Retrenched or made redundant

If you’ve taken a redundancy or leave payment from your employer, we can provide you with support while you’re looking for another job.

If you receive a redundancy or leave payment

It is important to remember that redundancy payments are designed to provide you with enough money to cover the cost of living for a period of time after you leave work.

If you receive a redundancy payment, you may be subject to a waiting period before you can get an income support payment from Centrelink. This period is usually the length of time the redundancy covers. Read more about waiting periods.

Before you take any action with your redundancy payment, make sure you check the terms of your redundancy package, including the period of time the payment is supposed to cover.

Job Services Australia assistance

A Job Services Australia (JSA) or Disability Employment Services (DES) provider will look at your circumstances and work with you to help you get back into the workforce as soon as possible. Depending on your circumstances, JSA and DES providers can help with:

• job search training and assistance, such as resume preparation and advice on the best ways to look for work
• access to telephones, computers, stationery and employment vacancy listings to help you look for work
• access to training, skills development and other assistance you may need.

We can refer you to a Job Services Australia provider in your area.

Find out more about Job Services Australia.

Income support while you look for work

If you’ve lost your job, Newstart Allowance can provide financial help if you are looking for work. It can also support you while you take part in activities that may increase your chances of finding a job.

Youth Allowance provides financial help for young people who are 16 to 21 years old and looking for full-time work or undertaking approved activities.

Parenting payment provides income support if you are a parent or guardian to help with the cost of raising children. Parenting Payment is paid to the main carer of a child. Only one parent or guardian can receive the payment.

Payments to help you study or train

There are a range of payments to help with the cost of living while you study or train.

Austudy provides financial help to full-time students and Australian Apprentices aged 25 or more.

ABSTUDY provides help with costs for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians who are studying or undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship.

Youth Allowance provides financial help for young people who are studying and training full-time, undertaking a full-time Australian Apprenticeship, or looking for work or sick.

In addition to payments like Austudy, ABSTUDY and Youth Allowance, you may also be able to get other payments to help you study or train.

The Pensioner Education Supplement helps students improve their chance of finding a job through study by helping with the ongoing costs of full-time or part-time study in a secondary or tertiary course.

You may also be able to get Education Entry Payment to help with the cost of study.

Additional support

You can also access additional support from a range of organisations.

Financial Information Service

The Financial Information Service is a free, confidential service that provides education and information on financial and lifestyle issues to all Australians.

Social Work Services

Our Social Workers can help you during difficult times by providing confidential counselling, support, and information.

Fair Work Ombudsman

If you have been made redundant and would like to check whether you’ve received the correct entitlements visit the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website. The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) may also be able to help you recover any outstanding entitlements.

Fair Entitlements Guarantee and the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme

If you lose your job because your employer has entered bankruptcy or liquidation and there are insufficient funds available to pay your outstanding entitlements, you may be able to get financial help under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) or the General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS).

Fair Entitlements Guarantee

Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) applies to unpaid employee entitlement claims for all employer insolvency events that occurred on or after 5 December 2012. For more information visit the FEG website, call the FEG Hotline on 1300 135 040 or email FEG@deewr.gov.au.

General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme

General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS) continues to apply to unpaid employee entitlement claims for employer insolvency events that occurred before 5 December 2012. For more information visit the GEERS website, call the GEERS Hotline on 1300 135 040 or email GEERS@deewr.gov.au.

Employer superannuation contributions are not covered by FEG or GEERS. You can contact the Australian Taxation Office to pursue your outstanding superannuation entitlements.

Labour adjustment packages

Labour adjustment packages are available for workers who have been made redundant from eligible companies in the automotive, manufacturing or textile, clothing and footwear industries. If you are eligible you can register directly with a Job Services Australia provider.

Mortgage relief

If you are experiencing difficulty paying off a loan or mortgage as a result of losing your job, you may be able to postpone your mortgage loan repayments for up to 12 months. You will need to contact your financial institution or bank directly to find out if you are eligible. If you believe your bank has not lived up to their agreement to assist borrowers who are experiencing financial difficulty, you may wish to raise this with their complaints area. You can also call the Financial Ombudsman Service on 1300 780 808 or the Credit Ombudsman Service on 1800 138 422.

Information for Employers

We can assist you to provide support and useful information to staff facing redundancy or retrenchment. You can advise retrenched workers to contact us and register for employment services and to test their eligibility for income support. This includes jobseekers who are not eligible for income support but who wish to access employment services.