Report your income

We need to know the gross income you or your partner get so we can pay you the right amount. This means the amount you get before tax.

What to report

You will need to report your employment income to avoid getting a debt. If you are overpaid, you will have to pay the money back.

You can get income from a variety of sources.

Income from work includes:

• gross income from wages and salary
• bonuses
• penalty rates and overtime
• back pay or holiday pay
• commission
• self-employment.

Income from other sources:

• gifts or allowances
• profits
• income from a deceased estate
• sickness or accident insurance.

You must also report any income you or your partner get from overseas. This includes pensions from other countries.

What we need to know

When reporting your or your partner’s income, we need to know:

• the gross amount each employer paid you during your reporting period as shown on your payslip
• your employer’s details
• the date you started work.

You will find your employer’s ABN on your payslip, or you can ask your employer. We will need to know their business name, address, phone number and Australian Business Number (ABN).

When to report

You need to tell us as soon as possible if you or your partner do any of the following:

• get a job
• stop working
• your income changes.

When you start work you need to report your income every 2 weeks for your payment to continue.

If you do not report every 2 weeks your payment will stop. If you report late, your payment will be late.

How to report

You need to report your income on your reporting day. You can report to us either online or by phone.

Online:

• Centrelink online account through myGov
• Express Plus Centrelink mobile app. The app is available to report in English, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Persian (Farsi) and Vietnamese.

If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov, sign in now to report your income.

Sign in to myGov

By phone:

• Call the Centrelink multilingual phone service and follow the prompts which will direct you to the first available Service Officer. Have your Customer Access Number or Customer Reference Number handy when you call.

If I am self-employed

You will be given a Business Details form to complete and return.

You need to provide a 3 month estimate of Profit and Loss, either from an accountant or by completing a Profit and Loss Statement form.

We will assess your profit and loss and work out your average fortnightly profit.

We will assess your profit and loss every 3 months until you have an income tax return that represents a full financial year of trading.