After a Redundancy

First Steps After a Redundancy

After losing a job, how do you know what needs attention now and what can wait?

Sorting the urgent from the rest can give you time to make each decision well, and a clear place to start.

We’ll sort out with you what needs attention now and what can wait a few weeks.

Much of what a payout raises can wait while you get the facts in writing. A few things are better done early: a Centrelink claim can go in before the money arrives, and lenders have hardship teams if repayments may be hard to meet. Free, confidential support is there too: the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 and Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

What we look at with you first:

• A written breakdown of your final pay from your employer, listing every payment and what each one is for
• Redundancy pay and notice, which you can check with Fair Work against the National Employment Standards and your award or agreement
• A Centrelink claim, which you can lodge with Services Australia before any payout reaches your account
• An early call to your lender about hardship options, if home loan repayments may become hard to meet
• Repayments on any novated lease, which may continue after salary packaging ends, checked with your employer, accountant and lease provider
• Any payout held somewhere accessible while the bigger decisions are still being worked through
• Essential bills and repayments due over the coming months, listed with the dates each one falls due
• Decisions with dates attached, such as Centrelink claims and cover through super, set apart from those that can wait

Read our article on your financial plan after a redundancy

What Your Payout Is Made Of

Is it clear what your payout is made up of before you decide what to do with it?

Understanding each part of the payout can help you put it to good use for what comes next.

We can explain each part of your payout before you decide what to do with it.

A payout can include payment in lieu of notice, redundancy pay and unused leave, and the parts can be taxed differently. For 2026-27, a genuine redundancy payment is tax-free up to $13,598 plus $6,801 for each completed year of service, if you’re under Age Pension age. Above that limit it’s taxed as an employment termination payment, and your accountant confirms how each part applies to you.

Together, we’ll go through:

• Payment in lieu of notice, redundancy pay and any one-off extra payment (ex gratia), each identified on your written breakdown
• The tax-free limit for a genuine redundancy, worked out from your completed years of service and confirmed by your accountant
• Whether the redundancy meets the conditions to be treated as genuine, a question for your employer and accountant
• Unused annual leave and long service leave, paid out under their own tax rules rather than the tax-free limit
• Any amount above the tax-free limit, taxed as an employment termination payment up to the cap for that year
• Compulsory employer super on a payment in lieu of notice, plus any super your award or agreement requires on redundancy pay
• Your age on the day employment ends, since the genuine redundancy concession only applies below Age Pension age
• The amount you’ll plan with once tax is withheld, taken from your final payslip or payment summary

Learn more about Tax & Wealth Strategies

Centrelink and Your Payout

Could your payout affect when income support would start?

Planning your cashflow around any waiting period can help you through the weeks in between.

We’ll plan your cashflow with you around any Centrelink waiting periods that may apply.

A payout can delay income support. As at 2026, a liquid assets waiting period of one to 13 weeks can apply if you have $5,500 or more as a single person with no dependants, or $11,000 or more with a partner or dependants, counting funds readily available to you or your partner and money your employer owes you. An income maintenance period can also apply, based on the leave or redundancy pay you receive. Services Australia decides which periods apply.

What we plan around with you:

• Your liquid assets, including any money your employer still owes you
• The liquid assets waiting period, which Services Australia sets at between one and 13 weeks
• An income maintenance period worked out from the weeks of leave and redundancy pay you received
• The one-week ordinary waiting period, which may also apply to payments such as JobSeeker
• A partial payment during an income maintenance period, which depends on the final payment from your employer
• Waivers for severe financial hardship, which Services Australia can consider if living costs can’t be met
• Your available cash set against living costs and bills through any waiting period before a first payment
• The claim itself, which you lodge with Services Australia, and what it tells you about any waiting period

Listen to our episode on what happens if your income stops

Your Cashflow and the Gap

How long could your money last until the next income arrives?

Testing a short gap and a long one can show how far your savings may go, with a plan for each.

We’ll test with you how long your money could last if the gap before your next income is short or long.

There’s no single buffer that suits everyone, so we start from your essential costs, any partner’s income and the support you may receive. Testing a short and a long gap shows what each would mean before any of the payout is committed. Where cash sits matters too: an offset account, if your loan has one, can reduce interest while keeping money within reach.

Together, we’ll work through:

• Essential monthly costs, separated from spending that can pause while your income is uncertain
• A short gap and a long gap modelled side by side, before any of the payout is spent or invested
• A lower salary, part-time hours or contract work, each tested as a possible next step for your budget
• An offset account, if your loan has one, holding cash that stays available while reducing interest
• Hardship arrangements for utilities, phone and credit cards, which providers may offer if bills become hard to pay
• The National Debt Helpline, free and confidential, for help with bills and debts if you need it
• Subscriptions, premiums and other regular payments reviewed for what still fits the household budget now
• Your household budget looked at again once your next income source, or a retirement date, is clear

Learn more about Cashflow & Financial Wellbeing

The Mortgage and Your Payout

If you have a home loan, should the payout go towards it or stay within reach?

Weighing extra repayments against cash on hand can help you choose what suits life after this role.

We can weigh up extra repayments against keeping cash within reach, alongside your lender or a mortgage broker.

If repayments may become hard to meet, Moneysmart suggests speaking to your lender early: options can include a hardship variation or a period of interest-only repayments. Extra repayments may be harder to get back than money in an offset account, depending on the loan’s redraw rules. Any new loan or refinance goes through a lender or mortgage broker, and we can refer you to one.

The decisions we weigh up together:

• A hardship variation or a period of interest-only repayments, arranged directly with your lender if needed
• Extra repayments compared with money held in an offset account, on access, interest and flexibility
• Redraw rules on your loan, which set how easily extra repayments can be taken back out
• Paying the loan down in part, weighed against the cash needed for the gap before your next income
• A refinance planned before the redundancy, looked at again with a mortgage broker now your salary has changed
• Fixed and variable rate terms on the loan, and any break costs, before money goes into it
• Life cover sized against the home loan balance left after any repayment, with income protection usually based on your earnings
• Repayments tested against a lower salary or part-time hours, if a new role pays differently

Super After a Redundancy

What happens to your super now that the job has ended?

Checking your fund now can show where your super stands, whatever comes next.

We’ll go through your balance, your fund and whether a contribution suits your situation this year.

If you’re under 60, redundancy alone doesn’t release your super. Preservation age is 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964, and super stays preserved until a condition of release is met. Caps are indexed and can change each year: for 2026-27 the concessional cap is $32,500, with unused amounts from earlier years available if your total super balance was under $500,000 on the previous 30 June. Money you add stays preserved, even if you need cash in the meantime.

Together, we’ll look at:

• The final employer super contribution owed to you, checked as received in your fund account
• Preservation age, from which super can generally be accessed once retired, and conditions of release, which redundancy alone doesn’t meet before 60
• Ceasing employment at 60 or over, which counts as retirement for super purposes
• A concessional (before-tax) contribution weighed against this year’s income, with the tax effect confirmed by your accountant
• Unused concessional cap amounts from earlier years, available where your total super balance allows
• Cash kept outside super for living costs, since money contributed stays preserved until a condition of release
• Consolidating accounts if a new employer pays into a different fund, after checking any cover you’d lose
• Your investment option and fees reviewed, including while any employer contributions are paused

Learn more about Superannuation

Insurance When the Job Ends

Could leaving your job have changed any insurance you held through work or super?

Reviewing any cover you held through work or super can show what’s worth keeping, or replacing, as you move on.

We’ll review what cover you hold, where it sits and what may change now the job has ended.

Life, TPD (total and permanent disability) and income protection cover held through super can change or stop when you leave an employer or change fund. Income protection covers illness and injury, not job loss, and policy terms between jobs vary, so we go through your own policy with you.

Together, we’ll go through:

• Every life, TPD and income protection policy you hold, and the fund or insurer each one sits with
• Employer-arranged cover that may change when you leave, with any continuation option set out in your fund’s terms
• Any cover in super from your old employer’s fund, and what it may cost once contributions stop
• Any premiums deducted from your super balance while no employer contributions are coming in
• Income protection terms between jobs, including how a benefit would be worked out if illness or injury stops you working
• Sums insured resized against the debts and income that remain once the payout is placed
• New cover considered before any existing cover lapses, since lapsed cover may be harder to replace if your health has changed
• Beneficiary nominations on your super checked while the cover inside the account is reviewed

Learn more about Income Protection

Your Next Role or Retirement

Is this the moment to look for a new role, ease into part-time work or retire?

Comparing each path against your super and savings can help you step into what comes next with a plan.

We can test a new role, part-time work or an earlier retirement against your super and plans.

A redundancy in your late 50s or 60s can raise the question of retiring earlier than planned. Super can generally be accessed once you’ve ceased employment at 60 or over, and Age Pension age is 67, so the years between need a plan of their own. If part of the payout isn’t needed now, we can look at investing it or paying down other debt with you.

What we test with you:

• A new role at a different salary, tested against your budget, super and savings goals
• Part-time or contract work as a step between full-time employment and retirement
• Retiring earlier than planned, tested against your super balance, any mortgage and any partner’s income
• The years between finishing work and Age Pension age, funded from savings, super or both
• An income stream from super once you’ve stopped work at 60 or over, sized to your spending and balance
• Concession cards and other support worth checking with Services Australia once your income has changed
• Any surplus payout money set against your goals, whether that means investing, paying down other debt or both
• Reviews of the plan as your work, income and retirement date become clearer

Learn more about Retirement & Aged Care