My partner and I are wanting to move in together after being in a long distance relationship for around a year. I am unemployed with 4 children (2,4,6,8 year olds) who are with me 11 nights a fortnight. I am concerned that this will effect my Centrelink payments. I currently receive parenting payment and the family tax benefit. My partner would be contributing to rent (he’d pay $200/wk I’d pay $350) but otherwise not financially supporting me or my children. I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and how much it effected your payments becoming partnered ? He earns around $700/wk. I have contacted Centrelink trying to get an answer without much help but ‘let us know when it happens and we will tell you.’
Thanks in advance 😊
Partner moving in and Centrelink
Partner moving in and Centrelink
Posted in:
Relationships & Marriage, Money
16 Replies
Use the calculator on the Centrelink website. That will give you a pretty good idea of how him moving in will affect your payments.
I did this .. it came back with $0. I currently get $700/week. I thought there is no way that could be right. My partner couldn’t afford to support us on his wage and I wouldn’t expect him to either .. I couldn’t pay my rent even the less amount without some financial assistance let alone afford groceries and fuel. Ugh ! Stressful.
You will get FTB but nothing else
You would still get full FTB.
It will affect your payments. Your partner will be assumed to be supporting you and they will take his income into account, just like they would have when you were with your ex, exactly the same way. Please DO NOT move in with this man if he isn't prepared to support your family and you are unable to do so, you will end up with no money to buy basics or pay bills and the relationship will end very soon anyway as you will have no choice but to leave. Repeat DO NOT move in with him.
If youre moving in together you need to be sharing finances. That means he does pay for you and the kids if you dont work. You will get ftb. Thats how families do it.
You probably can’t afford to move in together. There are no separate finances as far as Centrelink is concerned
I agree, this man can’t afford a family on 700 per week.
In most family situations where the dad earns that much, mum has to work too.
Yep! Agree. We have 4 kids. I was a stay at home mum and recieved FTB. My partner worked full time bur only earned $800 per week. It was tough!!!! We paid $300 a week rent. No smokers. No drinkers. We dont go out for dinner ir breakfst etc. We were living week to week. He changed jobs and i got a part time job and now we are far more comfortable! We can actually do fun family activites and save up for holidays. $700 a week wont provide that!
OP has a lot to consider before moving forwrd with this plan.
Especially how it will impact the kids!
So, he will move in with you. Pay $200 toward rent. Then $500 of his weekly income will be his play money. While you cover the rest of the rent, bills, food and the care of your children on the heavily decreased amount centrelink will pay you once he moves in....
That sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Centrelink will assume/expect his income will be used to support his family: you and the children hes taking on as his step children the day he moves in.
Unless you are both willing to dive into that relationship dynamic after a year of long distance, don't move in together.
If you are still keen to move in together, it sounds like you need to have a conversation about a more realistic plan on how you will share the finacial factors in the relationship.
Eg. He pay for half of rent/bills/groceries
Or or he pay for electricity/water/internet/ fuel. And you cover groceries
Or you combine both incomes and just budget accordingly to cover all essentials and whats left is divied up between you.
Please dont feel like because you have children, you owe the guy an easy ride financially. He'd be covering way more costs living on his own!
All the best xx
Centrelink is there to help single mums.
I’m a single mum, I wouldn’t move in with a man until I had my own income source (away from Centrelink).
I work full time, have my own house.
You don’t want him to have to support you and your kids 100 percent, so maybe wait until you have a job to move in together.
Otherwise, I don’t see how it can work.
Also, you’ve only been together one year and it’s been long distance.
You don’t know him well enough to do this, you have kids to protect.
I would recommend one of you move closer to the other, live separately but see each other regularly, then assess it.
Let your kids get to know him properly and visa versa.
If you want this to have a chance, take it slower.
The only way to have completely separate finances in a relationship is to earn a wage. CL won't fund it.
It's not as easy as "don't move in together". If he lives separately and stays a certain number of nights, it's still classed as a relationship. You have to ask yourself where you see a relationship heading with a man if he won't support his chosen family. It's not like he didn't know that you're a package deal.
Once you have kids you cant just move in because its convenient. You cant stay 'independent' on centrelink with him there and its very unfair on the children to expose them to that so often if hes just mums casual live in bf.
To be independent means keeping your own home and having him live somewhere else.
Get a job. 💝
You’ll be classed as de facto and his income will be assessed with yours as combined . If you meet certain aspects of a ‘marriage like relation ship ‘ then you are classed as a couple living together. Regardless if he is financially supporting you and your children. So there for your payments from centerlink will 100% be impacted.
I used the calculator and it said I would get $0 family tax benefit. I currently get $600.. he also has a 2 year old who would be with us 4 nights every 3 weeks .. which I put in. I also currently get $900 parenting payment which the calculator says would go down to $300. I do receive child support but with rent and other expenses that seems really difficult to make work. For those saying get a job, I Have worked in the past and the cost of child care vs what I would earn considering my partner works 6 days a week and my ex has the kids 1 night and taking into account our livelihood it’s just not worth it to me. And off course he would be willing to support us but on his wage currently with previous debts as well as his own food and bills there is nothing left. I am getting along well financially at the moment so I think it would be best to hold off on living together, seems to difficult and stressful.