Income and finance

There are income and financial supports that could be available for people with disability, their families and carers.

Video duration 4:40

Hi, I'm Maya, and today I'll be talking about the area of life that relates to money.

Money is great to have and it takes careful planning to make sure it makes your life better in the right ways.

Let's start with income.

This is the money you earn from work or payments that you get from the government or other people.

It even includes money from disability support and other support that you may need.

When you have a regular income, it can help make your life better and more stable.

There are many types of payments and supports for people with disability, their families and carers.

The Australian Government provides financial support to many people with disability including payments to help with the cost of day-to-day living like rent and bills.

It also helps with services and supports for your disability, finding and keeping a job, or getting an education.

You can find more info about these kinds of payments on the Financial support page.

Tax support is also available.

Tax is the money that we all pay the government.

We all pay it from our income, and the government spends the money on things that we all use and need, like roads, schools and healthcare.

The Australian Taxation Office, or ATO, offers tax support to some people with disability, families and carers.

You might be able to get a tax concession or tax offset, which is a discount on how much tax you need to pay.

Tax rebates are a refund on some of the tax you pay, which you might also get.

You can find out more on the Tax support page.

State and Territory governments offer cards and concessions to people with disability.

These give you a discount on different services, products like doctor's visits and medicine, public transport, gas and electricity bills, and events.

You can learn more about these discounts on the Cards and concessions page.

Family and carers of people with disability can also be financially supported by the Australian Government.

You might get a payment if you're a parent, a carer or a young carer of a person with disability.

You can find out more info about these payments on the Family and carer support page.

Financial support for health is also something that the Australian Government wants to support so people with disability stay healthy.

Information about financial support for health services like doctor's visits and medicine can be found on the Financial support for healthcare page.

Now we have come to managing your money.

When you manage your money, you keep track of how much you have, what payments you get and what you spend your money on.

It's important to manage your money so you can get by in day-to-day life and plan for the future.

Information about how to manage your money, advice over the phone and choosing someone to help manage your money is available on the How to manage money page.

Here are the main types of supports for people with disability in Australia.

Firstly, the National Disability Insurance Scheme supports people with disability.

We call this the NDIS.

And you can visit the NDIS website for more information.

Then there's Centrelink which supports all Australians, including families, older people, carers and people looking for work.

You can visit the Centrelink website to find out more.

We also have the Department of Veterans' Affairs that supports veterans who have served in the military.

We call this department DVA and you can visit the DVA website for more information.

My Aged Care is also there to support older people and you can visit the My Aged Care website to learn more.

Lastly, there's Carer Gateway, which supports families and carers who support someone.

You can also visit the Carer Gateway website to learn more.

If you'd like to know more about how we can assist with income and finance, please contact the Disability Gateway on 1800 643 787.
 

This section provides links to services and information on:

Financial support

Supports and services you may be eligible for

Family and carer support

Supports that could be available for families and carers

Tax support

Tax rebates you may be eligible for

Financial support for healthcare

Free and subsidised health services and treatments

Cards and concessions

Discounts on various businesses and services

How to manage money

Smart financial planning and habits

Income and finance

Video duration 4:40

Hi, I'm Maya, and today I'll be talking about the area of life that relates to money.

Money is great to have and it takes careful planning to make sure it makes your life better in the right ways.

Let's start with income.

This is the money you earn from work or payments that you get from the government or other people.

It even includes money from disability support and other support that you may need.

When you have a regular income, it can help make your life better and more stable.

There are many types of payments and supports for people with disability, their families and carers.

The Australian Government provides financial support to many people with disability including payments to help with the cost of day-to-day living like rent and bills.

It also helps with services and supports for your disability, finding and keeping a job, or getting an education.

You can find more info about these kinds of payments on the Financial support page.

Tax support is also available.

Tax is the money that we all pay the government.

We all pay it from our income, and the government spends the money on things that we all use and need, like roads, schools and healthcare.

The Australian Taxation Office, or ATO, offers tax support to some people with disability, families and carers.

You might be able to get a tax concession or tax offset, which is a discount on how much tax you need to pay.

Tax rebates are a refund on some of the tax you pay, which you might also get.

You can find out more on the Tax support page.

State and Territory governments offer cards and concessions to people with disability.

These give you a discount on different services, products like doctor's visits and medicine, public transport, gas and electricity bills, and events.

You can learn more about these discounts on the Cards and concessions page.

Family and carers of people with disability can also be financially supported by the Australian Government.

You might get a payment if you're a parent, a carer or a young carer of a person with disability.

You can find out more info about these payments on the Family and carer support page.

Financial support for health is also something that the Australian Government wants to support so people with disability stay healthy.

Information about financial support for health services like doctor's visits and medicine can be found on the Financial support for healthcare page.

Now we have come to managing your money.

When you manage your money, you keep track of how much you have, what payments you get and what you spend your money on.

It's important to manage your money so you can get by in day-to-day life and plan for the future.

Information about how to manage your money, advice over the phone and choosing someone to help manage your money is available on the How to manage money page.

Here are the main types of supports for people with disability in Australia.

Firstly, the National Disability Insurance Scheme supports people with disability.

We call this the NDIS.

And you can visit the NDIS website for more information.

Then there's Centrelink which supports all Australians, including families, older people, carers and people looking for work.

You can visit the Centrelink website to find out more.

We also have the Department of Veterans' Affairs that supports veterans who have served in the military.

We call this department DVA and you can visit the DVA website for more information.

My Aged Care is also there to support older people and you can visit the My Aged Care website to learn more.

Lastly, there's Carer Gateway, which supports families and carers who support someone.

You can also visit the Carer Gateway website to learn more.

If you'd like to know more about how we can assist with income and finance, please contact the Disability Gateway on 1800 643 787.
 

A woman pointing to herself. There are icons for government, work and money next to her

In this Area of Life we talk about income, including:

  • money that you earn from work
  • payments and support that you may get from the government.

Icons for services, money and support

We also talk about the money you may get for:

  • disability support
  • other support that you may need.

A group of people with 1 hand in the air and the other pointing to themselves

There are many types of payments and supports for people with disability, their families and carers.

 

This section has information about:

Icons for money, support and services

Financial support

The money and support that people with disability can apply for.

A government icon with money next to it

Tax support

Information about tax for people with disability, their families and carers.

A man pointing to himself with a concession card next to him

Cards and concessions

Discounts on businesses and services for people with disability.

A group of people with 1 hand in the air and the other pointing to themselves. There is a support icon with a money icon next to them

Family and carer support

The money and support that families and carers of people with disability could apply for.

A doctor, a medication icon and dollar signs

Financial support for health

Support for people with disability to get health care.

A man and a woman looking at a document with a money icon

Managing your money

Help and advice to manage your money.

 

Key supports

National Disability Insurance Scheme logo.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supports people with disability.

If you want help with the NDIS, you can call them on 1800 800 110.

My Aged Care logo.

My Aged Care supports older people.

You can call My Aged Care on 1800 200 422.

Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs logo.

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs supports veterans. We call this department DVA.

A veteran is a person who served in the military.

If you want help from DVA, you can call them on 1800 555 524.

A Medicare card with a dollar sign and a down arrow. Behind it is a map of Australia.

Medicare is a program that gives all Australians health care at no cost or low cost.

If you want help with Medicare, you can call them on 132 011.

Australian Government Services Australia logo.

Services Australia supports all Australians, including:

  • families
  • older people
  • carers
  • people looking for work.

If you want help from Services Australia, you can call them on 132 307.

Carer Gateway logo.

The Carer Gateway supports families and carers who support another person.

You can call the Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737.

Head to Health logo

Head to Health can help you find information about mental health – for yourself or for someone you care about.

You can visit the Head to Health website for more information.