3.6.4.90 Payability of CP

Summary

Even though a person is qualified, CP is NOT payable to the person in the circumstances listed in the following table. Where more detail about the circumstance is required, the second column indicates where you will find this.

NARWP

The NARWP applies to CP. A person must be an Australian resident and in Australia for a total of 104 weeks to be payable. No part of the waiting period can be served outside Australia. All periods spent outside Australia extend the waiting period.

Note: Different payments have different NARWP periods. The length of the waiting period depends on a person's situation and payment type. A person who has fully served a NARWP for one payment may still be serving a NARWP for other payments. Refer to specific payment guide topics for individual rules.

Exemptions from the NARWP

There are a number of exemptions from the NARWP for CP, and situations where a NARWP does not apply (see 3.1.2.43 for details). This includes:

• holders of certain Carer visas (CP and CA)
• Australian citizens
• refugee, former refugee or a family member of a refugee.

Note: A person who has a QRE for CP will receive an exemption to the NARWP for CP.

There are also other exemptions specific to other payment types (3.1.2.43, FA Guide 2.2.1.10 and PPL Guide 2.4.3).

A holder of a Carer visa who is in receipt of CP is treated the same as any other CP recipient. This means that all the provisions in the Act are applied in the same way.

Note: The term 'SPECIAL NEEDS RELATIVE' has been deleted from the Migration Regulations, and no further visas will be granted on that basis. However, existing visas that were granted on the basis that the applicant was a special needs relative remain in effect.

If a holder of a Carer visa ceases to be qualified for CP during their first 4 years of residence, consideration should be given to whether they could qualify for SpB.

Income & assets testing

The pension income and assets test applies to the CP recipient.

Employment income nil rate period - an incentive to take up work

A CP recipient who loses payment because of ordinary income (1.1.O.30), made up entirely or partly of employment income (1.1.E.102), may qualify for an employment income nil rate period. To assess qualification for an employment income nil rate period see 3.1.12.

During the employment income nil rate period a CP recipient can:

• be paid certain supplementary benefits, see 3.1.12
• retain their PCC or HCC, and
• have their payment resumed if they report a reduction in income sufficient for CP to be payable again.

The 100 hour limit

A CP recipient can work up to 100 hours over a 4-week period and remain eligible for CP. If the 100 limit is exceeded they can elect to use one or more of their annual 63 temporary cessation of care days to cover the excess hours, rather than having their payment suspended (see 3.6.4.40 for details). 

If the carer elects not to use temporary cessation of care days or has exhausted their allocation for that calendar year, CP may be suspended for up to 26 weeks. Within the 26 week suspension, if the carer reports the hours worked have reduced to under 100 in a 4-week period, and they are still providing constant care, their CP can be restored. 

Interaction between employment income nil rate period and CP suspension

A CP recipient who remains in an employment income nil rate period for 24 weeks, may be entitled to an additional suspension period of up to 2 weeks, to align with the 26 week CP suspension provisions. If the income earned remains over the threshold at the conclusion of the suspension period their CP will automatically cancel.