Housing SA and community housing providers only take certain types of income into account when working out:
- eligibility for help paying bond or rent
- affordable rent limits for people receiving help paying bond and rent
- eligibility for public and community housing
- how much rent a public or community housing tenant is charged.
This table sets out the different types of income, and if they are assessable.
Contact Housing SA about income types that aren’t included in this list.
Contact Centrelink for more information about the below income types.
| Income type | Assessable | Description and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Abstudy | Yes | Financial help to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Australians who are studying or undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship. |
| Age Pension | Yes | Provides income support and access to a range of concessions for eligible older Australians. |
| Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme | No | Financial help for parents and carers of children who can't go to a local government school because of geographical isolation, disability or special needs. The AIC Scheme includes the Boarding Allowance, Distance Education Allowance, Second Home Allowance and Pensioner Education Supplement. |
| Austudy | Yes | Financial help to full-time students and Australian Apprentices aged 25 or over. |
| Carer Payment | Yes, except when calculating Housing SA rent, and it's paid to someone who provides care to a tenant who isn't the tenant's partner. | A payment for people who give constant care to someone who has a severe disability, illness, or an adult who is frail and aged. |
| Carers Allowance | No | An income supplement for people who give additional daily care to someone who has a disability, or medical condition, or an adult who is frail aged. |
| Carer Adjustment Payment | No | A one-off payment when a child younger than 7 gets a severe illness or has a major disability. |
| Carer Supplement | No | An annual lump sum payment for people who get certain carer payments and give care to a person with a disability or medical condition, or an adult who is frail aged. |
| Crisis Payment | No | A one off payment to help people who are experiencing an extreme circumstance and are in severe financial hardship. |
| Disability Support Pension | Yes | Financial support for people with a physical, intellectual or psychiatric condition that is likely to persist for more than 2 years and stops them from working. |
| Double Orphans Pension | No | A regular payment for people who give care to a child whose parents can’t care for them or have died. |
| Education Entry Payment | No | A once a year payment made to people when they start study if they get certain income support payments. |
| Energy Supplement | No | An extra payment to help people pay for energy bills, for example electric or gas, if they get certain payments. |
| Essential Medical Equipment Payment | No | A yearly payment to help with energy costs to run essential medical equipment or heating or cooling used for medical needs. |
| Family Tax Benefit Part A, paid on a fortnightly basis | Yes, except for people living in housing managed by Housing SA in an Aboriginal community. | A fortnightly payment paid per child that helps with the cost of raising children. |
| Family Tax Benefit Part B, paid on a fortnightly basis | Yes, except for people living in housing managed by Housing SA in an Aboriginal community. | A fortnightly payment paid per family to help with the cost of raising children. Provided to single parents, or non parent carers, a grandparent carer, or couples with 1 main income. |
| Family Tax Benefit Lump Sum Payment | No | Family Tax Benefit Part A, Family Tax Benefit Part B paid as an annual lump sum. |
| Farm Household Allowance | Yes | A payment for farming families in financial hardship. |
| Home Equity Access Scheme | No | A scheme that lets older Australians get a voluntary non-taxable fortnightly loan. Called the Pension Loans Scheme up until 31 December 2021. |
| JobSeeker Payment | Yes | Income support payment for people looking for work aged between 22 years and Age Pension age. |
| Language, Literacy & Numeracy Supplement | No | An extra fortnightly payment for people in the Skills for Education and Employment Program who receive the Disability Support Pension, JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment or Youth Allowance. |
| Mobility Allowance | No | A payment to help with travel costs for work, study or looking for work for people with a disability, illness or injury that means they can’t use public transport. |
| Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement | No | A lump sum increase to Family Tax Benefit Part A for people who start caring for a baby or child that’s recently come into their care. |
| Parental Leave Pay | Yes | A payment to help families taking time off work to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. |
| Parenting Payment | Yes | Income support for the principal carer of a young child. |
| Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment | No | A lump sum payment for the partners of Pension Bonus Scheme members who died and didn't successfully claim the bonus. New grants of Bereavement Allowance stopped on 20 March 2020. |
| Pensioner Education Supplement | No | A regular extra payment to help with study costs for people who get certain income support. |
| Pension Supplement | No | A regular extra payment to help with utility, phone, internet and medicine costs if you get certain income support. |
| Remote Area Allowance | No | A regular extra payment for people who live in a remote area and get certain income support. |
| Rent Assistance | Yes, except for people registering for public or community housing. | Financial help towards rent for people who pay rent and receive certain Centrelink payments. |
| Special Benefit | Yes | Help for people in severe financial hardship who can’t get other income support from Centrelink. |
| Special Employment Advance | No | An advance payment for people who are offered a job, but don't have enough money to pay for something needed to start the job, or people who are short of money because their employer hasn't paid them yet and this has reduced their Centrelink payment. The advance payment is paid back to Centrelink. |
| Status Resolution Support Service Payment (SRSS) | Yes | A regular payment for people waiting to hear about their immigration status to help with basic living costs. |
| Stillborn Baby Payment | No | A one off payment for people who have a stillborn baby. |
| Youth Allowance | Yes | Financial help for people who are students or Australian Apprentices and are aged 24 or younger or people looking for work who are aged 21 or younger. |
| Youth Disability Supplement | Yes | An extra payment for a young person with a disability who receives certain income support payments. |
| Youth Jobs PaTH Internship | No | Incentive payment received in addition to regular income support payment. |
Contact the Department of Veterans’ Affairs for more information about the below income types.
| Income type | Assessable | Description and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Age Pension | Yes | Provides income support and access to a range of concessions for eligible older Australians who are veterans. |
| Crisis Payment | No | A non-taxable, special one off payment to help veterans and their families in a time of crisis and financial hardship. |
| Department of Veterans' Affairs allowances | No | Depending on the accepted disability, people may also be eligible for some or all of the below types of allowances:
|
| Disability Compensation Payment | No, except when Disability Compensation Payment is the only payment listed on the income statement, then an amount equal to a normal Service Pension rate is assessable. Any amount above a normal Service Pension rate is not assessable | Disability Compensation Payment is a compensation payment for injury or illness caused by military service. It is paid at different rates depending on the level of disability.
|
| Education Entry Payment | No | A once a year taxable payment made to people when they start study if they get certain veterans income support payments. |
| Essential Medical Equipment Payment | No | A yearly payment to help veterans with energy costs to run medical equipment or medically required heating and cooling. |
| Home Equity Access Scheme | No | Veterans or their partners can use this scheme to supplement their retirement income through a loan from the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Called the Pension Loan Scheme up until December 2021. |
| Incapacity Payments | Yes | Compensation payments for an inability or reduced ability to work because of a service related injury or illness. Incapacity payments are based on the difference between a veteran's normal earnings and their actual earnings. |
| Income Support Supplement | Yes | Means tested income support for war windows or widowers in addition to their War Widow or War Widowers Pension. |
| Orphan's Pension | No | An additional pension paid for orphans of veterans. |
| Pension Supplement | No | Paid as part of certain regular fortnightly income support payments to help eligible people meet the costs of daily household and living expenses. |
| Prisoner of War Recognition Supplement | No | Special recognition of former surviving Australians prisoners of war, both veteran and civilian, for the severe hardships and deprivations they experienced. It applies to all surviving former Australian prisoners of war from World War 2 and the Korean War. |
| Remote Area Allowance | No | A regular extra payment for veterans who live in a remote area and get certain income support. |
| Rent Assistance | Yes, except for people registering for public or community housing | Financial help towards rent for people who pay rent and receive certain veterans payments. |
| Service Pension | Yes |
A means tested income support payment that provides a regular income for people with limited means. Service Pensions cover:
|
| War Widow(er)s Pension | No, except when War Widow(er)s Pension is the only payment listed on the income statement, then an amount equal to a normal Service Pension rate is assessable. Any amount above a normal Service Pension rate is not assessable | Paid to compensate widowed partners of veterans who have died as a result of war service or eligible defence service. |
| Income type | Assessable | Description and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Allocated Pension Income or Annuities | Yes | Income stream of a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund or Small Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Fund. Customers must provide proof of the income stream to Housing SA from their financial institution, including if they participate in the Centrelink Income Confirmation Service. |
| Australia Awards Scholarships | Yes | Scholarships provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to foreign students for the purposes of studying in Australia. |
| Carer Support Payment | No | A fortnightly payment from the Department for Child Protection paid to foster families and relative carers to help cover the costs of caring for a child in alternative care. |
| Child Care Payment | Yes | Total net income, or gross less allowable expenses, that is received for provide childcare service is assessable income. |
| Child Support Maintenance | Yes | A regular agreed amount paid by 1 parent to another parent to help with the costs of raising children. |
| Cost of Living Concession | No | A South Australian Government concession available to eligible South Australians on low or fixed incomes. |
| Defence Force Reserve Pay | Yes | Payment for those in reserve defence forced, not regular defence force personnel. |
| Enterprise, employment and training schemes | Yes | Enterprise, employment and training schemes, for example the Australian Government's Self-Employment Assistance program, are assessable. |
| Interest received | Yes | This includes interest received on invested lump sums, for example invested superannuation funds, bank accounts or any other interest yielding invested sum payment. All interest is assessable, there is no minimum limit. |
| Loss of earnings payments | Yes | Payment for loss of earnings, for example ReturnToWorkSA claim, insurance claim. Payments may be made in a lump sum or on an ongoing basis. If a tenant or household occupant receives a lump sum payment for loss of earnings, they may be ineligible for Centrelink for a time. Housing SA bases its assessment on the income assumed by Centrelink to establish the period the person is precluded from Centrelink income. This applies even if the person disposes of the lump sum payment. |
| Lump sum payments - other | No | The total amount of the following lump sum payments are excluded for rent and other assessment purposes:
|
| National Redress Scheme payment | No | A payment under the National Redress Scheme for people who experienced institutional child sexual abuse. |
| Overseas pensions or benefits | Yes | Any pension or benefit derived from a country that isn't Australia. |
| Real estate and business income | Yes | Any income associated with owning property or land, or any income derived from any commerce or trade. |
| Reimbursements | No | A reimbursement is a repayment for money already spent, for example reimbursement for expenses related to travel for work. |
| Salaries and wages | Yes | An annual salary is an agreement about the amount of pay for work over a 12 month period as a regular income. Someone who is paid wages receives a pay rate per hour, multiplied by the number of hours worked. |
| Salary sacrifice | Yes | Salary sacrifice in lieu of part of the salary is included and added to the gross income. |
| Self-employed income | Yes | Any income derived from a person's own business, trade or enterprise. |
| Scholarships, prizes and grants | Yes | There are a number of scholarships, prizes and grants awarded. The type and purpose of the payment determines if it's assessable or non-assessable. Any living component of the payment, including accommodation expenses but excluded education, travel expenses, is assessable. |
| Spousal Maintenance | Yes | A payment or regular payments from 1 partner to their former partner after separation. |
| Stolen Generations Redress or Reparations Package or Scheme payment | No | A payment for Stolen Generations survivors who were removed from their families or communities:
|
| Student Homestay Payment | Yes | Payments made to people who house students providing bed and board, usually paid by the student's family. |
| Supported by family | Yes | A payment or regular payments from a family member. |
| Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme payment | No | A payment under the Territories Stolen Generations Redress Scheme for Stolen Generations survivors who were removed from their families or communities in the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory or the Jervis Bay Territory. |
Page last updated: 27 June 2023