Centrelink 750 Payment Eligibility : $750 Stimulus Payment Centrelink / Services Australia

Reports of at least one fraudulent federal budget text message contain one-time payment of $750 going out at the same time as the government’s release have prompted warnings to Australians to be vigilant.

Some individuals received a text message claiming to be from myGov, informing them that they may receive a one-time payment of $750. The text states: “myGov: Eligible individuals can receive a one-time payment of $750 to help with their living expenses,” and it offers a link to what seems like a fraudulent website.

There is no one-time payment of $750 in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ budget, but millions of people are getting some help with the cost of living. Your energy bill will be reduced by up to $500 as a result of a crucial fiscal action.

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COVID-19 Disaster Payment

The COVID-19 Disaster Payment was announced on 3 June 2021. It was a lump sum payment for those who had lost work or income as a result of a COVID-19 lockdown. The payment was announced one week into a COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria, which commenced on 28 May 2021.

Payment rate

The COVID-19 Disaster Payment had three different rates based on the number of hours of work lost by an eligible recipient and whether or not they were receiving an income support payment:

• $200 per week for those in receipt of an income support payment who lost eight or more hours of work per week or a full day of their usual hours per week (what the person was scheduled to work including shifts of less than eight hours) as a result of the lockdown
• $450 per week for those who lost between eight and less than 20 hours of work per week or a full day of their usual work hours per week as a result of the lockdown and
• $750 per week for those who lost 20 hours or more of work per week as a result of the lockdown.

These were flat rates paid for those who lost work in an eligible lockdown period. There was no pro-rata adjustment for rates in shorter lockdowns—the full amount was paid where an individual was eligible. When first announced, the payment was considered taxable income.

The payment rate was reduced once an 80 per cent vaccination rate was reached in the payment recipient’s state or territory of residence. In the first week after this vaccination rate was reached, a $450 payment rate would apply for those who had lost eight or more hours of work (or a full day of their usual hours per week) except for those on income support who could receive a rate of $100. In the second week after the 80 per cent vaccination rate was reached, the payment ended for those on income support and the payment rate was reduced to $320 for all other eligible recipients.

Eligibility requirements

Qualification requirements for each jurisdiction in which the payment was available were published on the Services Australia website and some of the qualification requirements were included in the regulations providing for the payment (item 492). To receive the final form of the COVID-19 Disaster Payment (reflecting the changes of July 2021 discussed below), a person had to have:

• been aged at least 17 years old
• been an Australian resident or a holder of a visa class permitted to work in Australia
• resided or worked in, or have visited, an area subject to a state public health order for a lockdown and which had been determined by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer to be a COVID-19 hotspot (or in another area outside of the hotspot where the state or territory government has agreed to fund the payment)
• been unable to work and have lost income because of the lockdown
• not been receiving a state pandemic payment, PLDP or a state small business payment for the same lockdown period and
• have had insufficient pandemic-related leave entitlements.

Triggers for the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer to determine a COVID-19 hotspot included a rolling three day average of ten locally acquired cases per day in metropolitan areas or three locally transmitted cases per day in rural and regional areas (note that these were not the only factors considered). Criteria for the Commonwealth Chief Medical Office to declare a COVID-19 hotspot differed from those used by some state and territory health authorities.