Home Loans & Centrelink Benefits
How do Centrelink benefits affect your loan application?
With all the experience we have in the finance industry, our brokers know the ins and outs of lending criteria and serviceability tests. This includes knowing what loan options are available for clients who are receiving Centrelink benefits.
What Centrelink income is accepted?
- Family Tax benefit (A&B)- this only refers to the actual payments, not any supplementary payments also received (such as rent assistance, pharmaceutical assistance etc). It is also age dependant, with many lenders not accepting this type of benefit for children over the age of 11 years.
- Child support payments- for many lenders, this type of benefit may also be age dependant, and you must also be able to show that it is court ordered.
- Veteran and Widows Pension- these are generally the only two types of pensions that are acceptable; any other types of pensions will need to be shown as ongoing.
What do I need to prove my Centrelink income?
Can I rely solely on Centrelink income?
Most lenders will want to see that you are working in addition to receiving Centrelink benefits. However, as long as one applicant on the loan is working, most banks will accept the other applicant relying solely on Centrelink benefits income.
What Centrelink income is not acceptable?
Apart from supplementary income received with your Centrelink benefits being an unacceptable form of Centrelink benefit income, the following Centrelink benefits are also generally excluded from servicing assessments:
- Carer’s payments
- Disability pension (unless you can show you they will be continue to be received in the next five years
- Age pension
- Overseas pension
For more information, enquire online and one of our brokers will be in contact with you.