Exempt Assets

Written By Jacqueline Parker

Below is a list of exempt assets taken directly from the Department of Human Services website. Not as useful as you would think because there are so many exceptions to the rule.

“Exempt assets include:

  • your principal home and surrounding land up to 2 hectares on the same title

  • some properties larger than 2 hectares on the same title - read more about rural customers and primary producers

  • your principal home, if you vacate it for up to 12 months

  • granny flat rights where you pay more than the extra allowable amount

  • principal home sale proceeds you’ll use to buy another home within 12 months - we deem the exempted amount and include it in the income test

  • any property or money left to you in an estate, which you can’t get for up to 12 months

  • accommodation bonds paid on entry to a residential aged care facility

  • some income streams depending on when you purchased them

  • Australian superannuation investments from which a pension is not being paid - this exemption is valid until you reach age pension age

  • a cemetery plot and a prepaid funeral, or up to 2 funeral bonds, that cost no more than the allowable limit

  • aids for people with disability

  • money from the National Disability Insurance Scheme for people with disability

  • a Special Disability Trust, if it meets certain requirements

  • If you enter an aged care facility, we don't assess your former principal home if you're:

  • paying or are liable for an accommodation charge,

  • renting out your former home, and

  • entered an aged care facility before 1 January 2017

We will not assess any interest you have in the following items as long as you or your partner didn’t create them:

  • life interest

  • reversionary interest

  • remainder interest, or

  • contingent interest

We also may not assess most compensation or insurance payments for loss or damage to buildings or personal items.”

What does this all mean for me?

Please be aware that this is just a snapshot of the information available on this subject and you should not make any decisions based on this article without seeking further advice about your individual circumstances.

Run your eye over the list and make sure you are not being assessed on exempt assets.

Jacqueline Parker
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