The Federal Government's COVID Disaster Payment has once again gone through another change - this time bumping up the weekly payment by as much as $100 if a state's lockdown goes into a fourth week.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced this afternoon that if you are unable to work due to public health orders, you can receive up to $600 in support after a month.
Under the changes, if a lockdown enters a fourth week, the payments will increase to: $375 if a person has lost between 8 and less than 20 hours of work a week, and $600 if a person has lost 20 hours or more a week.
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The $10,000 threshold asset test will remain scrapped for the fourth week, and the payments will be capped at those upper limits for any week after.
The announcement comes just hours after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian signalled that it was "unlikely" for Greater Sydney's lockdown to end after this Friday.
Still confused? No one can blame you - it's an extremely confusing system where the rules change by the week. Here's our simple breakdown:
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What is the COVID-19 Disaster Payment?
The COVID-19 Disaster Payment is a one-off cash payment for each week of lockdown.
If you've lost less than 20 hours of work, you can receive $325.
If you lost 20 hours or more of work, you can receive $500.
The payment is only accessible if you are locked down for more than seven days.
I will explain in more detail below, but the rates of $325 or $500 only apply to the first three weeks of a lockdown.
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Okay, who can access the payment?
To access the payment you need to live or work in an area that has been declared a Commonwealth COVID-19 hotspot.
Only the Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly can do that.
Again, the payment is only accessible if you are locked down for more than seven days.
On June 26, Professor Kelly declared all of Greater Sydney plus the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong as Commonwealth hotspots.
That means residents and workers in these areas can already claim and be paid.
But that's not the end of it - starting from today, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that her government would open up the payments to residents outside of Commonwealth-declared hotspots if they can prove they have lost a certain amount of work due to stay-at-home orders.
For example, this will help tourism operators who sit outside the Greater Sydney region but rely on Sydneysiders to travel to their region.
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What if I'm living outside of NSW? What about Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory?
The COVID Disaster Payment is not state-specific. It doesn't matter what state the lockdown occurs in.
The basics of the payment still apply:
- You need to live or work in a Commonwealth declared hotspot (which state governments cannot control)
- The lockdown needs to last for more than seven days
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That's pretty confusing. Are there any more terms and conditions I need to know about?
To receive the payment you must be an Australian resident, a permanent resident or be an eligible working visa holder.
For the first two weeks of a lockdown, to receive any payment you need to have liquid assets of $10,000 or less.
That means if you have more than $10k in the bank worth of savings – or trust fund money, or shares – you wouldn't be eligible.
And no, your car is not a liquid asset.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that if a lockdown enters a third week, the liquid asset test will be scrapped.
That means for Sydneysiders, they can now apply for the payment after a third week if they have more than $10,000 in the bank.
You also won't receive the payment if you're getting income support payments, another form of pandemic leave payment or a state small business payment.
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Okay. And what if the lockdown enters a fourth week or more?
If the lockdown enters a fourth week or more, those payments are bumped up to $375 if a person has lost between 8 and less than 20 hours of work a week, and $600 if a person has lost 20 hours or more a week.
These rates - of $375 and $600 per week - are the ceiling and will stay that way for however long a lockdown will last.
The $10,000 asset test also does not apply from the third week going forward.
I'm totally lost. Can you give me an example?
Put it this way: Let's pretend that you are a hairdresser with more than $10,000 in the bank (perhaps you are saving for a house deposit).
You have lost pretty much all of your work because of stay-at-home orders.
You can receive the COVID Disaster Payment for the third and fourth weeks of a lockdown, and then for however long it lasts after that.
You can't receive the first two weeks because your liquid assets exceed $10,000.
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Right ... I think I'm still eligible. How do I apply for the payment?
To apply for the payment, you need to have an online myGov account to which you can link a Centrelink online account (if you haven't already).
Once online, Centrelink will ask the user a series of questions to determine if they are eligible to claim the payment.
If you are, a claim will be submitted and the user will be sent a text message confirming the claim has been submitted successfully.
Services Australia has said on its website that it can all be done online without giving them a call.
But Prime Minister Scott Morrison keeps repeating in press conferences that Australians should ring 180 22 66 to find out if they are eligible.
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The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.
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