| Services | Main CategoryFinance, Income, Business | This CategoryFinancial Concessions |
Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
Eligibility
Applicants must satisfy ALL of the following requirements: 1. Must meet Centrelink residency requirements
2. Not be receiving a social security pension or benefit, or a service pension from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
3. Have reached Age Pension age. Note: Veterans may have lower age requirements. Refer Comment field above. Contact the Department of Veterans' Affairs for further details
4. Have incomes below the qualifying income limit. Qualifying annual adjusted* taxable income limits are $50,000 (single person), $80,000 (combined, if applicant has a partner), $100,000 (couples combined if applicant has a partner but are separated due to illness, respite care or because the partner is in jail). For each dependent child add $639.60.
'Adjusted taxable income' is your taxable income plus total net investment losses (the sum of net losses from rental property income plus net losses from financial investment income), foreign income (income from overseas on which you do not pay Australian income tax), employer provided benefits over $1,000 and reportable superannuation contributions (voluntary contributions and personal deductible contributions where the latter can be claimed as a tax deduction on a personal income tax return)
2. Not be receiving a social security pension or benefit, or a service pension from the Department of Veterans' Affairs
3. Have reached Age Pension age. Note: Veterans may have lower age requirements. Refer Comment field above. Contact the Department of Veterans' Affairs for further details
4. Have incomes below the qualifying income limit. Qualifying annual adjusted* taxable income limits are $50,000 (single person), $80,000 (combined, if applicant has a partner), $100,000 (couples combined if applicant has a partner but are separated due to illness, respite care or because the partner is in jail). For each dependent child add $639.60.
'Adjusted taxable income' is your taxable income plus total net investment losses (the sum of net losses from rental property income plus net losses from financial investment income), foreign income (income from overseas on which you do not pay Australian income tax), employer provided benefits over $1,000 and reportable superannuation contributions (voluntary contributions and personal deductible contributions where the latter can be claimed as a tax deduction on a personal income tax return)
Comment
Commonwealth Seniors Health Card is issued by both Centrelink (see below) and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA).
Whilst the income test requirements are the same for both organisations, veterans may have lower qualifying age requirements and receive additional benefits. If they have "qualifying service" (i.e. have served in a war zone), the DVA age requirement is 5 years less than that for Centrelink recipients. Thus men with qualifying service satisfy the age requirement from 60 years and women with qualifying service five years before the Centrelink requirement which is based upon their date of birth.
Services
- Concessions on prescription medicines - from 1 January 2010, $5.40 per script for medicine listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Pharmaceuticals are free for the remainder of the calendar year for cardholders who have spent more than $324, the equvialent of 60 prescriptions during the year
- Concessions on electricity - applicant must not be sharing a house with someone with an income of more than $3,000 per annum unless that person is a spouse, partner or dependant or is in receipt of a Centrelink or DVA pension or benefit. The account must be in the name of the applicant (or joint names) and be for the applicant's principal place of residence. South Australian card holders who meet this criteria are entitled to an annual electricity concession of $150 (from 1 July, 2010). The concession will be automatically deducted from their electricity accounts once their application for the concession has been processed. Contact the SA Government Concessions Hotline, tel. 1800 307 758 (free call)
- Bulk-billed GP consultations at the discretion of the doctor (the Commonwealth Government offers financial incentives for doctors to bulk-bill cardholders)
- Rail concessions - Great Southern Rail provides concession fares on the following rail services: The Ghan, Indian Pacific and The Overland. For further information or bookings, tel. 13 21 47
- Medicare Safety Net - once a person/couple's out-of-pocket medical expenses for out-of-hospital services reach a set figure ($562.90 for 2010) in a calendar year, the Commonwealth Government will pay 80% of any additional costs for the remainder of the year. Contact Medicare, tel. 13 2011
- Seniors Supplement (includes the Seniors Concession Allowance and the Telephone Allowance and is reviewed in March and September each year))
- Seniors Concession Allowance - an annual, non-taxable, indexed automatic payment of $500 paid in quarterly installments in January, March, July and September into a nominated account. Where both members of a couple hold the Card, they will both receive full payment of the Allowance
- Telephone Allowance - paid every three months if you have a telephone service (this can include a mobile phone) in your or your partner's name. Annual payments are $140.80 with payments of $35.20 made quarterly. However if only one partner of a couple is a Card holder, the payment is halved, i.e. $17.60 per quarter. Payments are made directly into a nominated bank account and do not appear on the telephone account. Any concessions or discounts your telephone or internet service provider may offer are not related to Telephone Allowance. The Allowance is paid in January, March, July and September. This payment amount is reviewed annually in September
