In an earlier series of posts I wrote about how income
support payment rates are indexed, using the September 2012 indexation round as
an example. Calculations for the next
round of increases will kick off on 23 January when the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (the ABS) releases the CPI figure for the December 2012 quarter. This is the starting point for working out
the rates that will apply from 20 March 2013.
However, this time round the indexation process will differ
from the standard arrangement described in my earlier posts. That’s because part of the rate increase that
would usually flow from increases in the CPI (and also the pensioner and
beneficiary living cost index – PBLCI - for most pensioners) is going to be siphoned
off to help form a new income support rate component – the clean energy
supplement.
