Commonwealth Seniors Health Card: What it is and how to apply

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It can seem like there isn’t much help available when it comes to your retirement living expenses if you don’t qualify for the Age Pension.

But many people in this situation overlook the support a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) can provide. If you’re eligible, this concession card gives you access to cheaper health care, medications and, potentially, government services.

So, what is the CSHC and how do you get your hands on one?

What benefits does the CSHC provide?

The CSHC is a concessional card that allows you to get cheaper health care and some discounts if you’ve reached Age Pension age. If you’re eligible, the benefits include:

• Cheaper prescription medicines: Medicines listed under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) are subsidised by the federal government.
• Bulk-billed doctor visits: This is at the discretion of the doctor you choose.
• Access to the Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) Concessional benefit: This gives you a better Medicare refund for any out-of-hospital costs during a calendar year. The 2021 threshold amount for out-of-pocket hospital costs is currently $697. If you exceed this, you’ll be refunded 80% of the amount, or the EMSN benefit caps for hospital services. For more information, check out the Medicare website.
• Additional concessions from state and local governments: Depending on where you live, these concessions can lower your electricity and gas bills, property and water rates, health care costs and public transport fares. For more information, check what you can get where you live at www.australia.gov.au.

How do I qualify for a CSHC?

To qualify, you must:

1. Have reached your Age Pension eligibility age

Your Age Pension age depends on your date of birth. It is currently 66 years and 6 months, but is progressively being increased to age 67 for all Australians from 1 July 2023. So, if your birthdate is on or after 1 January 1957, your Age Pension age is 67.

2. Not qualify for any payment from Services Australia or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)

This means you can’t be entitled to receive an Age or DVA Pension.

3. Live in Australia and meet the residence rules

You must be living in Australia when you claim a CSHC and must be an Australian citizen, hold a permanent visa, or hold a Special Category Visa as a New Zealand citizen living in Australia. You must continue to meet the residence rules the whole time you are using the CSHC.

Most newly arrived residents have to wait several years before being eligible for the CSHC.

4. Be under the annual CSHC income threshold

The CSHC income threshold is different to the Age Pension income test. There is no asset test for the CSHC and assets like your family home are not counted.

5. Provide a Tax File Number (TFN)

You must provide Services Australia with your TFN or be exempt from doing so.

6. Meet the identity requirements

You will need to prove your identity to Services Australia before you are entitled to receive a CSHC.

If you are claiming a benefit from Services Australia for the first time, you need to provide an acceptable photo identity document (such as driver licence or passport) in person at a service centre. Otherwise, you will need to provide your existing Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN).

What’s included in the income test?

The income test for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card (CSHC) is reviewed on 20 September each year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In assessing your income, Services Australia includes:

1. Your adjusted taxable income

For the CSHC income test, your adjusted taxable income includes your taxable income plus any additional income

Your taxable income is your gross income minus any allowable deductions and is the income on which you pay tax. Income under the tax-free threshold is also counted as taxable income.

Any taxable COVID-19 payments you receive (such as Pandemic Leave Disaster Payments) are included in your taxable income, as are taxable super death benefits and any super released early from your account.

To calculate your adjusted taxable income, Services Australia also includes any:

• Foreign income (including money from foreign businesses or investments)
• Tax-exempt foreign income
• Target foreign income
• Total net investment losses (including net losses from rental property income or a financial investment)
• Reportable fringe benefits from your employer (including help to pay your rent or home loan, mobile phone, school fees, car, childcare expenses or health insurance premiums)
• Reportable superannuation contributions (including salary sacrifice or personal contributions claimed as a tax deduction)
• Some tax-free pensions or benefits (including those from Centrelink and DVA such as the Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment and Wife Pension)
• State government payments.

2. Deemed amounts from account-based income streams

Under deeming rules, you’re assumed to be earning a set rate of return on your investments, regardless of whether you are or not. These investments include savings accounts, term deposits, investments and shares.

Services Australia also deems income from any account-based income streams when it calculates your income for CSHC eligibility. The balance of the account-based income stream is subject to deeming if:

• You purchased or changed the income stream on or after 1 January 2015
• You own the income stream and receive a CSHC after 31 December 2014
• Your partner owns the income steam and is aged 60 or over.

3. Your partner’s income

If you have a partner, their income can also affect your adjusted taxable income.

CSHC income thresholds: What are the current limits?

The income test for a CSHC is updated once a year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). From 20 September 2021, you must earn no more than the following to be eligible for a CSHC:

Personal situation	Maximum income threshold for CSHC eligibility
Single	$57,761
Couple	$92,416
Couples separated by illness, respite care or prison	$115,522

Source: Services Australia

If you have any children still in your care, $639.60 can be added to each threshold for each child.

How do I apply for the CSHC?

You can apply for a card from Services Australia once you’ve reached your Age Pension eligibility age. You can:

1. Apply online at the Services Australia website. You will be guided through the claim process for your CSHC here.
2. Complete a claim form: Click here to download the CSHC application form.
3. Call Services Australia: Phone the Centrelink Older Australians line on 132 300.

You will need to provide a range of documents to support your CSHC application. These may include:

• Financial documents: Tax file number; superannuation, investment and bank details; and income tax returns.
• Relationship documents: Partner details, including work and income details.
• Residence documents: If you lived outside Australia, these may include visa, date of Australian citizenship and date living in other countries.

If you submit your application for a CSHC online, you can track its progress using either your Centrelink online account through myGov or the Centrelink Express Plus mobile app.

If Services Australia assesses you as eligible for a CSHC, you will receive a card in the mail and it will also display in your Digital Wallet in the Centrelink Express Plus mobile app. If you are ineligible for a CSHC, you will receive a letter from Services Australia in your myGov Inbox or through the normal mail.

What if my circumstances change?

Like all government benefits, you need to keep Centrelink informed when things alter in your life.

CSHC holders must notify Centrelink within 14 days if any of the following occur:

• You change or correct your name
• You change your address
• Your (or your partner’s) income changes
• You (or your partner) purchase an account-based income stream
• You return to work
• You don’t have to lodge a tax return
• Your care arrangements change
• Your personal circumstances change (such as you no longer live as a couple or a single, or vice versa)
• You move permanently overseas.

Does the CSHC replace private health insurance?

Holding a CSHC doesn’t mean you can forget private health insurance.

Although it provides some benefits when it comes to pharmaceuticals, visits to the doctor and additional refunds under the Extended Medicare Safety Net, it’s not a replacement for private health insurance.

Need help applying for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card?