Dealing with Redundancy and the role that Social Security plays

NewStart is a government assistance program with the aim of helping those who are actively looking for work to meet their living expenses. You may be eligible for assistance from NewStart if you are:

 

?At least 21 and under the Age Pension age
?Actively looking for paid work
?Prepared to enter into an activity agreement
?Not involved in industrial action

How much you receive from Newstart will be determined by several factors. Some of these are:
?Whether you are single or married
?Your age
?Whether you have any children
?The value of your income and assets (This determined through income and asset testing)
If you apply for NewStart your payment will generally start after the ?ordinary waiting period? (7 days). It could be however be the case, if you received leave entitlements or time related redundancy payments, that you will also have to wait for an ?income maintenance? period to run out. If you have liquid assets of more than $6,000 (if you have a partner or dependent children) or $3,000 (if you are single) you will also have to wait for 13 weeks under the ?liquid assets waiting period? before payments commence. The last two waiting periods can run concurrently.

The way in which you manage your redundancy payments will have a definite impact on your eligibility for NewStart. Any payments that you cash in or invest outside of super will be assessed under the income and assets tests. This will not be the case if you leave the money in your super fund.

If you want to make use of NewStart your first port of call should be Centrelink as they will be able to supply you with all the necessary information on the program.