Support for new arrivals to Australia
Payments & services
- Assessment Subsidy for Overseas Trained Professionals
- Assurance of Support
- Case Coordination
- Centrelink Online Services
- Child Support for Parents or Children Living Outside Australia
- Crisis Payment
- Financial Information Service
- International Services
- International Social Security Agreements
- Interpreter and Translation Services
- Multicultural Service Officers
- Multilingual Phone Service
- Social Work Services
- Special Benefit
- Youth Connections
Payment Finder
Explore payments based on your situation.
If you have recently arrived in Australia to live, settling in can be a challenging experience. We have a range of payments and services to help you. There may be waiting periods and other conditions that you need to know about.
On this page
Help in your language
We can help you if you speak a language other than English.
- We have a range of translated publications available on the Information in your language page.
- We provide free interpreters and a free translation service to help you conduct your business with us.
- You can call our multilingual phone service to speak to someone in your language about Centrelink payments and services.
Support for new arrivals to Australia
As a new arrival, you could be entitled to payments and services from the Australian Government. What you can get depends on your residence status.
We also provide payments to support new arrivals who are experiencing hardship. Crisis Payment is a one-off payment that helps those who have experienced difficult or extreme circumstances.
Special Benefit is a payment that helps people who are in severe financial need because of reasons outside their control and who cannot receive any other Centrelink pension or benefit.
The Assessment Subsidy for Overseas Trained Professionals program (ASDOT) can help skilled overseas-trained professionals with the cost of assessments and exams you may need to pass so you can practice in Australia. Only certain approved professions are covered by ASDOT.
An Assurance of Support is a commitment to support a person applying to migrate to Australia, so that the migrant will not have to rely on income support payments.
We also provide free interpreters to help you with information about our payments and services. Interpreters can be requested anytime you call, book an appointment or visit us.
Our Multicultural Service Officers work with community groups and other agencies to help refugees and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds link up with Australian Government services.
You can also call our multilingual phone service and speak to someone in their language about Centrelink payments and services.
For help with Medicare or Child Support services call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) National.
Other government and community support services
There are a range of government and community organisations that provide support services and useful information you may find helpful.
Australia.gov.au connects you to information and services across Australia including information on living in Australia.
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship provides access to a range of information about Australian visas and Australian citizenship including links to useful resources and support services.