Income for a past period

If a client declares income for a past period and there is either no income or there is a different amount previously declared for that period, the client's Jobseeker Support must be reviewed for that period.

Income must be charged against the Jobseeker Support for the week in which it is earned or the period it represents. Any Extra Help the client gets must also be reviewed.

Information share Child Support payments are treated differently as they are automatically charged forward as income for a period of 4 or 5 weeks.

For more information see:

• Information share Child Support payments
• Automated income charging rules

Generally, any income a client receives should be charged against the benefit for the period in which the income was earned or represents.

However, sole parent and grandparented Jobseeker Support clients whose benefit commenced (or last commenced) before 1 July 2025 can have their income charged annually until their next 52 week expiry date. This is a transitional arrangement.

For clients with annual income charging, MSD will estimate the prospective income the client is likely to receive over the next 52 weeks and update income from the first available date. If the client declares a change in income for a past or current period their prospective income should be reviewed.

For more information see:

• Annual income for sole parent and grandparented clients before 30 June 2026
• Review of Annual Income - sole parent and grandparented clients before 30 June 2026