Australia · rates from 20 September 2026 · checked 17 October 2026
How much Parenting Payment will you get? Up to $1,080.20 a fortnight if you're a single parent, and up to $763.00 if you have a partner, before tax. Your income, and your partner's, decide where in between you land.
Put in who is at home, your children and your income. You get the amount a fortnight and a year, and every step of the sum.
What you enter stays in your browser. It's an estimate, not an assessment: Services Australia decides what you're paid.
This works out one payment. To see tax, Family Tax Benefit, child care, child support and Parenting Payment together, see the Net Income Modeller →
Parenting Payment starts at a maximum rate, and your income takes some of it away. A single parent loses 40 cents of the payment for every dollar of income over a set amount. With a partner, your own income and your partner's are both counted. Over the assets limit, you get nothing.
All figures are a fortnight and before tax, from 20 September 2026. The maximum is what you get with no income. The Energy Supplement is paid on top, and isn't taxed.
| If you're | Maximum rate | Energy Supplement | Most you can get |
|---|---|---|---|
| A single parent | $1,068.20 | $12.00 | $1,080.20 |
| A parent with a partner | $755.10 | $7.90 | $763.00 |
For a single parent, Services Australia splits the $1,068.20 into $1,037.50 of Parenting Payment and a pension supplement of $30.70. The calculator uses the two together, because that is the amount your income is taken from.
The maximums are indexed every 20 March and 20 September, in line with the Consumer Price Index, so they change next on 20 March 2027. The income amounts and assets limits below change every 1 July.
Services Australia counts income before tax, a fortnight at a time. A yearly income is divided by 26.
You can have some income before anything comes off. It depends on how many children you have. Over that amount, the payment falls by 40 cents for every dollar.
| Your children | Income before it starts to fall |
|---|---|
| 1 | $232.60 |
| 2 | $257.20 |
| 3 | $281.80 |
| More than 3 | $281.80, plus $24.60 for each extra child |
Only one of you is paid Parenting Payment, and it's the main carer of the children. Two things lower it: the main carer's own income, and the partner's.
| Whose income | Nothing comes off up to | Then |
|---|---|---|
| The main carer's | $150.00 | 50 cents for each dollar from $150 to $256, then $53 plus 60 cents for each dollar over $256 |
| The partner's | $1,440.00 | 60 cents for each dollar over $1,440 |
The two are added together and taken off the maximum. A partner on a moderate wage often takes nothing off at all, because $1,440 a fortnight is about $37,400 a year.
Two things happen to savings and investments. Services Australia assumes they earn a set rate, whatever they really earn (it's called deeming), and adds that to your income. And they count towards an assets limit.
| The assets limit, where the payment stops | Own your home | Don't own your home |
|---|---|---|
| Single | $333,000 | $600,000 |
| A couple, together | $499,000 | $766,000 |
It is a cliff, not a slope. Services Australia says the payment cancels when your assets are more than the limit, so one dollar over means no payment. Your own home doesn't count, and nor does super until you reach Age Pension age. Cars, an investment property and a business do.
The deemed rate is 1.75% a year on the first $66,800 of a single person's savings and investments, and 3.75% on the rest. For a couple where neither gets a pension, each person's own share gets the 1.75% on its first $55,300.
A single parent on $26,000 a year, with one child born on 1 January 2022 and no savings. That is $1,000 a fortnight before tax. We ran the calculator with those inputs.
| The sum, each fortnight | Amount |
|---|---|
| Your income, a year divided by 26 | $1,000.00 |
| Less: the income you can have before the payment falls (1 child) | −$232.60 |
| Income over that | $767.40 |
| The income test takes off 40 cents for each dollar of it | $306.96 |
| Maximum rate, for a single person | $1,068.20 |
| Less: what the income test takes off | −$306.96 |
| Parenting Payment | $761.24 |
| Plus: Energy Supplement (tax free) | $12.00 |
| Each fortnight | $773.24 |
| For a year: 26 fortnights | $20,104.24 |
Services Australia's Payment Finder gave the same $761.24 and $12.00 for this household on 21 September 2026, the day after the last rate rise.
| The household | A fortnight |
|---|---|
| A single parent on $19,994 a year ($769 a fortnight), $200,000 in savings, one child | $770.81 |
| The same, with $333,000 in savings (the most the assets test allows) | $694.08 |
| The same, with $334,000 in savings | $0.00 |
| A couple, main carer on no income, partner on $54,990 a year ($2,115 a fortnight), one child | $358.00 |
Two things show in that table. A single dollar of savings over the limit takes away about $700 a fortnight. And with a partner, the main carer's own earnings and the partner's both count, so the payment falls quickly once the partner is earning well past $1,440 a fortnight.
Parenting Payment is one part of your family's money. Family Tax Benefit, the child care subsidy, child support, Rent Assistance and tax all move together when your income changes. The Net Income Modeller works them out together, so you can see what an extra day's work or a pay rise leaves your family.
When your youngest turns 14 (single) or 6 (with a partner), Parenting Payment ends. You may be able to get another payment, such as JobSeeker Payment. Services Australia can tell you which. If a birthday in the next year will end your payment, the calculator says so.
Parenting Payment is separate from Family Tax Benefit and Parental Leave Pay. This calculator doesn't work out either of those, but we have a paid parental leave calculator.
The rates move every 20 March and 20 September. Leave your email and we'll tell you when they do, with the new maximums and what changed.
Up to $1,080.20 a fortnight if you're a single parent, and up to $763.00 if you have a partner, from 20 September 2026. Your income lowers it: 40 cents for every dollar over $232.60 a fortnight for a single parent with one child.
$1,068.20 a fortnight for a single parent, and $755.10 for a parent with a partner. Energy Supplement of $12.00 and $7.90 is paid on top.
The main carer of a child under 14 if you're single, or under 6 if you have a partner, who meets the residence rules and whose income and assets are under the limits.
A single parent with one child can earn $232.60 a fortnight before the payment starts to fall. A parent with a partner can earn $150 a fortnight before it falls, and the partner $1,440. The calculator shows what you would get at the income you enter, down to nil.
Yes. The payment stops completely if your assets are over $333,000 for a single homeowner or $499,000 for a couple who own their home. The limits are higher if you don't own your home. Your home itself doesn't count.
Yes. It's taxable income. The Energy Supplement that comes with it is not.
Services Australia pages read on 17 October 2026.
General information about Parenting Payment from 20 September 2026 as at 17 October 2026, not personal advice and not an assessment. Services Australia decides what you are paid. Confirm your own situation with them.