Gross earnings | $0 | $429 | $601 | $1,073 |
| Tax | $0 | $94 | $110 | $162 |
| Total net income after tax | $1,075.36 | $1,318.44 | $1,405.64 | $1,636.84 |
By talking to a Centrelink Customer Service Adviser, Alice has learnt that she can further increase her working hours and earnings before losing her Parenting Payment (Single) and Pensioner Concession Card. Even with earnings beyond this level she will retain her Family Tax Benefit and will have extended access to a Health Care Card. Alice was also advised that she may have access to JET Child Care Fee Assistance for the first 26 consecutive weeks of employment and that she can apply for Child Care Benefit to assist with the out of pocket cost of child care. Alice feels in control of her future, she is meeting new people and looking forward to building her career as the children grow older.
Note: The rates quotes above do not include any Rent Assistance that may be payable. The tax rates in these scenarios are estimates only. You may be entitled to tax offsets that can be claimed as an end of year tax refund.
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More information
To find out more, you can:
- refer to payment rates of Parenting Payment
- find services and programs to help you look for work
- visit the Australian JobSearch website to search for job vacancies online
- use the Online estimators to calculate your own entitlements.