Checking for Centrelink Eligibility, you can get it while you’re unemployed and looking for work, or doing approved activities to find a job. It’s also for when you’re sick or injured and can’t do your usual work or study. Youth Allowance for job seekers is an income support payment if you’re 21 or younger and looking for work.
Payment and Service Finder – This service helps you find out about payments and services, setting up online accounts and claiming.
How to claim a payment
Find out how to check what you can get, claim and manage a Centrelink payment.
Check what you can get
Before we get started
We’ll ask you some simple questions to help determine which of our most common payments may apply to you.
Get ready to claim
To start your online claim, you need to link Centrelink to your myGov account.
If you haven’t claimed a payment from us before, you’ll have to prove your identity. You can do this online using myGov. You’ll need to enter some personal details and details from acceptable identity documents.
If you’ve claimed a payment from us before, you can use your Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN) to link Centrelink to myGov. If it’s already linked, you won’t need to do this. If you don’t know your CRN, you’ll need to prove your identity online using myGov.
Make your claim
The easiest way to claim most payments is online, but some payments have specific rules. Before you start, check the information for the payment you want to claim.
- Sign in to myGov and select Centrelink.
- Select Make a claim or view claim status from your homepage.
- Select Get started from the category that best describes your circumstance.
- Answer the Eligibility check questions first.
- Start your claim and answer all the questions, there’s help on each screen including how to submit supporting documents and forms.
- Review and confirm your claim to submit it.
Track your claim
After you submit your claim online, you’ll get a receipt.
It’ll tell you:
- if your claim submission was successful
- the ID number of your claim
- an estimated completion date.
You can track the progress of your claim online. Sign in to myGov and go to Centrelink, or use the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
We’ll also let you know the result of your claim. We’ll send an electronic letter to your myGov Inbox.
If you don’t get electronic letters, we’ll send you a letter in the mail. We’ll ask you for more details if we need them.
You can ask us to review our decision if you think we’ve made a mistake.
Manage your payment
To keep getting your payment, you’ll need to continue to meet the eligibility requirements. In some cases you’ll also have ongoing commitments you need to meet.
Check your payment or service for more details about how to manage it. To help manage your payments online, you can also view our online help.
You can also read more about managing your Centrelink payment or stay up to date by:
- connecting with us on social media
- subscribing to news updates.