This information was provided by the Australian government.

You can receive part of your income support allowance or your family tax allowance (Part A) in advance.

This is a down payment, you pay it back later on your government payments.

Who can apply

You can request an advance after at least 3 months by obtaining 1 of these payments:

You can request an advance at any time if you receive any of the following payments:

When you are not eligible

You can’t get a cash advance if you’ve already had one in the past 12 months while getting 1 of these payments:

You are also not eligible for an advance if you:

• refund the one you got more than 12 months ago
• owe a debt to the Australian government
• can’t afford to pay it back within 6 months
• are outside of Australia.

If you benefit from the mobility allowance

You cannot get an advance if you are on mobility allowance and you:

• plan to leave Australia for more than 6 weeks within the next 6 months
• plan to stop your current job or training for at least the next 6 months
• get money from the National Disability Insurance Scheme – this does not include My Way in Western Australia.

What you can get

There is a limit to the amount we can advance you. The amount depends on the type of payment you receive.

Family tax benefit (FTB) Part A

If you get the FTB Part A, you can get 1 regular advance at a time. You can also request a one-off advance at any time. But your advances cannot exceed a total of $ 1,151.51.

For a regular advance, the amount you can get is 3.75% of the normal rate for 1 child under 13. We pay it to you every 26 weeks. We do this while you are still eligible or until you ask us to stop.

For a one-time advance, the highest amount you can get is 7.5% of your annual rate. This includes the additions, but not the supplement to family tax benefits in Part A.

The highest advance you can get depends on whether it is a one-time advance or a regular advance.

You are a blended family

If you are a step family, the highest and lowest amounts you can get depend on the percentage of your step family.

You repay yet another advance

If you already have an advance from us that you are still repaying, there is a limit. This is the maximum to which you would be entitled less FTB advances that you have not fully repaid.

Age pension, invalidity pension or carer allowance

In 6 months or 13 fortnights, you can only get:

• 1 advance of the highest amount
• up to 2 advances of smaller amounts
• 3 advances to the lowest amount.

You can request that the amount be paid in one go or in two installments.

The lower and higher amounts change with the pension amounts each March and September.

You receive a partial rate of your payment or you are under 21 and receive an invalidity pension

We will determine the amount of the advance we can give you using the amount of the pension you receive.

ABSTUDY, Austudy, JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment, Widow Allowance or Youth Allowance for job seekers and students

The lowest cash advance you can get is $ 250. The largest cash advance you can get is $ 500.

We can pay this either:

• everything at once
• in 2 installments.

Agricultural household allowance

The lowest cash advance you can get is $ 250. The largest cash advance you can get is $ 500.

We can pay the advance at one time.

Special advance for employment

The lowest cash advance you can get is $ 50. The largest cash advance you can get is $ 500.

You can get a special advance for employment if you receive any of these payments:

You can request this advance if you:

• you get a job for at least 6 weeks and your income support will be reduced by at least 50%
• you find a job and don’t have enough money to pay for something you need to get started
• you or your partner have reduced your support income by at least 50% and you have not yet received your salary.

Advance of mobility allowance

You can get 1 advance in 12 months.

The amount of the deposit is equal to 13 payments of the Mobility Allowance.

If you receive a deposit, your mobility allowance will stop. It will start again at the end of the advance period. It can be up to 6 months. We can resume your normal payments sooner if you start to qualify for a higher rate.

You cannot increase or decrease your reimbursement amounts.

How to register

The fastest way to apply online or with the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.