Utilities Allowance (UA) 108-08110000

Utilities Allowance (UA) payments commenced from March 2005, and are paid to certain customers to assist in meeting the cost of regular bills such as gas, electricity and water.

UA comprises 4 instalments per year. From 1 January 2022, only Disability Support Pension (DSP) recipients aged under 21 without children may receive UA.

Qualification is determined on the test days of 20 March, 20 June, 20 September and 20 December each year and usually issued on the customer's first Entitlement Period End Day (EPED) after these test days.

If the customer is not in receipt of the qualifying payment, DSP (aged under 21 without children) on the test day there is no entitlement to UA. UA payments can be made if a customer's payment is granted or restored and payment is backdated to include the test day.

Customers on zero rate are only eligible for UA if their zero rate reason is 'DVA' (Defence Force Income Support Allowance) or 'NZP' (New Zealand agreement direct deduction).

To qualify for UA, a person must, on the test day:

• be in receipt of DSP (aged under 21 without children), and
• either:
• be in Australia, or
• be temporarily absent from Australia where their test day is within the first 6 weeks of the temporary absence and the customer maintains eligibility. The Department of Home Affairs will advise Services Australia when a customer leaves Australia. However, customers (in some circumstances) must still advise of absences to avoid being overpaid and to find out how their payments will be affected before departure. See Portability of payments for more details

Note: for customers who leave Australia permanently, payment of UA will cease on departure.

UA is:

• automatically paid to the same bank account as the customer's DSP
• normally issued on the customer's first EPED following the relevant test day (20 March, 20 June, 20 September, 20 December)
• adjusted twice yearly for any upward movement of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in March and September. Consistent with usual practice, payment rates would not be adjusted where there is a fall in the CPI
• not taxable

The allowance can be paid to payment nominees. If the customer's DSP is paid to a payment nominee, the UA will also go to the payment nominee.

A customer can elect not to receive UA. If the customer is already receiving UA, the payment will cease from the date the decision was made. The customer cannot be paid any UA payments during a period they elected not to receive the payment.

Normal debt recovery and waiver provisions apply.

If a customer dies, UA paid immediately after the date of death is not recoverable.

From the 20 September 2009, UA is no longer payable for customers eligible for the Pension Supplement.

Examples of factors that may delay issuing the UA payment until the second EPED following the test day include, but are not limited to:

• EPED changes
• changes to relationship status
• started or submitted activities on the customer's record when the UA trigger is run

Rate of Payment

The following categories of coupled customers are eligible for the single rate:

• illness separated couples
• members of a respite care couple
• members of a partnered (partner in gaol) couple

Customers with a marital status of divorced, separated, single, or widowed are to be paid the single rate. UA is paid at the coupled rate where only 1 member of a couple is eligible for the payment.