<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than a million Australians will receive a cash boost in less than a month.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek today announced that after a new round of indexation, social security payments would increase for Australians receiving youth allowance, Austudy, ABSTUDY, youth disability pension, and carer allowance payments.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The changes will kick in from January 1, 2026.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/manhunt-in-adelaide-to-find-escaped-prisoner/66b3c6e8-1217-448a-975c-5ddcd09f7c85" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Manhunt for prisoner who escaped from police at hospital</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A single adult living away from home with no dependents, who receives youth allowance, will see their maximum fortnightly payment increase to $684.20.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Income thresholds for student payments will also increase, as well as the parental income test threshold for Youth Allowance and ABSTUDY.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>About 680,000 people receiving the carer allowance will see their payments increase to $162.60 a fortnight.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/social-security-payments-increasing-indexation/ce15dab9-fa66-4ea6-aea7-cb5a637468ba" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-heatwave-warning-temperatures-to-hit-40-parts-of-city/f4bff7aa-de1b-4304-8380-5d06ed3591c6" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Warning issued as major heatwave grips Sydney</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This is in addition to carer supplement payments and other social security support that carers may also be receiving.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The complete list of payment rates being indexed on 1 January 2026 can be found on the </span><a href="https://updates.ministers.dss.gov.au/link/id/zzzz6931e1f413f3b560Pzzzz68a2c27302329031/page.html" rel="" target="_blank" title="Department of Social Services website"><span>Department of Social Services website</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Thanks to indexation, more than one million Aussies balancing study or caring responsibilities will receive a boost to their payments," Plibersek said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>