Centrelink Loan?

[Cupcake]

So DP just called and the place he works is closing for 2 weeks for renos (great timing on his boss' part...Christmas woo!! ) so thats 2 weeks of wages we wont get (DP is casual) and i was just thinking and im pretty sure someone has mentioned in the past something like a loan you can get from clink of $500 or something then you pay it back through your payments...is this real or did i make it up with wishful thinking? Lol

Any info anyone has would be great, thanks!

[skybie]

it used to be $500 but now its based on how much ur payments are, i ithink mine was about 350ish. u can do it online if u have online services

[Cupcake]

Awesome, thanks hun. Do you just pay it back weekly or how does it work do you know?

[Enchanted]

They automatically take a certain amount out of your payments each fortnight

[Cupcake]

So with the online services is it 'Apply for an advance payment'?

[skybie]

yep thats it! its not very much a fortnight to pay back either

[diannescruffy]

I got a $500 loan and paid back $38.00 per f/night.

Regards,
Dianne

[Cupcake]

Oh nevermind, i can apply for an advanced payment of $107 lol. That wont help me a whole lot

Thanks ladies x

[skybie]

oh that sucks hun but its better than nothing?! usually only takes 2 days to come through into ur bank, so handy to know if u get desperate xx

[e_p]

if your payment is FTB, apply again after the 1st of January - you might be eligible for a higher amount (max from FTB is about $380 from memory). On FTB you can be eligible for 2 advance payments per year - the two qualifying dates are 1st of Jan and 1st of July...and the amount you are eligible for decreases each fortnight after those dates.

[~clover~]

Yeah there is a FTB advance you can get. Either around $500 in Jan, one payment only, or 2 payments of around $250, one in Jan & one in July.
You can set it up to automatically be paid every 6/12 months without applying. Its probably based on the rate you recieve as well, not sure.

[megs]

As mentioned there are 2 sorts of loans. The FTB loan which is can be paid twice a year. The first in Jan and the again in July. Being that there are only about 1 or 2 FTB payments left you wouldn't get much. To get the maximum you would be better of applying at the very start of January. The other loan is if you are in receipt of an income support payment, say Parenting Payment, or a Pension. That loan is $500 maximum and if you borrow that repayments are $38.50 over 13 fortnights.

Hope that helps.

[e_p]

that's not actually quite correct clover. The $500 loan is on a person's income support payment (e.g. parenting payment, newstart, austudy...or $1000 per year on Age pension, DSP and Carer's payment) once every 12 months if the person has no outstanding debts with Centrelink and is repaid automatically at $38.50 per fortnight for 13 fortnights. The FTB advance payment is available from January and July and the maximum is approx $360-$380 - the amount decreases after each fortnight has elapsed after the qualification date (1st Jan or 1st July). You are correct about setting up the FTB loan to pay automatically with your first FTB payment after 1st of Jan and 1st of July. The $500 advance from your income support payment must be applied for every 12 months via web, phone, or in person.

[~clover~]

that's not actually quite correct clover. The $500 loan is on a person's income support payment (e.g. parenting payment, newstart, austudy...or $1000 per year on Age pension, DSP and Carer's payment) once every 12 months if the person has no outstanding debts with Centrelink and is repaid automatically at $38.50 per fortnight for 13 fortnights. The FTB advance payment is available from January and July and the maximum is approx $360-$380 - the amount decreases after each fortnight has elapsed after the qualification date (1st Jan or 1st July). You are correct about setting up the FTB loan to pay automatically with your first FTB payment after 1st of Jan and 1st of July. The $500 advance from your income support payment must be applied for every 12 months via web, phone, or in person.

I've always been told you can choose to have the FTB one either every 12 months at the full amount on Jan 1st, or every 6 months on 1st Jan & 1st july for the halved amounts.
I've actually had it paid in the full amount a few years ago. Seperate to my parenting payment advance.

[e_p]

I've always been told you can choose to have the FTB one either every 12 months at the full amount on Jan 1st, or every 6 months on 1st Jan & 1st july for the halved amounts.
I've actually had it paid in the full amount a few years ago. Seperate to my parenting payment advance.

Maybe that used to be the case but it is no longer. From the Centrelink website:

"From 1 July 2010, if you receive fortnightly payments of Family Tax Benefit Part A, or both Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B, you may be eligible to receive part of your payment in advance as a lump sum.

When you apply for a Family Tax Benefit advance payment, you will be able to choose to receive either a one-off or a continuous advance payment. A continuous advance payment is paid automatically to you at the start of each 6-month advance payment period, providing all qualification criteria are met. The standard advance payment periods are 1 January to 30 June, and 1 July to 31 December.

The amount of your Family Tax Benefit advance payment may vary depending on when you apply during the advance payment period. Your ongoing Family Tax Benefit payments will be reduced to repay the advance payment you will receive.

You can only receive 1 advance payment in any 6-month period.

To be eligible to apply for a Family Tax Benefit advance payment, you must be receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A. If you only receive Family Tax Benefit Part B, you will not be eligible.

If you have an outstanding Centrelink debt, you will not be eligible for the Family Tax Benefit advance payment until your outstanding debt has been paid. Once you have repaid your outstanding debt, you will be able to make an application for the Family Tax Benefit advance payment."

[Just Me]

Cupcake - I'm sorry to hear about your DP's work. That really sucks!

If a loan isn't going to cover it, has he looked into temp work over the two weeks? Lots of removalists are looking for people to load and unload trucks at this time of year. There are a few recruitment agencies that he can put his name down with that organise temp work for companies that request it and they usually send out temps to the removalists. I know it's not such a great option but it's something to look into if you are desperate.

I hope you can figure something out. Huge

[~clover~]

Ah, ok. Thanks, I'll remember that.

[Cupcake]

The two weeks has been & gone thanks JM, he worked at the factory the whole time! So lucky! Now the factory wont send him back to the shop coz he's such a good worker

Now we need to find $$ to fix our newly broken car....

Thanks for all the loan info too girls xo