Almost 5 million Australians are set to receive an increase in welfare payments this month.
The government says it is the largest indexation increase to payments in more than 30 years for allowances, and 12 years for pensions.
However, advocates have described the rise as a "drop in the ocean" amid soaring cost of living expenses following months of interest rate hikes, rising inflation and rising energy prices.
Here is how much the payments will rise by and when it will arrive in bank accounts.
How much is the pension increase?
The pension increases $38.90 per fortnight for a single person and $29.40 per person per fortnight for a couple.
This means, for singles, the maximum rate of pension will increase to $1,026.50 a fortnight.
For couples, it will increase to $773.80 for each member, or $1,547.60 for both.
When will I get it and how?
The increase to welfare payments is set to kick in on September 20.
Recipients don’t need to do anything, the increase for CPI indexation will occur automatically in payments.
Can I earn extra income without losing benefits?
Yes, the government announced that people on the aged, veterans and disability pensions will also be able to earn extra income without losing their benefits.
Pensioners will be able to earn an extra $4,000 a year without penalty as an outcome of last week's Jobs and Skills Summit.
The government says the move is a response to growing labour shortages.
Why has there been an increase in payments?
This is a legislated six-monthly update to the payment calculation to keep up with changes to the consumer price index; not the outcome of any government decision.
The increase has been driven up by the highest inflation in decades.
What other payments are increasing?
- JobSeeker payment
- Rent Assistance
- Parenting payment
- ABSTUDY
JobSeeker recipients aged over 22 without children will receive an additional $25.70 a fortnight, taking their payment to $677 a fortnight.
Single parents will receive an extra $35.20 a fortnight, taking their parenting payment to $927.40.
The maximum rent assistance payment will go up by $5.80 per fortnight for singles with no children to $151.60, and by $5.40 for couples with no children to $142.80.
It will go up by $6.86 per fortnight for single parents and couples with up to two children, and by $7.70 per fortnight for single parents and couples with three or more children.
For couples on JobSeeker or parenting payments, the rate will increase by $23.40 a fortnight to $616.60.
Edwina MacDonald, the acting chief executive for the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS), said the indexation increase amounted to less than $2 a day for someone on JobSeeker, whose daily rate goes up from $46 to $48.
"This leaves it well below the poverty line," she said.
Which payments have missed out?
Youth Allowance and student payments for young people will not be indexed until January.
ABC/AAP
