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Periodic compensation payments
Periodic compensation payments are all of the following:
- paid regularly, usually weekly
- for a defined time period
- considered unearned income.
Periodic compensation payments affect income support payments and concessions.
Our Compensation Recovery Team assess how to treat periodic payments for the customer’s income support payment. Periodic payments may be assessed as either of the following:
- a dollar for dollar reduction to their income support payment
- ordinary income.
Your client may get periodic compensation in arrears for a past period as a lump sum.
Your client may have to repay some or all of their payments from us if they get arrears of compensation for the same time period. It may also affect their partner’s eligibility for a payment from us for the same time period.
Example of arrears of periodic compensation and the effect on the customer’s income support security payment
Doug got $1,250 in income support payments from us while he was waiting for his periodic compensation payments to begin. When Doug’s periodic compensation payments started, the compensation payer owed him a compensation arrears payment of $2,000. The arrears were for the same period of time he was getting a payment from us. Doug’s compensation payer had to repay $1,250 of the compensation to us because of the dollar for dollar rate reduction. Doug got to keep the remaining $750.