What is MTAWE?
MTAWE stands for Male Total Average Weekly Earnings. It is a measure of average wages published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It is used as a benchmark to keep the pension in step with community wages, not just with prices.
When pensions are indexed, they are first adjusted for the rise in the cost of living. After that, the single pension rate is checked against MTAWE to make sure it stays at a set share of average earnings. If the cost-of-living rise has not kept the pension at that share, the pension is topped up to the benchmark.
MTAWE only applies to pensions. Working-age allowances, such as JobSeeker and Youth Allowance, are not benchmarked to wages. They only move with prices.
How it affects your payment
The MTAWE benchmark is the main reason pensions have risen faster than allowances over time. Wages usually grow faster than prices, so a payment tied to wages keeps up with the community better than one tied to prices alone.
This affects the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension for people 21 and over, Carer Payment and the single Parenting Payment, which all use the pension method. JobSeeker and similar allowances do not get the wage benchmark, which is why the gap between them and the pension has widened.
Example
Imagine prices rise a little one year but wages rise more. The pension first goes up in line with prices. Then it is compared with MTAWE, and because wages grew faster, the pension is lifted again to stay at its set share of average earnings. A working-age allowance in the same year only gets the smaller price rise, so it falls further behind the pension.
Pensions against allowances across 2026
| Payment | Before the 2026 indexations | After the last | Rise | Rise (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age Pension, single | $1,178.70 | $1,237.70 | $59 | 5.01% |
| Age Pension, couple (each) | $888.50 | $933 | $44.50 | 5.01% |
| JobSeeker, single, no children | $802.40 | $833.70 | $31.30 | 3.90% |
| Parenting Payment Single | $1,046.70 | $1,087.20 | $40.50 | 3.87% |
Maximum fortnightly rates including supplements. The MTAWE benchmark sets a floor under the combined couple pension rate; allowances have no wage benchmark.
- The single Age Pension rose $59.00 across 2026, $27.70 more than JobSeeker's $31.30, an allowance with no wage benchmark.
- Parenting Payment Single rose $40.50, $18.50 less than the single pension over the same dates.
Related terms
Figures include every indexation up to 20 September 2026; each shows the date it took effect. Next scheduled indexation 1 January 2027. Source: DSS / Services Australia. Last checked 23 September 2026.