How to Claim JobSeeker Payment After Losing Work or Having Your Hours Cut in Australia

Can you claim JobSeeker after losing work or having your hours cut?

Yes, potentially. JobSeeker Payment is the main Centrelink income-support payment for eligible people aged from 22 to Age Pension age who are unemployed and looking for work. It can also apply if you are temporarily unable to do your usual work or study because of illness or injury.

Services Australia also recognises reduced-hours situations when starting a claim. You can start a JobSeeker claim if you are unemployed or on reduced hours, or if you know you will soon become unemployed or have your hours reduced. You still need to satisfy the full eligibility rules, including residence, income and assets tests.

If you are the main carer of a young child, your circumstances may instead make Parenting Payment relevant. JobSeeker and Parenting Payment have different eligibility rules, so do not assume they are interchangeable.

Claim early if you know your job or hours will change

You do not have to wait until your final day of work to begin preparing a JobSeeker claim. Services Australia allows you to start an early claim up to 13 weeks before your circumstances change.

For example, this can apply if you know you are going to lose your job or your employer has told you that your working hours will be reduced. You can enter the expected date of the change and complete the available sections of the claim in advance.

An early claim can be saved but cannot be submitted until the 14 days before the expected change. Services Australia says it will notify you when that submission window opens so you can review and confirm the claim.

If you submit an eligible early claim within those 14 days and Centrelink later determines that you meet the eligibility requirements, you may be eligible for payment from the day your circumstances change. If the change happens unexpectedly, start and submit your claim as soon as possible. In most cases where a claim is submitted after the change, eligibility for payment can begin from the date of claim, subject to the assessment and any waiting periods.

What eligibility rules does Centrelink check?

Services Australia says you need to meet all of the following basic requirements:

• be between 22 and Age Pension age;
• meet the applicable Australian residence rules;
• meet the income test;
• meet the assets test; and
• be unemployed and looking for work, or be temporarily unable to do your usual work or study because of illness or injury.

Being made redundant or having your hours cut does not automatically guarantee payment. Centrelink assesses your circumstances, including income and assets and, where applicable, your partner's financial circumstances.

What documents should you prepare?

Centrelink tells you which documents are required as you complete the claim. Required documents appear in the claim and generally need to be supplied before you can submit it. Depending on your circumstances, commonly requested information can include:

• your Tax File Number;
• bank account details and current balances;
• savings, term deposits, mortgage offset and overseas account information;
• investments, insurance agreements, real estate and other income or asset information;
• superannuation information where requested;
• partner and relationship information;
• visa, citizenship and overseas residence information where relevant;
• employment income details;
• an Employment Separation Certificate and payslips if you stopped work or lost your job, when Centrelink requests them.

Not every applicant needs every document. Follow the personalised document list generated by your Centrelink claim rather than delaying the application while trying to obtain documents that have not been requested.

Documents marked as supplementary should preferably be provided with the claim. Services Australia says you generally have up to 14 days after submitting the claim to provide supplementary documents. If Centrelink requests additional information while assessing the claim, it may put the claim on hold and generally gives 14 days to respond; failure to provide required information can result in rejection.

How to claim JobSeeker through myGov and Centrelink

The easiest official route is online. You need a Centrelink online account linked to myGov.

If you already have a CRN, sign in to myGov, link Centrelink using your CRN if it is not already linked, then open Centrelink. Select Make a claim or view claim status, choose Make a claim, then under Job Seekers select Get started and Apply for JobSeeker Payment.

If you do not have or know your CRN, Centrelink provides an identity process for linking your record. The current online claim guidance also supports using a strong Digital Identity to prove your identity and link Centrelink in relevant circumstances. Setting up myID may help if you use that identity route.

If you cannot claim online, Services Australia says you can claim by calling the Centrelink Employment Services line. You do not need to attend a service centre simply to make the claim by phone.

What happens after you submit the claim?

After an online claim is submitted, Centrelink provides a receipt containing the claim ID and an estimated completion date. You can track progress through your Centrelink online account linked to myGov or through the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.

Centrelink will contact you if more information is needed. Once a decision is made, the outcome is sent to your myGov Inbox if you receive electronic letters, or by post otherwise.

Services Australia currently says you can expect to hear from it within 21 days of submitting a JobSeeker claim. This is an assessment expectation rather than a guarantee: complex circumstances or missing requested documents can make a claim take longer.

Will you have to wait before JobSeeker starts?

Possibly. Centrelink calculates applicable waiting periods when it assesses your claim. The time taken to assess the claim does not itself change the waiting period.

Depending on your circumstances, relevant waiting rules can include:

• ordinary waiting period: some claimants have a one-week waiting period;
• liquid assets waiting period: if you or your partner have liquid assets above the relevant limits, the wait can be between 1 and 13 weeks;
• income maintenance period: this may apply where you or your partner receive leave or redundancy payments after stopping work;
• seasonal work preclusion period: this may apply if you or your partner finished seasonal, contract or intermittent work within the 6 months before claiming;
• newly arrived resident's waiting period: this can affect recently arrived Australian residents;
• compensation preclusion: a lump-sum compensation payment can affect when JobSeeker becomes payable.

Do not assume that redundancy pay or unused leave prevents you from lodging a claim. It can instead affect the date from which payment becomes payable through the income maintenance rules. Centrelink calculates the waiting period for your individual circumstances.

When will your first payment arrive?

Services Australia says that, in most cases, the first JobSeeker Payment is made around 2 weeks after the claim is approved. A waiting period can delay the payment start date.

You must also complete the initial tasks that Centrelink requires. In particular, you need to report your income before Centrelink can make your first payment. You may also need to complete a Job Plan and, if Centrelink tells you to, a Career Profile.

What must you do after JobSeeker is approved?

JobSeeker is not a set-and-forget payment. To keep receiving it, you generally need to report every 2 weeks and meet the mutual obligation requirements that apply to you.

Your fortnightly report includes employment income paid to you and your partner. You must report even if you and your partner received $0 employment income. Centrelink uses this information to calculate the correct payment.

You also need to tell Centrelink about relevant changes in your circumstances and overseas travel. If you have mutual obligation requirements, you need to complete the activities in your Job Plan. The precise requirements depend on your circumstances and employment-services arrangements.

What if you find work or your hours increase?

Starting work does not necessarily mean you should immediately stop reporting. Continue to report your employment income as required so Centrelink can calculate your entitlement.

If your income is high enough to reduce JobSeeker to $0, a nil rate payment period can apply. Services Australia says you can have up to 12 consecutive fortnights at a $0 rate before the payment is suspended or cancelled. You must continue reporting income during this period. If Centrelink pays you at least $1 before the end of those 12 fortnights, the payment is not suspended or cancelled on that basis.

What if you cannot work because you are temporarily sick or injured?

JobSeeker Payment can also cover an eligible person who is temporarily unable to do their usual work or study because of illness or injury. Centrelink may request medical evidence, including medical reports or certificates, depending on your circumstances.

This is different from a claim based on a long-term condition that may satisfy the rules for Disability Support Pension. If your situation is longer term, see the separate guide to claiming Disability Support Pension with medical evidence.

Common mistakes that can delay a JobSeeker claim

• Waiting unnecessarily until work has ended: if you know the change is coming, you can start an early claim up to 13 weeks beforehand.
• Missing the early-claim submission step: saving an early claim is not the same as submitting it. Review and submit it when the 14-day submission window opens.
• Leaving out required documents: Centrelink may reject a claim if required supporting documents are not supplied.
• Ignoring requests for more information: a claim can be put on hold while Centrelink waits for documents, and failure to respond within the allowed period can result in rejection.
• Assuming reduced hours rule you out: reduced working hours can still be compatible with a JobSeeker claim, subject to the income and other eligibility tests.
• Not reporting after approval: income reporting is generally required every 2 weeks, including when you and your partner received $0 employment income.