Before 20 March, we may pay you Carer Payment if you do any of the following for up to 25 hours each week:
- paid or self-employed work
- volunteer work
- study
- training.
From 20 March 2025, you can work up to 100 hours in a 4 week period instead of 25 hours per week. You must still provide care for a significant period each day.
We have some examples to help you understand the rules.
Examples of the 25 hour rule
Renee is 22 years old and gets Carer Payment to look after their mother who needs constant care. Renee is a hairdresser and works part time from 10 am to 2 pm, Monday to Friday. Renee travels for a total of 30 minutes each day to get to and from work.
This means they work for 20 hours and travel for 2 and a half hours each week.
Meeting the 25 hour rule
As Renee only stops caring for their mother for a total of 22 and half hours each week to work, they meet the 25 hour rule.
Occasionally exceeding the 25 hour rule
One week on Thursday and Friday, Renee’s employer asked if they could stay back for 3 hours each day to cover for another employee. Renee said yes. This week, Renee will exceed the 25 hour rule because they’ll stop caring for their mother for a total of 28 and a half hours for the week.
Since this is temporary and doesn’t happen every week, Renee can choose to use some of their respite days to remain qualified for Carer Payment. If Renee doesn’t have any respite days we’ll cancel their payment.
When it’s time to report their fortnightly income, they can tell us to use respite days for the week they worked more than 25 hours.
Exceeding the 25 hour rule on an ongoing basis
Renee’s employer asked Renee if they could work an extra 2 hours each day on an ongoing basis, and Renee said yes. Renee now exceeds the 25 hour rule because they’ll stop caring for their mother for a total of 32 and a half hours each week.
Since this is ongoing, Renee cannot use respite days to remain qualified. As Renee no longer meets the eligibility rules for Carer Payment and we’ll cancel their payment.
Examples of the 100 hour work limit
From 20 March 2025, you will be able to stop caring to work up to 100 hours in a 4 week period instead of 25 hours per week.
Geoff gets Carer Payment to look after their mother who needs constant care. Geoff is an accountant and works part time from 9 am to 2 pm, Monday to Thursday. Geoff travels for a total of 45 minutes each day to get to and from work.
Geoff also volunteers at a local organisation for one hour each Friday morning, which takes 20 minutes to travel to and from.
This means they work for 20 hours and travel for 3 hours and 20 minutes each week, plus one hour of volunteering.
Up until 20 March 2025, Geoff would report all these hours as part of the 25 hour rule.
From 20 March 2025, Geoff will need to continue to report their work hours. Geoff no longer needs to report their volunteer work and their travel time to and from work.
Meeting the 100 hour work limit
As Geoff works 20 hours each week, they would report 80 hours of work in a 4 week period. Geoff meets the 100 hour work limit.
Occasionally exceeding the 100 hour work limit
One day, Geoff’s employer asked if they could work for 8 hours each Friday for the next 3 weeks to cover for another employee. Geoff said yes. Geoff reports the additional hours and works a total of 104 hours for that 4 week period. This was made up of 20 hours for the first week and 28 hours for the next 3 weeks.
Geoff exceeds the 100 hour work limit.
Since the Friday work is temporary and will go for less than 12 weeks, Geoff can choose to use some of their respite days to remain qualified for Carer Payment. If Geoff doesn’t have any respite days we may suspend their payment for up to 6 months.
When it’s time to report their fortnightly income, they can tell us to use respite days for the hours that were more than the 100 hour work limit.
One day of respite can be used for up to 8 hours of work over the limit. As Geoff worked 104 hours, they would be able to use one day of respite to remain qualified for Carer Payment.
If Geoff had worked 10 hours over the limit, they would need to use 2 days of respite to remain qualified for Carer Payment.
Exceeding the 100 hour work limit on an ongoing basis
Geoff’s employer asked Geoff if they could work the additional hours on Fridays on an ongoing basis, and Geoff said yes. This means Geoff would work 28 hours each week. Geoff now exceeds the 100 hour work limit because they’ll be working 112 hours in a 4 week period.
As this is ongoing, Geoff will not be able to use respite days to remain qualified for Carer Payment. Geoff’s payment may be suspended for up to 6 months. We will tell Geoff what he needs to do next.