<P> All Centrelink income support payments are payable fortnightly, usually by direct deposit required into the recipient's bank account . They are also subject to a means test which calculates the recipient (and their partner's) fortnightly income and assets and affects the rate of their payment accordingly . As such, people on lower incomes may be entitled to part - payment of their allowance (subject to other qualification requirements). The assessment of income and assets varies greatly between different social security payments and the effect that income and assets have on each payment differs in that they have different income thresholds (i.e. how much income one can earn before it affects their payment) and different taper rates (the amount the payment drops by per dollar above these thresholds). </P> <P> An individual may be precluded from claiming any of income support payments listed below for a certain number of weeks following receipt of a lump sum compensation payment, made wholly or partly in respect of lost earnings or lost capacity to earn resulting from personal injury (often received in settlement of a Workers' Compensation claim). The number of weeks for which the preclusion period applies to an individual is proportional the size of the lump sum payment they received . Centrelink has a discretion to reduce the duration of the preclusion period if it is satisfied that there exist special circumstances that make an individual's case out of the ordinary: for example, extreme financial hardship . </P> <P> The Age Pension was the first payment made by the Commonwealth Government, dating back to 1909 . It is available to persons aged 65 years and over . The eligibility age is currently being progressively increased to a cap of 67 years old . Except for the mandatory superannuation scheme, workers do not contribute to a pension or insurance scheme in Australia, unlike pension schemes in many other countries . Taxpayer - funded pensions are means tested . </P> <P> Newstart Allowance is an unemployment benefit paid to unemployed people aged 22 to 64 . To be eligible, a person must apply for the benefit and be actively seeking work . On 1 July 1991, it replaced the Unemployment Benefit (UB) which had been unchanged since 1945 . It was part of a government reform called Newstart - the Active Employment Strategy . </P>

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