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Centrelink Payments on a Partner Visa

Most Centrelink payments are closed to partner visa holders until they hold the permanent 801 or 100 and have served the newly arrived resident's waiting period, which is 4 years as at 23 September 2026, though some family payments start earlier.

Last checked 4 primary sources About Partnership Visa Australia

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The clock depends on the payment. For the family payments and concessions open on the 820 or 309, it runs from the later of your application date and your arrival in Australia to live. JobSeeker Payment and the other working-age payments count only time as a permanent resident. This page was checked against the Services Australia waiting-period and residence pages and the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) on 23 September 2026.

Some payments, at some stages. The waiting periods below apply if your permanent or partner provisional visa was granted on or after 1 January 2019, as stated by Services Australia. They count days in Australia, and time overseas does not count.

Payment Bridging visa A while the 820 is decided Subclass 820 or 309 Subclass 801 or 100, inside the waiting period After the waiting period
Family Tax Benefit Part A Not open to you on a bridging visa Yes, after 1 year Yes, after 1 year Yes
Family Tax Benefit Part B Not open to you on a bridging visa Yes, no waiting period Yes, no waiting period Yes
Parental Leave Pay Check with Services Australia Yes, after 2 years Yes, after 2 years Yes
Child Care Subsidy Only through a partner who qualifies Yes, no waiting period Yes, no waiting period Yes
Special Benefit Check with Services Australia Yes, after 4 years unless an exemption applies After 4 years unless an exemption applies Yes
Low Income Health Care Card Check with Services Australia Yes, after 4 years unless an exemption applies After 4 years unless an exemption applies Yes
JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance No No No, the 4 years run from permanent residence Yes
Carer Allowance No No After 1 year Yes
Age Pension and Disability Support Pension No No No A separate qualifying residence period applies (10 years for Age Pension)

The bridging visa column follows the Services Australia residence rules. Family Tax Benefit and the Child Care Subsidy need citizenship, a permanent visa, a Special Category visa or a partner provisional or temporary protection type visa, and a Bridging visa A is none of these. An Australian partner who qualifies can still claim the Child Care Subsidy.

What is the newly arrived resident's waiting period for a partner visa holder?

It is the time you must live in Australia as a resident before a payment starts. Services Australia describes it as "up to 4 years" for most payments and concession cards. For JobSeeker Payment, ss 623A and 623B of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) set it at 208 weeks as an Australian resident and in Australia. Section 7(2) defines an Australian resident as a citizen, a permanent visa holder or a protected SCV holder, which leaves out an 820 or 309 holder.

When does the waiting period start for a partner visa holder?

It depends on the payment.

  • Payments open on the 820 or 309: Services Australia starts the clock at the later of the date you applied for the visa and the date you arrived in Australia to live.
  • JobSeeker Payment and other working-age payments: the clock starts when you first become an Australian resident. For most partner visa holders that is the partner visa subclass 801 or 100 grant.

Onshore example. Priya has lived in Australia since 2022. She lodged her 820 and 801 on 15 March 2023, and her 801 was granted on 20 August 2025. She has not left Australia.

  • Family Tax Benefit Part A: open from 15 March 2024.
  • Parental Leave Pay: open from 15 March 2025.
  • Special Benefit and the Low Income Health Care Card: from 15 March 2027, unless an exemption applies.
  • JobSeeker Payment: 208 weeks from 20 August 2025, which ends on 15 August 2029.

Offshore example. Marco lodged his 309 and 100 on 1 June 2023 and arrived in Australia to live on 1 May 2024. His 100 was granted in Australia on 1 October 2025.

  • Family Tax Benefit Part A: open from 1 May 2025.
  • Parental Leave Pay: open from 1 May 2026.
  • Special Benefit and the Low Income Health Care Card: from 1 May 2028, unless an exemption applies.
  • JobSeeker Payment: 208 weeks from 1 October 2025, which ends on 26 September 2029.

These are illustrations. Services Australia decides the dates on your claim.

Which payments have a shorter wait or none on a partner visa?

  1. Family Tax Benefit Part A has a 1-year wait. It has no wait if you already get a listed income support payment, such as Parental Leave Pay or Special Benefit.
  2. Family Tax Benefit Part B has no waiting period.
  3. The Child Care Subsidy has no waiting period.
  4. Parental Leave Pay has a 2-year wait. It has none if you get an eligible payment on the days Services Australia checks.
  5. The Low Income Health Care Card has no wait if a child you could get Family Tax Benefit for is in your care, or if your circumstances have changed substantially since you arrived.

Does time outside Australia change the waiting period?

Yes. Services Australia states that time you are away from Australia does not count, so each trip pushes the end date back by the days you were away.

What can you claim on the 820, the 309 or a bridging visa?

  • On the 820 or 309: Family Tax Benefit Part A, Parental Leave Pay, Special Benefit and the Low Income Health Care Card, each after its wait, plus Family Tax Benefit Part B and the Child Care Subsidy, which have none. Services Australia states that partner provisional visa holders cannot get Carer Allowance, and among the 4-year payments they can get only Special Benefit and the Low Income Health Care Card.
  • On a Bridging visa A while the 820 is decided: not Family Tax Benefit or the Child Care Subsidy in your own name, because their residence rules do not list bridging visas. Services Australia's partner rules name partner provisional visas, not bridging visas, so ask it about Parental Leave Pay before a birth. Once the 820 is granted, its 2-year wait counts from your application date.

Can you get the Child Care Subsidy on a partner visa?

Yes. Services Australia's residence rule is that on the day you claim, you or your partner must live in Australia and hold citizenship, a permanent visa, a Special Category visa, or a partner provisional or temporary protection type visa. The 820 and 309 are partner provisional visas, so they qualify.

Claiming CCS through your Australian partner visa sponsor

Because the rule says "you or your partner", a sponsor who is a citizen or permanent resident meets the residence rule for the family, even while you hold a bridging visa.

Is there a waiting period for CCS on a partner visa?

No. Services Australia lists the Child Care Subsidy among the payments with no newly arrived resident's waiting period. From 5 January 2026, eligible families can get at least 72 hours of subsidised care a fortnight for each child.

Your sponsor's own payments are assessed as a member of a couple. Your income and assets count towards their rate, and partnered rates apply. The sponsor must tell Centrelink about the relationship. Section 4(3) of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) has Centrelink weigh the financial side of the relationship, the household, its social side, any sexual relationship and the commitment between you. That overlaps with the evidence the Department weighs for a partner visa, so the two records should tell the same story.

No partner visa criterion in Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) bars an applicant or sponsor from receiving a payment. What the sponsor has signed is an undertaking. Under reg 1.20(2)(c), a partner visa sponsor undertakes to assist the applicant "financially and in relation to accommodation" for 2 years after the temporary visa is granted, or after first entry for an applicant outside Australia. It is a promise of support, not a bond.

What if the partner visa relationship ends before the waiting period is served?

Services Australia can exempt you from the Special Benefit wait if you are in severe financial hardship, cannot get any other income support, and your circumstances have changed substantially since you arrived. It lists homelessness, family and domestic violence, declining health and a sponsor who can no longer support you as examples. Lodge a claim so that the exemption can be checked. The visa consequences of separation are case-specific. Applying these rules to your own circumstances is immigration assistance, which ss 276 and 280 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) restrict to registered migration agents and Australian legal practitioners.

Does Medicare have a waiting period?

No. Medicare turns on your visa, not on the newly arrived resident's waiting period, as the page on Medicare on a partner visa explains.

Is the NDIS subject to the waiting period?

No. The NDIS is not a Centrelink payment, and it turns on permanent residence, as the page on NDIS eligibility on a partner visa explains.

Can a prospective marriage (300) holder claim anything?

The subclass 300 is not a partner provisional visa, so the partner provisional rules above do not apply to it. They apply once the 820 is granted after the marriage.

Can you get a Health Care Card?

Yes. An 820 or 309 holder can get the Low Income Health Care Card after the 4-year wait, or sooner under an exemption, such as having a child you could get Family Tax Benefit for in your care.

Other entitlements and the subclass 801

A Centrelink claim puts your relationship on a second government record. If you separate, face family violence or depend on your sponsor's income, advice from a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner makes a successful permanent partner visa more likely, because the answers you give Centrelink and the Department need to match. No adviser can guarantee a grant.

Questions people ask

Can you get Centrelink on a partner visa?

Partly. A subclass 820 or 309 holder can get Family Tax Benefit Part A, Parental Leave Pay, Special Benefit and the Low Income Health Care Card, each after its own waiting period, plus payments with no waiting period such as Family Tax Benefit Part B and the Child Care Subsidy. A subclass 801 or 100 holder can claim most payments once the 4-year newly arrived resident's waiting period has been served.

How long is the newly arrived resident's waiting period?

Services Australia states that new residents may wait up to 4 years for most payments and concession cards. For permanent or partner provisional visas granted on or after 1 January 2019, the wait is 4 years for payments such as JobSeeker Payment, 2 years for Parental Leave Pay and Carer Payment, and 1 year for Family Tax Benefit Part A. There is no wait for Family Tax Benefit Part B or the Child Care Subsidy.

When does the waiting period start for a partner visa holder?

For the payments open on the subclass 820 or 309, Services Australia starts the clock at the later of the date you applied for the visa and the date you arrived in Australia to live. For JobSeeker Payment, the Social Security Act 1991 counts only time as an Australian resident, which for a partner visa holder usually starts at the 801 or 100 grant.

Does claiming Centrelink affect a partner visa application?

No partner visa criterion bars an applicant or sponsor from receiving payments. The sponsor has, however, undertaken to help the applicant financially and with accommodation for the first 2 years, so a claim may lead to questions about the relationship and the sponsor's support.

Sources

Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.

  1. Social Security Act 1991 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au
  2. Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au
  3. Home Affairs, Partner visa (subclass 820) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
  4. Home Affairs, Partner visa (subclass 801) immi.homeaffairs.gov.au

Have a registered professional check your application

Travel, citizenship and benefit rules each run on their own dates, and a wrong assumption about one of them can cost you a visa or a payment.

An application prepared or reviewed by a registered migration agent or an immigration lawyer is more likely to succeed: they read the criteria against your facts, spot the gaps before you pay, and answer the Department’s requests on time. No one can promise a grant.

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