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Eligibility
To get this payment you must meet all of the following:
- be eligible for, or getting an income support payment or ABSTUDY Living Allowance
- be in severe financial hardship
- be charged with committing an offence
- have spent 14 or more days in prison or psychiatric confinement
- be in Australia when you make your claim
- contact us or make a claim up to 21 days before your expected release date, or within 7 days after.
If you’ve been released from a prison or psychiatric confinement located overseas, you can still claim a Crisis Payment. You must submit your claim from within Australia once you’ve returned.
Can’t get it
You can’t get this payment if you were either:
- held in an immigration detention centre
- released from a mental health facility but were not charged with committing an offence.
If you can’t get this Crisis Payment, read about other crisis and special help you can get.
Contact us
To get this payment you must contact us up to 21 days before your expected release date, or within 7 days after.
We consider you to have made contact if you do one of these to get a payment or concession card:
- begin a claim using your Centrelink online account
- call us on your regular payment line
- visit a service centre.
After contacting us, you must submit your claim within 14 days.