--- title: What is the...Jobseeker Payment? description: What is the...Jobseeker Payment? image: https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/hubfs/iStock-871967204.jpg --- [![Realise-Your-Dream-Logo](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Realise-Your-Dream-Logo.png?width=175&name=Realise-Your-Dream-Logo.png "Realise-Your-Dream-Logo")](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream) # Realise Your Dream ![](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/hubfs/iStock-871967204.jpg) # What is the...Jobseeker Payment? By Peter Kelly on 17 August 2022 Over recent weeks I have received a number of enquiries from advisers with clients wanting to “retire early” in order to spend time with their older partner who is already receiving an age pension. The questions I have been receiving are around the younger partner wanting to stop working, often a couple of years before they reach the age pension age and applying for the Jobseeker Payment to carry them through until they qualify for the age pension. Before going too far, we need to revisit exactly what the Jobseeker Payment is. Many will recall that the Jobseeker Payment rose to prominence, along with the JobKeeper Payment, when the pandemic first graced our shores back in early 2020. However, that was quite coincidental. The Government had previously announced plans to consolidate several income support benefits into a new single income support payment, to be known as the Jobseeker Payment. Previous benefits rolled into the Jobseeker Payment included NewStart Allowance and the Sickness Allowance. The transition to Jobseeker Payment took effect from 20 March 2020. The Jobseeker Payment is an income support payment payable to people under age pension age who are unemployed or are temporarily incapacitated from work or study due to sickness. To qualify for a Jobseeker Payment a person must, in most circumstances, satisfy a “mutual obligation” requirement. This requires them to engage with an employment service and enter into a job plan. This generally requires the job seeker to be looking for and accepting suitable work, attending appointments with their employment service provider, and attending job interviews and other suitable activities. In addition, undertaking voluntary work may contribute to satisfying mutual obligation. Applicants may have full-time or part-time mutual obligation requirements. A point system for satisfying mutual obligation has recently been introduced. Failing to satisfy mutual obligation requirements may result in disqualification from receiving the Jobseeker Payment. Where an applicant for Jobseeker Payment is aged 55 to 59, they can meet their mutual obligation requirement doing a combination of paid and voluntary work. If they have been in receipt of Jobseeker Payments for more than 12 months, they can fulfil their mutual obligation requirement by undertaking 30 hours of voluntary work per fortnight. For those aged 60 and over, mutual obligation can also be met by undertaking a minimum of 30 hours of voluntary work per fortnight thereby removing the need to be actively seeking employment. In addition to mutual obligation, applicants for Jobseeker Payments may also be required to satisfy three waiting periods. The Ordinary Waiting Period is a period of one week and needs to be served by all applicants unless otherwise exempt. The Income Maintenance Period applies where a person leaves their employer and they receive termination payments or accrued leave entitlements. For example, if a person were to cease employment and they received payment of (say) eight weeks accrued annual and long service leave, they will generally be precluded from receiving Jobseeker Payments for eight weeks. Where a person has liquid assets such as money in the bank, they may need to serve a Liquid Asset Waiting Period. This can range from 1 to a maximum of 13 weeks and is calculated by deducting a reserve amount ($5,000 for a single person or $10,000 for a couple) from the total liquid assets and dividing the result by $500 (single) or $1,000 (couple). For example, a single person with liquid assets of (say) $10,000 would have a Liquid Asset Waiting Period of 10 weeks (i.e. $10,000 - $5,000 = $5,000 ÷ $500 = 10 weeks). Where a person is affected by both the Income Maintenance Period and the Liquid Asset Waiting Period, they can be served concurrently. When it comes to understanding the Jobseeker Payment there are a lot of moving parts. This is only a brief summary of the Jobseeker Payment. Importantly, for those people approaching age pension age (currently 66.5 or 67, depending on date of birth), simply deciding to stop working and receiving income support benefits from the Government in the lead up to qualifying for the age pension without doing something in return, may not be an option. Aside from the various waiting periods, mutual obligation requirements will still need to be met. Additional information on Government income support benefits can be found at [https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/](https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/) Share this with a friend: [![Share on Facebook](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-fb.svg)](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on LinkedIn](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-linkedin.svg)](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on Twitter](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-twitter.svg)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=What%20is%20the...Jobseeker%20Payment%3F) [![Share on Pinterest](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-pinterest.svg)](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dpinterest&media=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn2.hubspot.net%2Fhubfs%2F522195%2FSphereOne%2FSVGLogoNew%2Ficon-pinterest.svg) [![Share on Email](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/522195/SphereOne/SVGLogoNew/icon-mail.svg)](mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail%20&body=Check%20out%20https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Demail) ##### comments 0 ![Peter-Kelly](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/2019/Images/Newsletter%20Images/Peter-Kelly.png?width=800&name=Peter-Kelly.png "Peter-Kelly") ### About Us ##### Peter Kelly PK believes people have the right to accurate, affordable and unbiased information that addresses all aspects of their preferred retirement lifestyle, thereby giving them the opportunity to make informed decisions that will empower them to live out their lives with dignity, certainty and security.   ### subscribe Please fill in the form below to subscribe to our blog ### Recent Posts ### blog categories - [Retirement (94)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/retirement) - [Lifestyle (73)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/lifestyle) - [Age Pension (59)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/age-pension) - [superannuation (57)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/superannuation) - [Financial Planning (54)](https://blog.centrepointalliance.com.au/realiseyourdream/tag/financial-planning) ### Connect with us Follow us on social media [![Share on facebook](https://7528309.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528309/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/facebook-color.png?width=24&name=facebook-color.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on linkedin](https://7528302.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528302/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/linkedin-color.png?width=24&name=linkedin-color.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.centrepointalliance.com.au%2Frealiseyourdream%2Fwhatisthejobseekerpayment%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) ### Search This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. Copyright © 2021 Realise Your Dream ---   This is a publication of Alliance Wealth Pty Limited (AFSL 449221) and Professional Investment Services Pty Ltd (AFSL 234951), wholly owned subsidiaries of Centrepoint Alliance Ltd. **General Advice Warning** The information contained in this article is of a generally nature and does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should therefore consider the appropriateness of the advice for your situation before acting on it. You should obtain and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and seek the assistance of an authorised financial adviser before making any decisions regarding any products or strategies mentioned in this publication. **Disclaimer** While all care has been taken in the preparation of this blog, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no warranty is given in respect of the information provided and accordingly, neither Centrepoint Alliance Limited nor its related bodies corporate, employees or agents shall be liable for any loss suffered arising from reliance on this information. ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=194802264386661&ev=PageView&noscript=1)