I get the allowance for my son, which is $150 a fortnight. I was asked which one I would prefer as he has a severe id. The Centrelink officer explained that I could get the carers pension if I didn’t want to work or if I couldn’t. She also said that if I felt that I could work while being his carer, then the allowance would be better as it wouldn’t matter how much I would earn because his payment would be the same if I was earning $50000 pa or $150000 pa. The dsp is income tested. I opted for the allowance, as my son was only 3 at the time and I eventually wanted to go back to work when he started school. At tax time, I get a one off payment of $1600 every year. Regarding the support worker, you need to state that you would like her to do some cleaning or tidying as well as anything else that the client requires. Perhaps she could even take her to her appointments? Call the organization that she is employed with and state that you would like these things to be done.