Powerball is one of the most popular lottery games in Australia. It offers large jackpot prizes that can make players instant millionaires. Like most lotteries, matching certain numbers in your Powerball ticket can win you other smaller prizes even if you don’t hit the jackpot. So is matching 4 numbers in Powerball a winning combination in Australia? Let’s find out.
How Powerball Works in Australia
Powerball is operated by The Lott in Australia. To play Powerball, you need to pick 7 numbers – 6 numbers from 1 to 45 and 1 Powerball number from 1 to 20. The 6 main numbers are drawn from one barrel while the Powerball is drawn from a separate barrel. To win the jackpot, you’ll need to match all 6 main numbers and the Powerball.
The game has 9 prize divisions based on how many numbers you match:
| Prize Division | Matches |
|---|---|
| Division 1 | 6 + Powerball |
| Division 2 | 6 numbers |
| Division 3 | 5 numbers + Powerball |
| Division 4 | 5 numbers |
| Division 5 | 4 numbers + Powerball |
| Division 6 | 4 numbers |
| Division 7 | 3 numbers + Powerball |
| Division 8 | 2 numbers + Powerball |
| Division 9 | Powerball only |
As you can see, matching 4 main numbers falls under Division 6 and is considered a prize winning combination.
Prize Money for Matching 4 Numbers
So how much money can you win for matching 4 numbers in Powerball Australia? Here is a breakdown of the average prize money:
- For games with guaranteed Division 1 prize of $20 million, Division 6 wins about $513 on average.
- For games with guaranteed Division 1 prize of $30 million, Division 6 wins about $766 on average.
- For games with guaranteed Division 1 prize of $50 million, Division 6 wins about $1,275 on average.
- For games with guaranteed Division 1 prize of $80 million, Division 6 wins about $2,041 on average.
- For games with guaranteed Division 1 prize of $100 million, Division 6 wins about $2,551 on average.
As you can see, the prize money increases as the Division 1 jackpot increases. But even at the base $20 million Division 1 level, matching exactly 4 numbers gives you a prize of around $500 on average.
The odds of winning Division 6 by matching 4 numbers is around 1 in 679. This makes it one of the more common prize divisions in Powerball.
Can You Win Division 6 Multiple Times?
Yes, it’s absolutely possible to win Division 6 multiple times with different Powerball tickets. The numbers are drawn randomly in each draw, so there’s nothing stopping you from winning the same prize division in back-to-back Powerball draws.
However, the odds are still against winning Division 6 very frequently. Out of the almost 7 million Powerball tickets sold on average for each draw, generally only around 10,000 tickets win Division 6. So winning it more than once or twice is still unlikely, although not impossible.
Biggest Division 6 Wins
Here are some of the notable Division 6 wins in Australian Powerball history:
- In May 2009, a Sydney woman won a Division 6 prize of $1,015,256. This was the biggest Division 6 prize ever won at the time.
- In July 2014, a Nelson Bay couple won $1,165,000 on Division 6. This set a new record for the biggest Division 6 prize.
- In January 2020, a Adelaide man won $1,286,146 on Division 6 which set the new Australian record.
- In August 2021, a Powerball draw created 193 Division 6 winners who each received $93,909.
So while Division 6 prizes are usually in the hundreds of dollars, they can sometimes swell to over a million dollars if the jackpot is high enough!
Factors that Affect Division 6 Prize Money
As we saw earlier, the size of the Division 1 jackpot directly impacts the prize money for other divisions like Division 6. Here are some key factors that can lead to bigger Division 6 prizes:
- Rollovers – When the Division 1 jackpot isn’t won for multiple draws in a row, it keeps increasing and boosting the prizes in the lower divisions.
- Guaranteed jackpots – When The Lott guarantees a large Division 1 prize like $80 million or $100 million, it automatically increases the prizes across other divisions as well.
- Special events – On occasions like New Year’s Eve or Christmas, The Lott sometimes guarantees huge jackpots leading to bigger Division 6 prizes.
- Number of winners – If only a handful of people win Division 6, the prize money is split among fewer tickets leading to larger individual prizes.
Taxes on Division 6 Wins
Lottery winnings in Australia are not taxed at the federal level but they are taxed by the state governments. Each state has different tax rates on lottery prizes over certain thresholds:
- New South Wales – No tax on lottery prizes
- Victoria – No tax on lottery prizes
- Queensland – No tax on lottery prizes
- Western Australia – No tax on lottery prizes
- South Australia – No tax on lottery prizes
- Tasmania – No tax on lottery prizes under $5,000
- Australian Capital Territory – No tax on lottery prizes
- Northern Territory – No tax on lottery prizes
So in most cases, Division 6 prizes under a few thousand dollars are not taxed at all. But do check your local state’s lottery tax rules just in case.
Claiming Division 6 Prizes
To claim a Division 6 prize, you need to present your winning ticket at a licensed lottery retailer or local lottery office. For prizes over $1,000, you may need to complete a Prize Claim Form and provide ID verification.
There is a timeframe for claiming your prize which varies by state but is usually about 6-12 months from the draw date. Unclaimed lottery prizes go back into future prize pools in most cases.
Conclusion
Winning Division 6 by matching exactly 4 numbers is definitely a prize winning combination in Australian Powerball. While the prizes are modest compared to the Division 1 jackpot, matching 4 numbers usually bags you a few hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on the size of the jackpot. With the right Powerball numbers, Division 6 offers a decent chance to win a secondary prize.
