JobSeeker changes have passed Parliament, here’s what that means if you’re on unemployment benefits

Unemployed Australians will receive an extra $25 a week after changes to the JobSeeker base rate passed Parliament this afternoon.

The deadline to tweak the benefit has been rapidly approaching, with the coronavirus supplement — a boost to the payment of $150 a fortnight — winding up at the end of March.

After being passed in the Senate without amendments, the changes are now officially law. Here’s what that means.

What is the new rate?

That depends on which payment you’re on.

The $50 a fortnight increase applies to anyone on JobSeeker, Parenting Payment, Youth Allowance and Austudy, which is just under 2 million people.

For anyone without children, the maximum payment right now is about $566 a week — that’ll increase to $620, excluding…