Where I’d invest $10,000 into ASX 200 dividend shares right now

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend share space looks very attractive for passive income, in my view.

I like to focus on businesses which I believe can consistently raise their payouts over the long-term due to underlying earnings growth. Rising profit can also justify a higher share price, so I view that as an essential factor to consider.

Normally, I write about Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) when it comes to excellent ASX 200 dividend share ideas, but there are other names I want to highlight in this article. If I were to invest $10,000 for a combination of stability and yield, the two below would be top picks for me.

Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS)

Telstra is Australia’s leading telecommunications business, with the largest network coverage, the most subscribers, the most valuable spectrum assets and a reputation for reliability.

The company has hiked its annual payout each year for the last few years and the FY26 half-year result saw Telstra increase its interim dividend payment by 10.5% to 10.5 cents per share. I expect it will deliver another 10.5 cents per share dividend with the FY26 result, leading to a grossed-up dividend yield of approximately 5.6%, including franking credits, at the time of writing.

I expect it can grow earnings in the coming years due to Australia’s rising population and growing demand for an internet connection from various devices, vehicles and other electronics.

Telstra’s market position gives it the confidence to regularly increase prices, which is a great tailwind for revenue and profit. It’s one of the few major ASX 200 dividend shares I’m confident will generate materially stronger profit in FY30 compared to FY26.

Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

This is Australia’s largest pure play industrial property real estate investment trust (REIT).

The subsector of the REIT world is very appealing because of the strong demand for industrial space. Some of the demand growth is coming from e-commerce adoption, some of it is data centres, refrigerated facilities is another element of demand (due to food and medicine requirements) and so on.

When you put all of that together, it has led to a very low vacancy rate in Australia’s cities and this is leading to excellent rental growth (with strong re-leasing spreads).

The business reported like-for-like net operating income (NOI) growth of 5.1% in the FY26 first-half period. That’s one of the strongest rental growth rates in the REIT sector currently, which is a key reason why I think it’s a top ASX 200 share to buy today, particularly as it’s trading at a large discount to the net tangible assets (NTA) of $3.95 as of December 2025.

It expects to pay a distribution yield of 5.6%.

The post Where I’d invest $10,000 into ASX 200 dividend shares right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Should you buy Telstra shares amid the $1.25 billion share buyback?
• Why the ASX 200 is being smashed today
• Here’s the dividend forecast out to 2028 for Telstra shares

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.