Who can get it

To get this payment, you must do all of the following:

• meet principal carer rules for a child under 14 if you’re single or under 6 if you’re partnered
• meet residence rules
• not have claimed before the birth of the child
• meet the assets test and be under the income limits.

You can’t claim Parenting Payment before the birth of a child. Only one parent or guardian can be paid Parenting Payment.

Parental Leave Pay is different to Parenting Payment. There are also other payments for families you may be able to get.

You may not be eligible if you get certain payments from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). Read more about getting a Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) payment.

If your youngest child is younger than 6

You can take part in ParentsNext.

Eligibility to transfer to Parenting Payment Single (PPS)

From 20 September 2023, single principal carers of a child aged under 14 can automatically transfer to PPS if they’re getting:

• JobSeeker Payment (JSP)
• Youth Allowance for job seekers.

If you transfer from JSP or Youth Allowance for job seekers to PPS, you get more money every fortnight. This is because the maximum basic rate of payment for PPS is higher than JSP or Youth Allowance for job seekers.

During the transition period, you’ll have 2 separate employment income reports to complete. You’ll need to report for the final days of JSP and also for the first few days of PPS. They may have separate due dates. This may happen if you transferred to PPS mid-way through your pay period. Once you complete these 2 reports, you’ll only need to report once each fortnight for PPS. Read more about reporting employment income.

Your existing mutual obligation exemption or requirements continue when you transfer to PPS.

If you’re eligible to transfer from JSP to PPS, we’ll send you a letter.

If you’ve set up your myGov Inbox, we’ll send you an SMS or email to let you know there’s a new letter. Otherwise we’ll send it through the post.

If you think you’re eligible and you haven’t got a letter, you can call us using the Centrelink employment service line.

Financial support when your Disaster Recovery Allowance ends

You can claim an income support payment from us when your Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA) or New Zealand DRA ends.

If you’ve lost your job you may be able to claim Parenting Payment.