Concession and health care cards

Types of cards

The type of concession or health care card you can get depends on your situation.

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card

You can get a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card if you:

• can’t get a payment from us or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs
• have reached age pension age
• meet the income test
• are an Australian resident or you hold a special category visa

Your card is valid for 1 year. We will send you a new card each year in August, if you remain eligible.

Ex-Carer Allowance (Child) Health Care Card

You can get an Ex-Carer Allowance (Child) Health Care Card if you:

• are between 16 and 25
• are a full time student
• had a Carer Allowance Health Care Card on the day before you turned 16
• are an Australian resident or you hold a special category visa

Your card is valid for 1 year. You must reclaim the card each year.

Foster Child Health Care Card

You can get a Foster Child Health Care Card if you:

• are a foster carer or care for someone else’s child
• are an Australian citizen living in Australia
• hold a permanent visa or a special category visa

Your foster child must live with you as long as you hold this card.

Your card is valid for 1 year. We will send you a new card automatically, if you remain eligible.

Health Care Card

You can get a Health Care Card if you:

• live in Australia
• get some payments or supplements from us
• meet the age rules of the payment you get

Payments or supplements include:

• Newstart Allowance
• Sickness Allowance
• Youth Allowance as a job seeker
• Partner Allowance
• Parenting Payment partnered
• Widow Allowance
• Special Benefit
• Carer Payment for short term care under 6 months
• the maximum rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A
• Mobility Allowance if you don’t get Disability Support Pension
• Carer Allowance if you care for a child under 16 years - the Health Care Card is for the child in your care only
• Farm Household Allowance - you don’t need to apply, we'll send you a card if you’re eligible

Your card is valid for 1 year. We will send you a new card automatically, if you remain eligible.

Low Income Health Care Card

You can get a Low Income Health Care Card if you’re aged 19 or older or younger than 19 and are independent.

You must:

• live in Australia
• be an Australian citizen
• hold either a:
  • permanent visa
  • special category visa
  • partner provisional visa subclass 309 or 820, or
  • temporary protection visa

You must also meet an income test.

Your card is valid for 1 year. You must renew your card each year.

Pensioner Concession Card

You can get a Pensioner Concession Card if you get:

• Age Pension
• Bereavement Allowance
• Carer Payment
• Disability Support Pension
• Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance. - you must be single and caring for a dependent child while you’re looking for work
• Parenting Payment single

You are also eligible if you’re 60 years of age or older and for more than 9 months have been getting:

• Newstart Allowance
• Parenting Payment partnered
• Partner Allowance
• Sickness Allowance
• Special Benefit, or
• Widow Allowance

Or, you have a partial capacity to work and you get:

• Newstart Allowance
• Parenting Payment partnered
• Youth Allowance as a job seeker

You must meet age rules for the payment you are getting.

Your card is valid for 2 years. We will send you a new card every 2 years on your birthday, if you remain eligible.

Card features

Your card will display your:

• Customer Reference Number (CRN)
• address - usually your home address
• card start date - the date your concession entitlement begins
• expiry date - the date the card expires
• name - your first name and family name

Depending on the type of card you have, it will show your partner’s first name and family name. It will show only the first name of any dependent children.

Other support

Other organisations have support services and information you may find helpful. You can use Payment and Service Finder to locate help in your local area.

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has a concession card for those eligible.

State and territory governments also offer a Seniors Card.

Read more about concessions available in your state or territory:

• Australian Capital Territory - ACT Assistance
• New South Wales - Financial support & concessions
• Northern Territory - Northern Territory Pensioner & Carer Concession Scheme
• Queensland - Concessions
• South Australia - Concessions and benefits
• Tasmania - Discounts and concessions
• Victoria - Concessions
• Western Australia - ConcessionsWA

MoneySmart has information to help you make the most of your money. Read the Budget planner section on the MoneySmart website.