Claiming the Carer Allowance October 27th, 2022

Linking MyGov and Centrelink

While many carers will already have a MyGov account, their account may not be linked to Centrelink.

If you are already a Centrelink customer and you have your Centrelink Reference Number or CRN, there's a good chance that the linking process will be relatively straight forward.

If you don't have a CRN or have forgotten it, you'll need to go through the same proof of identity process as a new customer. Even if you are already linked to other agencies like Medicare or the Tax office, you still need to go through the same process with Centrelink.

Navigating the Centrelink portal

Once linked, you follow the links to claim a payment as a carer. The system will ask if you want to claim the Carer Payment, Carer Allowance or both.

The Carer Payment is a much more complicated means-tested benefit which is similar in operation to the Disability support pension, but paid to a career. The maximum rate for the Carer Payment is the same as the age pension.

Next, you'll need to provide the details of yourself and the person being cared for. If you or they are already receiving a Centrelink payment, this process is relatively simple. If not, you'll need to provide detailed financial information as well.

Determining your eligibility

The system then asks a large number of questions about the care being provided. In essence, it is building up your score to determine eligibility under the Adult Disability Assessment Determination process.

From there, the system will ask you to download a form that needs to be completed by a health professional, typically the care recipient's doctor.

If you like, you can download the form SA332 from Centrelink's website before you start your claim and get it to the health professional to fill-in, while you complete your part of the process.

Submitting your claim

When the form is completed, you can either post the document to Centrelink, drop it into the local office or scan the original and upload that into Centrelink's systems via your MyGov account.

An on-line upload is by far the preferred method, because it guarantees the medical report is linked to the claim and you can submit it then and there.

It is crucial that if you opt for the manual approach, you ensure that the report is attached to the claim and the total document is submitted. You can ask the Centrelink staff member to help with this if you visit the local office to deliver the medical report.

Don't just drop and run. If posted or just dropped off, there is a chance the two items won't be linked together and the claim will not be processed.

Hopefully, your next contact from Centrelink will be to advise you that the Carer Allowance 🎉 has been granted.

The effective payment will be dated from when you submitted all of the required information to Centrelink, not just the section you completed.