Centrelink online account help - Manage your advance payments

in this guide

Step 1: get started
Step 2: make a payment
Step 3: adjust your repayments
Step 4: sign out

Read more about advance payment options.

If you're getting the Home Equity Scheme, there are different rules that apply to the Home Equity Scheme advance payment.

The screenshots in this guide are from a computer. The page layout will look different if you’re using a mobile device.

Step 1: get started

Select MENU from your homepage.

Select Payments and claims, then Manage payments and Manage advance payments.

The Advance Payments page shows the following:

the advance amount you were paid
how much you’ve repaid
the outstanding amount
your fortnightly repayment amount
when your final repayment is due
when you can apply for your next possible advance.

If you need help, select the question mark icon.

If you want to:

make a payment, go to Step 2
adjust your repayments, go to Step 3.

Step 2: make a payment

To pay some or all of the advance payment you owe, select Make a payment.

If you have more than one amount owing, you can select Make a payment for the advance type you want to pay.

Enter the Amount you would like to pay using Australian dollars, cents and a decimal point. Then select Next.

If you repay your advance in full, we may not give you another one straight away.

If you understand and agree with the declaration, select I acknowledge that paying off an advance today may mean I am not entitled to another advance immediately. Then select Next.

If you’re not repaying the full amount, you won’t see this message.

Under the Select a payment option, choose either:

credit or debit card
Post Billpay.

Then select Next.

If you select credit or debit card, make sure you have your card with you.

Credit or debit card payments can only be made once every 28 days for each advance type.

If you select Post Billpay, you can make a payment at any Australia Post agent. You can pay with cash, a credit or debit card, cheque or money order. You’ll need to either:

print the Post Billpay barcode
save a copy of the barcode to your mobile device.

You can only use the barcode for this payment.

If you pay with cash or card, your record will update instantly. Payments made with cheque or money order can take up to 7 working days to process.

In this example, we’ll select Credit or debit card, then Next.

You can also select either:

Back if you need to change any details
Cancel if you don’t want to continue or need to start again.

On the Payment information page, enter all of your card details, including:

Cardholder name
Card number
Expiry date on the card, month and year
Security code (CCV), the 3 numbers on the back of the card.

If the details you’ve entered are correct, select I confirm the payment details entered are correct, then Pay now.

Get your receipt

We’ll give you a receipt when you make a payment. Make a note of the Receipt ID for your records. If you don’t get a Receipt ID, check your bank account before making any more payments.

When you make a payment with a credit or debit card, you won’t be able to make another payment with a card for 28 days for this advance type. You can still make a payment at any Australia Post agent.

On this page, you can select any of the following:

Outcomes to view information about the payment made
Information you provided to view a summary of the details you’ve given us
Return to home to go back to the Advance Payments page.

Select Home to go back to your homepage.

This is the end of how to make a payment.

If you want to:

adjust your repayments, go to Step 3
sign out, go to Step 4.

Step 3: adjust your repayments

To change to your repayment amount, select Adjust repayments.

If you have more than one amount owing, you can select Adjust repayments for the advance type you want to adjust.

Enter the New repayment amount using Australian dollars, cents and a decimal point.

If you’re increasing your repayment, select Yes or No to tell us if you can afford this without putting yourself in financial hardship.

If you’re already paying the minimum repayment amount, you won’t be able to change it to a lower amount. If you’re having trouble repaying your advance, phone us on your regular payment line to ask for help.

Then select Next.