Couples who are living apart

Couples who live apart but still regard themselves as a couple receive the married, civil union or de facto rate of payment.

Generally, when a couple is physically living apart only because one partner is in long-term care (but they still consider themselves to be in a marriage or civil union), they may be entitled to get the single sharing or the single living alone rate instead of the married, civil union or de facto rate.

There are some important exceptions to this.