In short: Some lenders will accept certain Centrelink payments as supplementary income for a home loan, commonly Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B where children are under a set age, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension and the Age Pension. Most require a taxable income alongside it. JobSeeker and other short-term unemployment payments are generally not accepted.
This is an area where general advice online is often wrong, and the consequences of getting it wrong are a wasted application and a credit enquiry on your file. What follows is how the payments are actually read on a credit desk, hedged where it needs to be, because policy differs between lenders and changes without notice.
The two questions an assessor asks
Every Centrelink payment gets tested against the same two questions.
- Is it long-term? A payment that continues for years is closer to income. A payment designed to cover a temporary gap is not. This is the whole reason JobSeeker is generally excluded and the Age Pension generally is not.
- Will it survive the loan term, or at least a meaningful part of it? Family payments end when a child reaches a certain age, so lenders that accept them usually require the child to be under a specified age at the time of application, often somewhere between five and thirteen depending on the lender.
A third, unstated question sits behind both: is there enough other income to carry the loan if this payment stops? Very few lenders will approve a home loan where a government payment is the only income.
Which payments are commonly accepted
The table below reflects what we commonly see across lender panels. It is not a guarantee, and it is not any particular lender's policy. We confirm the current position before an application goes anywhere.
| Payment | Commonly accepted as income? | Percentage commonly counted | Typical conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Tax Benefit Part A | Often, by a reasonable number of lenders | 100% | Child usually under a set age (commonly 5–13); must be supplementary to PAYG or self-employed income |
| Family Tax Benefit Part B | Often, alongside Part A | 100% | Same age conditions; some lenders take Part A only |
| Carer Payment | Sometimes | 100% where accepted | Usually needs to be ongoing and supplementary to other income |
| Disability Support Pension | Sometimes, by a smaller group | 100% where accepted | Usually needs to be permanent and evidenced by a Centrelink income statement |
| Age Pension | Sometimes | 100% where accepted | Age at end of loan term becomes the bigger issue; exit strategy required |
| Parenting Payment | Occasionally | Varies | Often excluded because it is means-tested and time-limited |
| Child support / maintenance | Sometimes | Often 100%, sometimes shaded | Usually needs a court order or Services Australia assessment plus 6–12 months of receipts |
| Rent Assistance | Rarely | Generally nil | Ceases when you buy your own home |
| JobSeeker Payment | Generally not | Nil | Treated as temporary support, not income |
| Youth Allowance, Austudy, ABSTUDY | Generally not | Nil | Time-limited |
Eligibility for each payment, the current rates and the age rules are set by Services Australia, not by lenders. Check your own entitlements at servicesaustralia.gov.au.
Evidence that actually works
The document lenders want is a Centrelink income statement dated within the last 30 days, downloaded from your Centrelink online account or the Express Plus app. It shows every payment you receive, the rate, the frequency and the start date. Screenshots of a bank transaction are not enough.
Alongside it, expect requests for:
- Three months of bank statements showing the payments arriving at the stated frequency.
- Proof of your children's ages, usually a birth certificate or a Medicare card listing dependants, because the age cut-off is the condition most often relied on.
- A court order or Services Australia child support assessment where maintenance is being counted, plus evidence of at least six months of receipts.
Worked example: what family payments add
Amanda is a single parent working part-time in aged care on a $58,000 salary. She receives Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B totalling around $12,000 a year for a four-year-old and a seven-year-old. Family Tax Benefit is not taxable.
- Lender A accepts both parts at 100% because both children are under its age threshold.
- Lender B does not accept family payments at all.
The arithmetic on the 2026–27 resident tax scale plus the 2% Medicare levy:
| Lender A | Lender B | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable salary | $58,000 | $58,000 |
| Tax ($4,020 on the 15% band, plus 30% above $45,000) | $7,920 | $7,920 |
| Medicare levy at 2% | $1,160 | $1,160 |
| Net salary | $48,920 | $48,920 |
| Family payments counted (tax free) | $12,000 | nil |
| Total net income | $60,920 | $48,920 |
| Net per month | $5,076.67 | $4,076.67 |
The monthly difference is exactly $1,000. At a rate of 6.00% p.a. assessed with the APRA buffer of 3 percentage points, the assessment rate is 9.00%, and over a 30-year term $1 of monthly surplus supports about $124 of loan.
$1,000 × 124 = about $124,000 of borrowing capacity.
That is the entire difference between a $450,000 budget and a $574,000 one, decided by whether the file went to a lender that reads family payments as income. These figures are illustrative and every lender's calculator differs. Build a baseline with the borrowing power calculator, then have the policy checked before you apply.
Two cautions on the same example. Amanda has two dependants, which raises the living expense benchmark the lender applies, so the full $124,000 will not appear in a real assessment unless her declared expenses already exceed the benchmark. And if her four-year-old were, say, eleven, several of the lenders that accept family payments would drop them. Read living expenses and HEM explained for the other half of this calculation.
Where a Centrelink income file goes wrong
- The child age threshold. A file approved comfortably last year can fail this year because a child had a birthday.
- No other income. Most lenders require the government payment to supplement PAYG or self-employed income. A very small number of specialist lenders consider pension-only applications, usually with a low LVR and a clear exit strategy.
- Age at the end of the loan term. For Age Pension and older applicants generally, lenders must be satisfied the loan can be repaid without hardship. Expect to be asked how the loan is repaid past retirement, whether by superannuation, downsizing or another documented plan. Your rights if repayments later become unaffordable are set out in financial hardship rights.
Deposit and scheme options
Nothing about receiving family payments excludes you from the schemes.
- The First Home Guarantee allows an eligible first home buyer to purchase with a 5% deposit and no LMI, with no income caps since October 2025. See the 5% deposit guide.
- The Family Home Guarantee is designed for eligible single parents and allows a smaller deposit again.
- Help to Buy, the federal shared equity scheme, reduces the loan you need to service, which matters a great deal on a modest income. See the Help to Buy guide.
- A family guarantee can remove LMI entirely. See buying with a guarantor.
If you are currently on paid parental leave rather than ongoing family payments, that is assessed on different rules again. See parental leave and home loans.
Frequently asked questions
Can you get a home loan while on Centrelink?
Often yes, if the Centrelink payment supplements employment or self-employed income and the payment is one lenders treat as long-term. Family Tax Benefit, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension and the Age Pension are accepted by some lenders in some circumstances. A loan supported only by government payments is possible with a small number of lenders but generally needs a low LVR.
Do lenders accept Family Tax Benefit as income?
A reasonable number do, commonly at 100% of the amount received, provided your children are under the lender's age threshold and you also have taxable income. The threshold varies and is often somewhere between five and thirteen. You will need a recent Centrelink income statement and proof of your children's ages. Policy differs widely, so the lender choice matters more here than almost anywhere else.
Is JobSeeker accepted for a home loan?
Generally no. JobSeeker is designed as temporary support while you look for work, so lenders do not treat it as income for a 30-year commitment. If you are receiving JobSeeker, the practical path is to secure ongoing employment first, then apply once you have payslips. Some lenders will consider a new role even during probation, covered in probation and new job home loans.
Can I get a home loan on the Disability Support Pension?
Some lenders will consider it, usually where the pension is permanent, supported by a current Centrelink income statement, and combined with other income or a substantial deposit. Expect a smaller panel and closer scrutiny of living expenses. A guarantor or a lower loan-to-value ratio strengthens the case considerably.
Talk to GNT Finance
Centrelink income is the clearest example of why lender choice decides outcomes. The same household is approved by one lender and declined by another purely on which payments the policy will read. Gorakh Timilsina assessed these applications as a senior credit officer, so GNT Finance knows which panel lenders accept which payments and what evidence they want to see. There is no cost to you for our home-loan service in most cases. Book a free consultation or call 0426 403 703.
This page is general information only and not legal, tax or financial advice. Payment names, rates and eligibility are set by Services Australia and change; confirm your entitlements with Services Australia, and lender policy with us, before you apply.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.