Millions of Australians on Centrelink will be thousands of dollars better off with payments set to increase in a matter of days.
More than five million recipients, including pensioners, renters, and job seekers will receive increases from March 20 to keep pace with inflation.
A single pensioner will pocket an extra $3913 each year, with couples to receive an additional combined $5902.
People on JobSeeker payments will get an extra $3374 to $5038, with single parents, mainly women, set to be more than $7500 better off annually.
The maximum single rate of pension for those on the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment will increase by $4.60 to $1149.00 a fortnight.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said the government was helping with cost of living pressures.
‘We’ve spent the past three years strengthening our social security system, so that it helps Australians at whatever age or stage they’re at in life,’ she said.
‘Indexation is a critical part of our social security safety net. For pensioners and other payment recipients receiving this financial boost, this will help ease some pressure.’
Millions of Australians on Centrelink will get a boost to their pay from this month
Labor committed $11.5 billion to the nation’s social security system in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 federal budgets.
This year’s budget is set to be delivered on March 25, but could be substituted with an economic update if an early election is called.
Independent economist Chris Richardson crunched the numbers and reckons the government’s cash balance will be $11 billion better off than Treasury forecast in its mid-year budget update in December.
That’s the result of a $13 billion increase to the tax take this financial year, with more people in work resulting in higher personal income tax payments.
Company taxes are also expected to outperform thanks to prices of Australia’s key exports again falling slower than Treasury’s conservative estimates and a weaker Australian dollar boosting mining profits.
But indirect taxes, like the ones we charge on spending, are tipped to be $1.5 billion less than forecast.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down the federal budget on March 25 ahead of a federal election set to be called for May
‘Once again a key reason is that we don’t enforce our tobacco taxes, for reasons found in the dictionary under the word ‘stupid’,’ Mr Richardson said.
Despite the fiscal improvement, the budget is still expected to be in the red to the tune of $16 billion in 2024/25.
Including off-budget spending, which the government labels as an investment but still limits its fiscal capacity, that makes a headline deficit of $37 billion.
However, Mr Richardson is forecasting a $10 billion downgrade to the deficit in 2027/28, with spending promises accelerating but neither side of politics offering a solution of how to pay for the increased outlay.
