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The information on this page may not apply to you if you’re permanently blind and get Disability Support Pension (DSP). Read more about employment income reporting when you’re working while getting DSP.
Reporting the employment income you and your partner get is important.
When reporting income, you need to tell us what you and your partner have been paid during the whole reporting period. This includes the first and last days.
We need to know all of the following about your reporting period:
- the gross amount each employer paid you, including your standard pay and other gross pay rates like overtime or penalty hours
- the total hours you worked, even if you will be paid for some of them in your next reporting period
- the time period your payslip covers.
You’ll find the gross amount on your payslip. It is the amount you get before tax and other deductions are taken out. It’s usually not what goes into your bank account.
If you get leave payments, you must tell us what kind of leave you get. Paid Parental Leave and Dad and Partner Pay are different to regular leave payments.
Your employers’ details may be prefilled when you report your employment income. If the details are wrong, you can reject them. You can then enter the correct details.
You can add employer and income details that haven’t pre-filled.
If you have multiple employers, each one may be pre-filled in your online account. This will save you having to add new employer details each time you report.
Report the full amount you are paid in your reporting period. For example, if you are paid monthly report the gross amount for the month in the reporting period it is paid to you. You don’t need to spread your income across two reporting periods.
If your pay period is longer than your reporting period, we’ll ask for the start and end date of your payslip. This tells us which reporting periods the income applies to.
Remember to note your hours each time you work. You can keep track of the hours you work using the earnings worksheet form.
Don’t forget to keep records. We may ask you to show proof of your employment income, such as payslips.
Find out more about payslips and what your employer should include on payslips, by visiting the Fair Work Ombudsman website.
What you need to tell us about leave payments
If you take leave from work, you need to report how much of your income in the reporting period was:
- paid leave
- hours you worked, including any paid sick leave hours.
You must tell us if your employer pays you a lump sum for leave. This includes leave you built up but didn’t take time off for. See Lump sums while on income support.
Paid Parental Leave
Parental Leave Pay and Dad and Partner Pay count as income. You don’t need to report these payments to us. We’ll include them when working out your payment.
Read more about Paid Parental Leave counted as income.
What types of income there are
Employment income from more than one job
You need to report your employment income from each job separately.
Keep track of your employment income from different jobs by using a different earnings worksheet form for each employer.
Severance or redundancy
You need to tell us if you leave your job and get a severance or redundancy payment. Your Centrelink payment may stop for a period of time. We call this an income maintenance period.
Superannuation
If you make voluntary superannuation contributions before tax, it counts as income. We include this in your assessable income when we work out how much to pay you.
What a nil payment period is
A nil payment period starts when you report employment income over a certain amount, and it reduces your income support payment to $0. This includes your partner’s employment income.
Usually, a nil payment period can be up to 6 fortnights in a row. After 6 fortnights in a row, we’ll cancel your payment if your employment income is still too high.
If we pay you at least $1 before the end of the 6 fortnights, we won’t cancel your payment.
What other things we need to know
When you report your income you must also tell us about any changes in your circumstances.
If you don’t, we may not pay you the right amount. This means you may not be paid enough, or you may have to pay us back.
Read more about Centrelink debts and overpayments.
If you need to tell us about changes to child support
Changes in circumstances can change how much child support you get or pay.
If your Child Support online account is linked to myGov you can sign in now to tell us about changes to your circumstances.
You can also call our general Child support enquiry line to tell us about changes.
Read more about changes that affect your child support.
If you make a mistake
You must tell us as soon as you can if you’ve made a mistake. For example, you’ve told us the wrong amount of employment income.
Sometimes when you tell us about changes, we’ll need some more details to make sure we’re paying you the right amount. We’ll let you know if we need more information from you.