Listen to this page. This will open in a new window and will play an audio version of the main content on this page.

Double Orphan Pension

Help with the costs of caring for orphaned children or children who are unable to be cared for by their parents in certain circumstances.

Eligibility basics

care for a child where both parents are deceased, or
care for a child where one parent is deceased and the other parent is in prison, a psychiatric or nursing home, or is of unknown whereabouts, or
care for a child who is a refugee and the parents are outside of Australia or of unknown whereabouts
care for the child at least 35 per cent of the time

Eligibility & payment rates

Eligibility for Double Orphan Pension

You may be eligible to claim Double Orphan Pension for a child if you meet:

one of these requirements	and all of these requirements
The child’s parents or adoptive parents are both deceased.	You provide care for the child for at least 35 per cent of the time. You receive Family Tax Benefit for the child (or would but your family’s income is too high or the child is in receipt of a prescribed education payment—for example, ABSTUDY or Veterans Children Education Scheme). The child is under 16 years, or a full-time student aged 16–19 years (up to the end of the calendar year they turn 19), and they do not get Youth Allowance. The child does not receive Double Orphan Pension from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
One of the child’s parents is deceased and the other parent is in long-term imprisonment, or is on remand for an offence punishable by long-term imprisonment, or lives in a psychiatric institution or nursing home on a long-term basis, or is of unknown whereabouts.
The child is a refugee and has not at any time lived in Australia with either or both parents, and his or her parents are outside Australia or are of unknown whereabouts.

You do not have to meet income and assets tests to qualify for Double Orphan Pension. Double Orphan Pension is not taxed.

We review your circumstances every two years to ensure you are getting the correct payment amount. If your, or your family’s, circumstances change this may affect your payment.

Payment rates for Double Orphan Pension

The Double Orphan Pension payment rate is $57.90 per fortnight and is not taxed.

You may receive an additional amount of Double Orphan Pension depending on the amount of Family Tax Benefit paid for the child before they became an orphan.

Double Orphan Pension payment rates are adjusted on 1 January each year and reviewed every two years or when your circumstances change.

Residency requirements for Double Orphan Pension

To be eligible for Double Orphan Pension, you must satisfy residency requirements.

This means that you are living in Australia and are either:

an Australian citizen
the holder of a permanent resident visa
the holder of either a partner provisional, interdependency or temporary protection visa, or the holder of a special category visa—for example, someone with a New Zealand passport living in Australia.

Your child must also meet the above requirements or be living with you.

You may be able to get Double Orphan Pension during a temporary absence from Australia if you satisfy the residence requirements. Read more about being paid while outside Australia.

Other benefits while receiving Double Orphan Pension

If you qualify for Double Orphan Pension, you may be entitled to other payments and benefits, such as:

Claiming

Once you have read about eligibility the next steps are:

register an intent to claim
complete the claim form
provide supporting documentation
submit your claim
we will assess your claim and let you know the outcome

Claim

Managing your payment

Self service options

Our self service options are a quick and effective way to deal with us. You can use self service where it's convenient to you and manage things yourself:

online - you need to register to use some of the services, then you can do many things where and when it suits you
on your mobile device - our Express Plus mobile apps are simple, fast and convenient, giving you more choices for dealing with Centrelink
on the phone - you can self-register for Centrelink Phone Self Service
using a self service terminal at one of our Service Centres

Change of circumstances while receiving Double Orphan Pension

You need to tell us if your or the child’s circumstances change. For example, if:

the child received double orphan pension from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
your personal circumstances change
you no longer meet the residency requirements
you change your address
your care arrangements change
you leave Australia, even for a short time

Payments paid while outside Australia

There are rules about getting your payment when you leave Australia.

Someone to deal with us on your behalf

You can authorise another person or organisation to deal with us on your behalf and receive your Centrelink payments under a correspondence or nominee arrangement.