Periodic compensation payments can be one or all of the following:
- paid regularly, for example weekly or fortnightly
- paid as back payment for a past period
- considered unearned income.
Periodic compensation payments affect Centrelink payments and concessions.
Our Compensation Recovery Team assess how to treat periodic payments for the client’s income support payment. Periodic payments may be assessed as either:
- a dollar-for-dollar reduction to their income support payment
- ordinary income.
Your client may receive periodic compensation in arrears for a past period as a lump sum.
Your client may have to repay some or all of their Centrelink payments if they receive arrears of compensation for the same period. It may also affect their partner’s entitlement for a Centrelink payment for the same period.
Example of arrears of periodic compensation and the effect on the client’s Centrelink payments
Alex received $1,250 in Centrelink payments while he was waiting for his periodic compensation payments to begin. When Alex’s periodic compensation payments started, the compensation payer owed him a compensation arrears payment of $2,000. The arrears were for the same period he was receiving a Centrelink payment. Alex’s compensation payer had to repay $1,250 of the compensation to us because of the dollar-for-dollar rate reduction. Alex got to keep the remaining $750.