Residence rules

To be eligible for Carer Payment you must meet the residence rules.

On the day you claim you must be all of the following:

The person you are caring for must be:

  • living in Australia
  • an Australian resident.

There are exceptions if you are claiming under a Social Security Agreement.

To keep getting your payment, you both must be living in Australia as Australian residents.

When you need to wait

If you've recently arrived as a resident in Australia, you may have to wait 2 or 4 years to get this payment. There are some exemptions to this. Read more about the newly arrived resident’s waiting period.

How else you may meet the rules

If you’ve lived or worked in an agreement country you may be able to get Carer Pension. Read about which countries have agreements with us.

Page last updated: 17 March 2023.
QC 51824