Aussies on Youth Allowance and Newstart are set receive $750 from the government’s coronavirus stimulus package.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed the payment on Thursday morning as part of the $17 billion package.
“The government will deliver a one-off stimulus payment to households, with 6.5 million Australians receiving a payment of $750,” he said.
“This one-off payment, which costs 4.8 billion dollars, will provide additional income to millions of Australians that will be spent across the economy.
“It’s not for us to tell those Australians how to spend their money, but we do know from experience that they will spend their money and that will encourage economic activity.”
In addition to those on the Youth Allowance and Newstart, the $750 payment will be delivered to people currently receiving disability support payments, the carer allowance and veterans’ support, as well as health care card holders and family tax benefit recipients.
The news comes after talk of a $500 payment to Newstart recipients earlier in the week.
Things move fast. A week ago a cash payment to households was not a leading option.
— David Crowe (@CroweDM) March 12, 2020
The payment is intended to keep the economy afloat as the coronavirus and other factors threaten a recession around the world. In 2009, the Rudd government made a payment of $900 to individuals to ward off the effects of the Global Economic Crisis.
Neither Newstart, which is a weekly payment of $279.50, or the Youth Allowance, the rate of which depends on an individual’s circumstances, will be raised.
Newstart has not been raised in real terms since 1994, and advocates claim that it is not enough to meet the cost of living in most cities.
The payments will be distributed from March 31.
