Loan to repair a home.
A client was negotiating an interest free loan from a relative to renovate their home. The $200,000 loan would need to be declared to Centrelink within 14 days. If however, the renovation bills were sent directly to the relative for payment, Centrelink need not be involved.
Alternatively, the relative could supply the money progressively for bills, with the amount going ‘in and out on the same day’. That is an end-of-day ATM slip balance could be provided to verify current bank balance as at the end of the ‘transaction’.
The money should not be termed as a gift, as this has other implications. It is a loan to be repaid, but as it is against the ‘family home’ is it ‘ignored’ by Centrelink.
ATM ‘Slips’.
In many cases providing Centrelink with bank statements to Centrelink can result in more queries than it is worth. In most cases an ATM slip showing the current balances is all that is required. For example, if an amount of $10,000 were deposited into an account, and then the following week all spent on home renovations, just provide Centrelink the subsequent ATM balance slip.
Unless, of course, Centrelink request a full bank statement – e.g. for ‘proof of identity’ purposes.
