A reader is planning on travelling around Australia and wants to know if he can claim some government support for his accommodation.
Q. Graham
Hi, I’ve recently moved out of my unit at Robina on the Gold Coast and rented it out at $550 a week. I am planning to travel around Australia for two years. I was on the full pension but, because of the rental income, my pension has been cut to $627 a fortnight. Can I claim rental assistance for the site fees I pay at caravan parks?
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A. Renting your home out is a great way to generate income if you are travelling, but unfortunately for Graham, the rules about Rent Assistance are clear and he will not be eligible under his circumstances.
But first, what is Rent Assistance?
It’s a regular extra payment if you pay rent and receive certain payments from Centrelink including a Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension and, yes, the Age Pension.
You don’t need to submit a separate claim for Rent Assistance. Centrelink will check if you are entitled when you make your claim for eligible payments. You may have to complete a Rent Certificate form or provide a lease agreement, but only if Centrelink asks for it.
You can claim Rent Assistance for a caravan park if you pay site fees, but it must be your permanent, primary residence, and only covers one address. So, as Graham will be travelling around Australia, he will not be eligible.
He will also need to be careful about the length of time he travels. Services Australia only considers your home an exempt asset for the first 12 months of travel, after that it may assess your house as an asset under the assets test and Graham could lose even more income from the Age Pension.
For your information, Rent Assistance is also available for community housing such as disability accommodation or student accommodation, defence housing and some retirement village situations.
For more information, visit Services Australia here.
Do you have some money-saving tips for Graham while he is travelling? Why not share them in the comments section below?
Also read: How does Centrelink value rural land?
