Residence rules for Carer Payment - Carer Payment

On the day you claim, you must both be usually:

Newly arrived residents generally have to wait 2 years before getting this payment, with some exemptions.

If you don’t meet these rules you may be able to claim if you’ve lived or worked in a country that has a social security agreement with Australia.

To keep getting Carer Payment

To keep getting Carer Payment you must usually both continue to be Australian residents.

You usually need to be an Australian resident to get a payment from us. We explain how we define an Australian resident.

If you've recently arrived as a resident in Australia, you may have to wait to get payments or concession cards.