When you’ll get your first payment

Once your Parenting Payment starts, we’ll pay you fortnightly.

If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov, you can check your completed claim online. Sign in now to find out:

• when we’ve assessed your claim
• if your claim is in progress
• if your claim is on hold because we’ve asked you to send us more information
• when your payment will start
• if you have income or are required to report each fortnight
• the date your first income report is due.

Sign in to myGov

If your Centrelink account isn’t linked to myGov, find out how to set it up so you can check your claim.

If you claimed over the phone, we’ll send you a message to let you know your claim outcome. If your claim is successful, we’ll let you know both:

• when you’ll get your first payment
• how much you’ll get.

Some people may have to wait for their payment if they have a waiting period.

If you have a waiting period applied

In some circumstances, you may have to wait for your first Parenting Payment.

Ordinary waiting period

Some people will have a one week ordinary waiting period. Read more about the ordinary waiting period.

You got a lump sum payment when you finished work

If your employer paid you a lump sum as either:

• annual leave
• a redundancy when you left.

 The time you have to wait is relative to the lump sum payment. Read more about income maintenance periods.

You left your job voluntarily or lost it due to misconduct

You may have to wait depending on the circumstances if both of the following apply:

• you’re single and your youngest child is 6 or older
• you chose to leave your job or you lost it due to misconduct.

Read more about:

• when penalties apply for job seekers in the Remote Australia Employment Service (RAES)
• unemployment failure for job seekers with Workforce Australia and Inclusive Employment Australia.

Find out more about:

• RAES for job seekers on the National Indigenous Australians Agency website
•  Workforce Australia on their website.

You recently finished seasonal work

You may have to wait if you or your partner finished seasonal, contract or intermittent work in the 6 months before claiming.

The time you need to wait depends on how much you earned and how long you were working. Read about the seasonal work preclusion period.

You’re new to Australia

If you’ve recently arrived in Australia as a resident, you may have to wait up to 4 years to qualify. Read about the newly arrived resident’s waiting period.

You’ve had a compensation payment

If you’ve had a lump sum compensation payment, you may have to wait a period relative to your lump sum payment. Use our estimator or contact us for information about your compensation preclusion period.

We have tips and tools for budgeting and managing your money during this time.

What other factors affect your start date

You may need to wait if we cancelled your payment for not meeting your requirements. We call this a cancellation non-payment period.

This applies if you didn’t meet your requirements when you needed to take part in either:

• Workforce Australia
• Inclusive Employment Australia.

Read more about:

• what you need to do if your payment is cancelled for not meeting requirements
•  Workforce Australia on their website
• Inclusive Employment Australia on the Department of Social Services website.

When you can appeal a waiting period decision

You have the right to appeal if you think we got your waiting period wrong.

Read about reviews and appeals.