Orange banner with a dark orange handprint. Black text in all capitals reads "END THE PARTNER INCOME TEST".

About the campaign

End Partner Income Testing is a national, independent, volunteer-led campaign. 

Our team includes people directly affected by partner income testing, and people with experience in disability, caring, family violence, research, media and advocacy. 

We use lived experience, evidence, public education and political advocacy to seek change across every affected payment.

How the rules and movement developed

Partner-based means testing has deep roots in Australian social security. The first federal pension law was passed in 1908. 

The system changed across the following decades, including the introduction of different single and couple rates in 1963 and the inclusion of same-sex de facto couples in 2009. The rules have changed, but the assumption that partners share money remains.

The fight against these rules belongs to no single person or organisation. 

Disabled people and other affected income support recipients, grassroots campaigners, disability, women’s, First Nations and anti-poverty organisations, researchers, community advocates, human rights advocates and political representatives have challenged them through stories, petitions, submissions, research and parliamentary action. 

This campaign builds on that work and seeks abolition across every affected payment.

The people behind the campaign

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Elle | Campaign Co-Director

Elle brings blunt honesty and determination to her lived-experience advocacy, she knows what it's like to be trapped by the rule. She speaks openly about the way the policy forces people already at risk of harm into financial dependence and impossible choices. TikTok: @elleadvocates Bluesky: ellesanders.bsky.social

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Laura (she/her) | Campaign Co-Director

As a lived-experience advocate, Laura has a strong online community and passion for making disability policy accessible. As a recipient of the Disability Support Pension, she understands the importance of financial independence. TikTok: @chronically_me

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Sophia (they/them) | Campaign & Policy Lead

Sophia is a young advocate, journalist and creative working across disability justice, politics, and social change. They researched and authored the Human Cost of the Partner Income Test, and received 25,000 signatures across two 2025 petitions. Social media: @sophiaredjeb

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Lived Experience Members

Lived experience members volunteer time to the campaign; sharing stories, emailing stakeholders, contacting media, and more.

Mission Statement

We exist to raise awareness and put an end to Centrelink’s forced partner dependency rule.

We advocate for the right for everyone receiving income support to maintain financial independence, regardless of their relationship status. 

No one should be forced to choose between love and survival, remain in unsafe or controlling relationships, or lose access to essential support because of who they live with or care about.

We work to expose the real human cost of Partner Income Testing through advocacy, public education, media, lived experience, and policy reform, with a focus on dignity, autonomy, safety, and economic justice.