1.1.P.80 Partner income free area

Usage

This definition applies to JSP, YA, PA, Austudy and PPP.

Definition

The partner income free area is the amount of income a recipient's partner can receive before the recipient's payment is affected. The partner income free area varies depending on the partner's age and whether they are receiving a social security benefit.

If a recipient's partner (1.1.P.85) gets a social security benefit, the partner income free area is the amount of income (rounded up to the nearest dollar) beyond which that benefit would cease to be payable to the partner under the personal income test.

If a recipient's partner does not get a social security benefit, the partner income free area is the amount of income (rounded up to the nearest dollar) that would preclude payment of JSP or YA job seeker under the relevant personal income test IF the partner was qualified for the payment. When calculating the partner income free area, if the partner is:

• under 22 years, the appropriate YA job seeker rate is used (including the MBR and ES but excluding any other supplementary amounts), or
• 22 years or over, the appropriate JSP rate is used (including the MBR, ES and, if the partner is of age pension age, the pension supplement but excluding any other supplementary amounts).

Note: If a recipient's partner is receiving a social security pension or DVA service pension, the partner income free area is not relevant. Instead, the recipient's personal ordinary income is assessed as half of the couple's joint income.