- Rent assistance is a federal government payment for renters that qualify for welfare (e.g. Age Pension, Disability Pension, JobSeeker, Abstudy/Austudy, Youth Allowance)
- For renters with dependents, the payment is currently up to $291.48 per fortnight while renters without dependents can receive up to $219.40
- Rent assistance payments increase every March and September in line with inflation
For those of us who don’t own our home, rent is one of those things we just have to pay – like taxes. But if you’re struggling to afford your rent and already receive another form of payment from the government, you could be eligible for specific help with your rental payments.
What is rent assistance?
Rent assistance is a Centrelink payment available to some people who pay rent while receiving another form of government support. The amount a person might receive depends on how much rent they pay.
A single person who forks out at least $154.80 for two weeks' rent might be eligible for up to $219.40 of rent assistance each fortnight.
The payment can help ease the strain of paying rent to live in a house or unit, community or retirement housing, or in a boat, caravan, or relocatable home that incurs site or mooring fees.
Who is eligible for rent assistance?
You might be able to receive rent assistance from the government if you currently receive any of the following support payments:
Carer Payment or Disability Support Pension
ABSTUDY Living Allowance
Austudy or Youth Allowance
Family Tax Benefit
Parenting Payment
JobSeeker Payment
Farm Household Allowance
Special Benefit
Perhaps unsurprisingly, you must also pay rent, fees to a retirement village, lodging or board (or both), or site or mooring fees to be eligible for rent assistance.
It can also be offered to people living in community or defence housing under certain circumstances.
Special rules and conditions might also apply for young people or those who reside in a retirement village, so it’s best to check with Services Australia to see if you’re eligible.
Savings.com.au’s two cents
If you’re already experiencing financial stress, receiving rental assistance might help to lessen some of that pressure. For more tips on managing money and saving, check out our money saving tips.
How much can you receive through rent assistance?
How much rent assistance you can receive depends on how much rent you pay each fortnight. For every dollar of rent you pay over a certain amount you’ll receive 75 cents of rent assistance, up to a set maximum payment. The amount of rent you must pay to be eligible and your maximum payment is dependent on your personal situation.
The 2024/25 Federal Budget included a 10% increase to the maximum rate of rent assistance, which was passed on in September 2024. It followed a 15% increase to rent assistance included in the 2023-24 Federal Budget.
Generally, rent assistance gets updated twice a year (in March and September) in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and wage measures.
Rent assistance for those without dependent children (From 20 March 2026)
If you're | And your fortnightly rent is at least | Your maximum fortnightly payment could be | To get the maximum payment, your fortnightly rent must be at least |
|---|---|---|---|
Single | $154.80 | $219.40 | $447.34 |
Single and living in shared housing | $154.80 | $146.27 | $349.83 |
A couple (combined) | $250.80 | $206.80 | $526.54 |
One of a couple separated due to illness | $154.80 | $219.40 | $447.34 |
One of a couple temporarily separated | $154.80 | $206.80 | $430.54 |
Rent assistance for those with dependent children (From 20 March 2026)
If you're | Your fortnightly rent is at least | Your maximum fortnightly payment could be | To get the maximum payment, your fortnightly rent must be at least |
|---|---|---|---|
Single with one or two children | $203.28 | $257.88 | $547.12 |
Single with three or more children | $203.28 | $291.48 | $591.92 |
A couple with one or two children | $300.58 | $257.88 | $644.42 |
A couple with three or more children | $300.58 | $291.48 | $689.22 |
One of a couple separated due to illness or temporarily separated with one or two children | $203.28 | $257.88 | $547.12 |
One of a couple separated due to illness or temporarily separated with three or more children | $203.28 | $291.48 | $591.92 |
If you receive rent assistance, Centrelink might occasionally ask you to review and confirm your details to make sure you’re getting the right amount of support and that your eligibility hasn’t changed.
Your rent assistance could also be adjusted if your rent is raised or lowered, you move house, your income changes, or your family situation changes (such as in the case of divorce). The amount of rent assistance you receive can also change if payment rates shift in line with CPI.
Who isn’t eligible for rent assistance
Not every renter can pocket rent assistance. You might find yourself ineligible for the payment if:
You own or are buying the home you live in
You are travelling away from the home you own for less than 12 months
You live in an approved residential aged care facility that receives a government subsidy
You have a partner that receives rent assistance alongside Family Tax Benefit
You get an allowance and your partner receives rent assistance alongside their pension
You're leasing from a state or territory housing authority
How to apply for rent assistance
Good news for those among us that can’t stand paperwork: You don’t need to apply to receive rent assistance. The government will automatically check to see if you’re eligible if and when you claim another payment from them.
Those who might be eligible will likely be asked to prove that they pay rent. If they don’t have a formal tenancy agreement to do so, Centrelink could send them a rent certificate to fill out and return.
If you already receive rent assistance but you’ve moved house, you’ll need to confirm that you’re still eligible to receive it by signing in to your myGov account and updating your information.
Government guarantees to help people buy their own homes
If you considering buying your own home to get out of the rental market, it's worth considering federal government guarantees to help people with low deposits to purchase their own homes.
The main guarantee is the Australian Government 5% Deposit Scheme, available to eligible first home buyers and single parents.
The table below displays a snapshot of savings accounts in Australia with some of the highest interest rates on the market:
| Bank | Savings Account | Base Interest Rate | Max Interest Rate | Total Interest Earned | Introductory Term | Minimum Amount | Maximum Amount | Linked Account Required | Minimum Monthly Deposit | Minimum Opening Deposit | Account Keeping Fee | ATM Access | Joint Application | Tags | Features | Link | Compare | Promoted Product | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.05% p.a. Bonus rate of 5.30% Rate varies on savings amount. | 5.35% p.a. | $1,097 | – | $0 | $249,999 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Promoted | Disclosure | ||||||||
2.25% p.a. Bonus rate of 3.15% Rate varies on savings amount. | 6.00% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 5.40% p.a. | $1,134 | 4 months | $0 | $499,999 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Promoted | Disclosure | |||||||||
4.00% p.a. | 5.90% p.a. Intro rate for 4 months then 4.00% p.a. | $936 | 4 months | $0 | $249,999 | $0 | $1 | $0 | Disclosure |
