Period over which to charge income

Income should be charged against the benefit for the week it is earned or the period it represents for example:

For example:

• an interest payment is received once every 6 months representing the previous 6 months

1. This payment should be charged against the benefit over the previous 6 months the payment represents.

2. If it is an ongoing investment you would then add it on as estimated income for the next 6 months.

• a client gets wages for working a fortnight. Income should be charged each week representing the wages paid for that week.
• a client works for 2 days of the week. Income should be charged in the week it is earned.

For more information on charging weekend work see: Income from employment

In most cases, determining the period will be straightforward. For more information on some specific types of income and how to charge them, see:

• Core Policy Types of income

If the period of when the income was earned, or the period it represents is still unable to be determined, discuss the payment with Helpline.

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

Where a client has income from several sources paid for the same periods of time, then all of the payments are added together.

This total income will be charged against the Young Parent Payment over the period the income represents.