Are you renting and on a Centrelink payment?
Rent Assistance is a separate top-up on top of your payment. It is not automatic in every case, and it is not paid at all if Centrelink does not know what you pay in rent.
$223.80
a fortnight, the maximum for a single person with no children
What this is
Rent Assistance is a supplement paid with another Centrelink payment when your rent is above a threshold. Because it is attached to something else rather than claimed on its own, people assume it is automatic, and it is not always: Centrelink can only pay it on rent it knows about. Someone who moved, whose rent rose, or who never filled in the accommodation details can be receiving a payment for years with no Rent Assistance in it.
Does it apply to you?
- Renters getting an eligible Centrelink payment
- People in board and lodging, community housing or a retirement village, which all count
- Anyone whose rent has gone up since they last told Centrelink
How to do it
- Check you get a qualifying payment. Rent Assistance attaches to another payment rather than standing alone.
- Update your accommodation details in your Centrelink online account through myGov: what you pay, how often, and who you pay it to.
- Supply proof if asked. A lease, a rent receipt, or a completed Rent Certificate signed by the landlord or agent all work.
- Tell Centrelink every time your rent changes. The amount is worked out from what you actually pay, so an out-of-date figure means an out-of-date payment.
Where people lose the money
Assuming it is added automatically because you rent.
It is worked out from the accommodation details on your record. If those are blank or stale, the amount is wrong or nil.
Not updating after a rent increase.
The payment follows what you actually pay. Telling them late does not always backdate.
Thinking you do not qualify because you share.
Sharers get a lower maximum, not nothing. Board and lodging counts too.
Questions
Can I get Rent Assistance on its own?
No. It is paid alongside an eligible payment such as JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, Age Pension, Disability Support Pension or Family Tax Benefit Part A, rather than being claimed by itself.
How much will I actually get?
It depends on your rent, your situation and whether you share. Above the threshold you receive 75 cents for every extra dollar of rent, capped at the maximum for your circumstances. Services Australia publishes the current table.
Does board count as rent?
Board and lodging is treated under its own rules and can attract Rent Assistance. So can community housing, retirement villages and some caravan and boat arrangements.
When do the rates change?
On 20 March and 20 September each year, in line with the Consumer Price Index.
Where these numbers come from
- Services Australia, How much Rent Assistance you can get · read 2026-09-23
Last gone over 2026-09-23. Figures change; the link above is always the current one.
Published by Income Lab, Melbourne. Responsible for this page: Jarred Krowitz.