Do you keep eyeing your calendar and waiting for your Centrelink payment to drop? Perhaps you were hit with a super hefty electricity or phone bill, your car broke down, or you need to replace white goods.
Numerous circumstances can require an urgent loan, which is where a Centrelink advance payment comes in. So, learn about these loans to make an informed decision!
What this article cover:
- What Is a Centrelink Cash Advance?
- What Is the Eligibility Criteria?
- How Do I Get a Centrelink Cash Advance?
- What Can I Spend a Centrelink Cash Advance On?
- Advantages of a Centrelink Advance Loan
- Interest Rates on Centrelink Advance Loans
- Can You Get a Loan From Centrelink?
What Is a Centrelink Cash Advance?
It’s a short-term personal loan that gives you access to your Centrelink payment before your payday. It’s designed to give you funds as soon as possible and can be a same-day loan. This way, you can afford essential expenses, such as emergency home maintenance or unexpected medical bills.
The application process for an emergency cash loan is deliberately simple, easy, and 100% online. After all, customers looking for this type of funding need it fast. Note that cash advances are unsecured loans since they’re small loans (typically $300 to $5,000), so providing a form of security isn’t required.
There are various ways to get a cash advance. You can simply withdraw money from your credit card, which will accumulate interest until you repay it. Employed individuals may get cash advances on their salaries through their companies.
Likewise, Centrelink recipients who are eligible for an advance loan can receive it from Centrelink. If not, they can turn to private lenders who have more inclusive and flexible eligibility criteria.
Lenders who offer these loans focus on suitability and affordability. To explain, they consider your benefit type, Centrelink payment, other income sources, expenditure, and other financial indicators to determine if you’d be able to repay the loan.
What Is the Eligibility Criteria?
The eligibility criteria for cash advances are similar across many lenders. You’ll need to:
- Be 18 years old or over
- Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- Have a Centrelink income suitable to the loan amount
- Have a checking account
- Have an eligible Centrelink benefit type
Eligible benefit types aren’t dependent on you holding an employment position or pursuing a degree, such as Austudy, Abstudy, Youth Allowance, or Newstart Allowance. Instead, they’re stable enough for you to rely on for a Centrelink loan repayment, such as:
- Carer’s Allowance
- Age Pension
- Single Parent Payment
- Mobility Allowance
- Centrelink Pensions
- Child Care Benefit
- Disability Support Pension
- Veterans Affairs Pension
- Jobseeker Payment
- Partnered Parent Payment
- Totally & Permanently Incapacitated Pension (T&PI)
How Do I Get a Centrelink Cash Advance?
Our online application process for advance loans on Centrelink is composed of three steps, as you’ll see.
1. Fill Out the Online Form
This online form will take you a few minutes to fill out. You’ll enter your personal information and provide some documents, such as:
- Full name
- Relationship status
- Date of birth
- Email address
- Mobile phone
- Internet banking credentials
- Proof of ID, such as a passport or driver’s licence
- Bank statements for the 90 days before your application
- Centrelink documents
- 100-points of identification
- Tax returns for the past two years
- Employment details (if you’re employed)
We might contact you to request additional documents
2. Wait to Get Matched
After you submit your application, you can relax as we look for a suitable reputable lender. We might find a lender who’s willing to approve your loan in a few moments.
3. Get Your Funds
When you get paired with a lender, they’ll look at your benefit type and amount, overall income, expenditure, and outstanding debts. Then, they’ll decide if you can repay the loan without financial difficulty.
If your application is approved, the lender will send you a loan agreement. Read its terms carefully to determine if you approve of the loan amount, term, schedule, interest, and fees. After you sign it, the lender will contact you to see how you’d like to receive your loan, and you might get it the same day or the following one.
What Can I Spend a Centrelink Cash Advance On?
There are no restrictions on usage. Payday loans for pensioners tend to be used to cover:
- Car repairs
- Home renovations
- Medical bills
- Travel expenses
- Electricity bills
- Car loans
- Veterinary bills
- Special events
- Planned purchases and white goods
- Holiday expenses
Advantages of a Centrelink Advance Loan
If you get a loan on benefit today, here’s what you’ll enjoy:
Flexible Terms
When you apply for an advance loan, you can customise your repayment schedule. Do you want to make payments every week, fortnight, or month? Get your repayment schedule synced with your payment cycle. Also, you’ll probably have the option of making early repayments without paying a fee.
Fast Cash
When you apply for a cash advance, you’re requesting money that’ll be available to you on your payday. So, it’ll be no use if you get the loan after weeks of applying. Lenders recognize this, which is why they offer you fast funding. You may receive the money on the day of application or the following one.
Easy Acceptance
Since you’ll be dealing with a lender who accepts Centrelink recipients, their eligibility criteria won’t be strict. They focus on the applicant’s current ability to repay the loan rather than their past mistakes or credit portfolio, approving loans for people with bad credit and on benefits.
Interest Rates on Centrelink Advance Loans
Generally, short-term loans have high rates. Also, they aren’t secured, which adds to the risk. And applicants are on Centrelink benefits, indicating that they’re probably living on a low income. Not to mention, they need instant loans or fast funding, which comes at a price.
Accordingly, offering cash advance loans for pensioners involves considerable risk for lenders, so they compensate for it by charging high interest rates.
Can You Get a Loan From Centrelink?
Yes, Services Australia may allow you part of your support payment or Family Tax Benefit (Part A) before your payday. The advance payment will be subtracted from your future payments. The main downside is that the accessible loan amounts are typically small.
So, how do you qualify for it? Centrelink factors in your benefit type and the duration for which you’ve received it. It also requires that you:
- Live in Australia at the time of application
- Have no existing debts to the Australian Government
- Have no unpaid cash advances
- Are able to repay the advance in six months
Final Words
If you’re receiving Centrelink benefits, you can receive an advance loan, whether it’s via a bank, private lender, or Centrelink itself. Centrelink advance loans are small, short-term loans that cover any unexpected or urgent expenses that pop up between paydays.
Lenders who offer them accept Centrelink as an income source. With such loans, you get fast cash and enjoy a flexible repayment schedule. If you’re interested in advance loans on Centrelink, contact us, and we’ll match you with the right lender!
Was the guide helpful? Check out these extra resources to delve deeper
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