You need to meet some rules to get Rent Assistance. If you meet the rules we pay you automatically, you don’t need to apply. You need to be getting an eligible payment and you need to meet rules about the rent type and amount of accommodation.
Eligible payments
To be eligible for Rent Assistance, you must be getting one of these payments. Some payments have special rules for Rent Assistance.
We’ll check if you can get Rent Assistance when you submit a new claim for any of these payments:
- ABSTUDY Living Allowance, special rules apply
- Age Pension
- Austudy
- Carer Payment
- Disability Support Pension, special rules apply
- Family Tax Benefit - Part A at more than the base rate
- Farm Household Allowance
- JobSeeker Payment, special rules apply
- Parenting Payment partnered and single
- Special Benefit
- Youth Allowance, special rules apply.
Eligible accommodation cost types
To be eligible for Rent Assistance, you must also be paying one of the following accommodation costs:
- rent
- fees in a retirement village
- fees in an over 55’s village or lifestyle park
- lodging
- board and lodging
- site or mooring fees.
Eligibility outcome
We’ll send a message to your myGov Inbox to tell you if you can get Rent Assistance when either:
- we tell you the result of your new payment claim
- we tell you if your Rent Assistance will change due to your change of accommodation details.
If you don’t get electronic letters, we’ll send you a letter in the mail.
If we need more details, we’ll ask you for them.
If you think we’ve made a mistake you can ask us to review our decision.