Can child support or Centrelink payments count as income?

For many families, particularly single parents, child support and government family payments are a genuine and regular part of household income. Whether a lender will count them can make a real difference to borrowing power. Here is how lenders tend to approach these payments.

These payments can be real income

Court ordered child support and certain Centrelink payments, such as Family Tax Benefit, are regular income for many households. Some lenders recognise this and will consider these payments in serviceability, while others are more conservative. The starting point is that it depends heavily on the lender.

Conditions usually apply

Lenders that accept these payments generally attach conditions. For child support, they often want it to be court ordered or formally documented and ongoing. For family payments, they may require the children to be under a certain age, so the payments will continue for a reasonable period. The specific conditions vary by lender.

Evidence is important

Lenders want evidence that the payments are real and regular. For child support, that can mean a court order or formal assessment and a history of payments received. For Centrelink payments, that can mean statements from Services Australia. The clearer the evidence, the more comfortable a lender can be.

The children age matters

Because family payments and child support generally reduce or stop as children get older, lenders often consider how long the income will continue. Payments for younger children may be counted more readily than payments for children close to the age where the support ends, since the income horizon is longer.

It may be counted in full or in part

Where these payments are accepted, some lenders count them in full and others more conservatively. As with other income types, the treatment varies, so the same payments can contribute differently to borrowing power depending on the lender.

Acceptance varies widely

Whether a lender counts child support and Centrelink payments at all, and on what terms, differs significantly across lenders. A decline from one lender does not mean every lender would refuse to count the income, which is exactly where comparing lenders helps.

Find a lender that recognises your income

Because acceptance and conditions vary so widely, the useful step is to find the lenders that will count your particular payments. A broker who works with these situations can identify them and present the income clearly, usually at no cost to you. This is general information, not advice. Payment details can be confirmed with Services Australia.