$3,750 Back Pay Surprise — MyGov Deadline Sparks Urgent Checks Nationwide

Thousands of Australians are waking up to an unexpected message in their MyGov inbox. For some, it’s worth as much as $3,750.

The last few years have been hard on the wallets of pensioners, job seekers, carers, and families with low incomes. Rising costs of rent, energy, and groceries have made it hard for families to make ends meet. Now, a lot of back payments related to benefit reviews and payment corrections are quietly showing up in accounts all over the country.

Here is what you need to know about the $3,750 back pay surprise and why it could be very important to check your MyGov account.

What’s Going On?

Services After regular reviews, income reassessments, and administrative corrections, Australia has started sending back payments to people who are eligible. Payments can go back several months or even years in some cases.

What’s Being Changed or Looked At:

Changes to the rates of the Age Pension and Disability Support Pension
Changes to claims for JobSeeker and Youth Allowance that were not paid enough
Changes to the Family Tax Benefit that go back in time
Recalculations of Carer Payment
Changes related to indexation
Settling claims that were put off or argued about before

Services Australia does these reviews as part of its ongoing checks to make sure that people are getting the right amount of money.

Why Are Back Payments Being Sent Out Now?

To keep up with inflation, government support payments are adjusted every year. Also, people can be underpaid if they make mistakes when reporting their income, processing takes too long, or they don’t get the right value for their assets.

When these mistakes are found, either by the department or by people who ask for a review, Services Australia is required by law to fix them and give back pay.

A representative for Services Australia said in a statement: “When we find out that a customer has been underpaid, we automatically figure out the difference and send them any back payment they owe.” MyGov lets customers know.

These changes are coming at a very important time for many families because the cost of living is still high in 2025.

Who Is Most Likely to Get the $3,750 Back Pay?

The following groups are among those most likely to get big back payments, though eligibility varies:

People who get the Age Pension and whose assets or income were re-evaluated
People who are getting the Disability Support Pension and have had their medical evaluations updated
People who get JobSeeker and had their income reporting fixed
Parents who get Parenting Payment and are single
Carers whose care recipient status was checked again
Families that get Family Tax Benefit Part A or B

Not everyone gets back payments automatically. They depend on the situation, such as whether there was a time when the person didn’t pay enough.

“I Thought It Was a Scam”

Last week, 72-year-old Margaret Lawson from Newcastle logged into MyGov after getting a normal notification.

“I almost didn’t pay attention to it,” she said. “I thought it might be a fake email.”

Instead, Margaret found out that she was owed $2,940 in back pay because her Age Pension assets were re-evaluated after she sold shares in 2023.

“That money lets me finally fix my roof before winter,” she said. “It couldn’t have come at a better time.”

As reassessment notices go out across the country, stories like Margaret’s are becoming more and more common.

How Do You Find Out If Someone Owes You Money?

This is what you need to do right away:

Go to your MyGov account and log in.
Look in your linked Services Australia inbox.
Messages with the subject lines “Payment Adjustment,” “Reassessment Outcome,” or “Back Payment Notice” are what you should look for.
Look over your payment history section.
Make sure your bank information is correct.

If you think you were underpaid but haven’t gotten a notice, you can ask Services Australia for a formal review.

It can take different amounts of time to process review requests, but most are done within a few weeks.

How Much Could You Get?

The amount depends on:

Length of time you were underpaid
Kind of benefit
Your money and property
Indexation rises
Changes in the status of the family

This is how it breaks down:

Type of Benefit	Possible Back Pay Range	Why the Change
Age Pension	$500 to $3,750	Reassessing assets
Disability Support Pension	$600 to $3,500	Update on the medical review
JobSeeker	$300 to $2,000	Fixing the income report
Family Tax Benefit	$400 to $3,000	Reconciliation once a year

Expert Opinion: Why Reviews Are on the Rise in 2025

Dr. Karen Mitchell, a social policy analyst, says that payment reviews are happening more often because digital systems are getting better.

“Services Australia has made it easier to match data with the ATO and other agencies,” she said. “That means that underpayments and overpayments are found more quickly.”

Government data show that there were more than 180,000 payment reviews in the last financial year alone.

In recent years, inflation has gone over 5%, so indexed adjustments have also been very important in figuring out benefit rates again.

Is There a Time Limit for Making a Claim?

If Services Australia finds that you were underpaid, it will usually automatically send you back pay.

But if you think you were underpaid and don’t ask for a review, you could miss out.

In general:

You have 13 weeks to ask for a review of a decision to have it fully backdated.
Late requests may still be looked at, but they may limit how far back payments are calculated.
You won’t lose any possible benefits if you act quickly.