How it works

When you get your Centrelink payment, it will be in 2 parts. Some goes to your regular bank account and the rest goes to your enhanced Income Management account.

We also put most lump sum and arrears payments in your enhanced Income Management account.

You can access the money in your enhanced Income Management account by either:

• using your SmartCard to pay for essential goods and services
• setting up direct payments from your account to pay your bills.

You do not earn interest on your enhanced Income Management account as you might do with regular bank accounts.

We can help you with any questions about using your enhanced Income Management account and SmartCard.

Choosing your SmartCard

In the NT, you can choose to have your enhanced Income Management account and SmartCard managed through us or the Traditional Credit Union (TCU).

There are differences between us and TCU. You can read about getting help with your enhanced Income Management account and SmartCard to understand these differences.

If you start on enhanced Income Management in the NT, we will check if your Centrelink payment goes to a regular TCU bank account. If it does, your enhanced Income Management account and SmartCard will be automatically managed through TCU.

If you choose to move from Income Management to enhanced Income Management in the NT, we will ask who you want to manage your account and card.

You can talk to us about who manages your account and SmartCard by calling the SmartCard eIM hotline.

Read about getting a SmartCard.