Weekly payment option

Some people can get income support payments paid each week instead of each fortnight.

With weekly payments you get the same income support, but we divide it into 2 smaller amounts. You’ll get a payment every 7 days, which may help you budget.

Who can get weekly payments

We can pay you weekly if any of the following apply. You are:

  • having trouble managing your money
  • homeless
  • at risk of being homeless.

You get one of the following payments:

We don’t pay Family Tax Benefit weekly.

If you go on weekly payments, you can’t get an immediate or urgent payment.

How it works

Before we agree to weekly payments, we’ll talk with you about:

  • your budget, including if you make payments such as rent weekly or fortnightly
  • where you’re living
  • using Centrepay to pay your bills.

If you’re eligible for weekly payments, they’ll start from your next payment date. You’ll get part of your payment on the first payment date. You’ll get the other part 7 days later. The amount you get depends on your income, assets, and any automatic deductions.

If you get extra payments with your regular payments, such as Rent Assistance or Remote Area Allowance we’ll pay them weekly, if we can. If we can’t pay the extra payment weekly, you’ll get the full amount every fortnight. This means you may not get the same amount each week.

Apply online with some new claims

You may be able to choose the weekly payment option when you make a new claim for either:

If you’re eligible for weekly payments, this option may be available as part of your online claim. It won’t show as an option in all online claims.

Apply at any time over the phone or at a service centre

You can apply for weekly payments at any time if you:

  • already get one of the above payments from us
  • make a new claim for an income support payment.

If you can’t apply online, you can either:

If you go back to fortnightly payments

When things improve, you can go back to fortnightly payments. You can ask to do this at any time by either:

You may go back to fortnightly payments if any of the following apply:

  • there’s a break in your income support payment, including cancelled or suspended payments, even if your payment restarts
  • you don’t meet your requirements
  • you’re no longer eligible for a payment we can pay weekly.

If you start work

If you’re on weekly payments, once you start working you may be able to stay on them if you still get payments from us. If you went onto weekly payments before December 2012, your weekly payments may stop if you start working. How much you get depends on your income, assets, and any automatic deductions.

You need to report your and your partner’s income so we pay you the right amount. Read about income reporting.

When we do reviews

We may review your weekly payment option when any of the following happen:

  • your circumstances change
  • you’ve been getting weekly payments for 11 months straight
  • you ask us to stop this arrangement.

We won’t review your weekly payment option if you get either Age Pension or Disability Support Pension.

Page last updated: 5 September 2024.
QC 28981