Family Assistance Offices are located within Medicare and Centrelink offices and Australian Taxation Shopfronts.

You may also be eligible for a Double Orphan Pension, if the child meets the criteria of an Orphan.

Child Care Benefit is assistance to help families, including eligible grandparents, with the costs of child care.

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT BENEFITS

The Australian Government recognises the special contribution that grandparents make to families and the community and provide a range of benefits to assist eligible claimants. The information provided is a guide only, due to its complexity. Any matters relating to assistance in respect of children entering or leaving care should be dealt with by appointment with the Family Assistance Office. Family Assistance Offices are located within Medicare and Centrelink offices and Australian Taxation Shopfronts.

Family Assistance Payments

FAMILY TAX BENEFIT (FTB)

FTB is an annual tax benefit to help families with the cost of raising children. Guardians, including foster parents and grandparents, responsible for the day-to-day care of children/grandchildren may be eligible for Family Assistance.

FTB Part A

FTB Part A is the most common payment to help families with the cost of raising children. It is worked out on the family’s combined annual income and the ages and number of dependent children in the family. It is paid per child.

You may get FTB Part A if you:

• have a dependent child under 21 (including a foster child), or
• have a dependent full time student aged 21 to 24; and
• have income under a certain amount, and are living in Australia (that is, Australia is your permanent home); and
• you are either an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen, the holder of a permanent visa or the holder of certain temporary visas.

FTB Part B

FTB Part B gives extra assistance to families with one main income. It is based on the annual income of the lower earner as well as the age of the youngest child. It is paid per family. You can choose to receive FTB Part B fortnightly by instalments or as a lump sum after the end of the income (financial) year.

Qualification for Family Assistance is dependent upon the type of care being given. For the purposes of being considered an FTB child, family assistance legislation refers to being in the care of an adult. Day-to-day care generally includes physical care, where means of support and attention to health are essential to well-being.

Formal Care

Formal care is where the change of care is legally sanctioned and involves a change in legal responsibility (whether day to day and/or long term) that is supported by documentation from a state/territory child welfare authority or a court from another jurisdiction, for example, family law court from the federal jurisdiction. These documents from the state authority or the court order will determine who has the legal right to care.

in the supporting documentation. If the child moves from one formal carer to another, the FTB will follow the child and be paid to the new carer from that point
in time.

Documentation to the Family Assistance Office may include:

• an original letter on the letterhead of the state child welfare authority providing details on the child’s placement with the carer and the relevant approved dates of placement; or
• the relevant court orders if available.

Informal Care

Informal care is a private arrangement between the parent and another party, where there is no change to any form of legal responsibility. Informal carers will usually be grandparents, other relatives or family friends. In these arrangements, whether FTB can be paid to the new carer will depend on whether the care is of a temporary and short term or an ongoing nature.

When it is clear from the outset that the child will be in ongoing care with the new carer, FTB is payable from the date the child enters their care. However in informal, but temporary and short term care situations, the question as to whether FTB is payable will depend on the nature of and duration of the absence from the parent’s care.

Temporary and Short Term Care

Where possible, FTB should be paid to the person who has the actual care of a child. However, in some situations, FTB may continue to be paid to a parent who does not have the care of a child such as where the change of care is temporary and short term AND the intention is that the child will return to the parent within a short period, the parent will continue to be paid FTB. However, in all but the most extenuating circumstances, the total temporary and short term absence for FTB purposes, should not exceed 4 weeks. After this period, the actual carer should receive the FTB.

The continued payment of FTB beyond a 4 week absence to the parent could only occur if the parent’s involvement in the child’s care increased to a sufficient degree.There may be situations where the care is temporary and short term or the period of care is unknown AND the parent does not want to be paid FTB. In this case the new carer will be eligible for FTB from the date the child enters their care provided the relevant eligibility criteria are met.

Ongoing Care

When it is clear from the outset that a child will be in ongoing care, then the carer will be eligible for FTB from the date the child enters their care. When care has been on a temporary and short term basis and it subsequently becomes ongoing, a change of care applies at the point it becomes ongoing and FTB becomes payable.

MATERNITY PAYMENT

Maternity Payment is intended to benefit the primary carer. To be entitled to Maternity Payment the child must be less than 13 weeks old when it comes into care and a claim must be made prior to the child turning 26 weeks old. Maternity Payment may be payable for locally adopted child under two years of age, or an adopted child from overseas, if the child enters Australia before turning two years of age.

MATERNITY IMMUNISATION ALLOWANCE (MIA)

To be entitled to MIA, the child must be less than 2 years old and meet immunisation requirements for an 18 month old child.

DOUBLE ORPHAN PENSION (DOP)

You may also be eligible for a DOP if the child meets the criteria of an Orphan. For example, a DOP may be paid in any of these situations where:

• both parents are deceased; or
• one parent of the child is deceased and the other is serving a prison sentence of at least 10 years, or is indefinitely residing in a psychiatric hospital or similar institution, or is residing in a nursing home or similar institution indefinitely, or whose location is unknown; or
• the child is a refugee who has not lived in Australia previously and both parents are outside Australia or their location is unknown.

FURTHER ASSISTANCE

For further assistance, contact your local Family Assistance Office on 13 6150. Family Assistance Offices are located in Centrelink, Medicare Offices and Taxation Shopfronts.

The information above was provided by the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

GRANDPARENT CHILD CARE BENEFIT

Grandparent Child Care Benefit (GCCB) is available to grandparents who are the sole or major provider of ongoing care for their grandchild. GCCB covers the full cost of child care for up to 50 hours for each grandchild in approved care each week. In certain circumstances you may be able to get GCCB for more than 50 hours per week.

To be eligible for GCCB, a grandparent must:

• receive an income support payment from Centrelink or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs; and
• meet the eligibility requirements outlined for the waiver of the Child Care Benefit (CCB) work, training and study test (see below).

CHILD CARE BENEFIT

CCB is assistance to help families, including eligible grandparents who have primary care of their grandchildren, with the costs of child care. Unlike GCCB, CCB is suitable for grandparent carers who are not in receipt of an income support payment. CCB is structured to ensure that families using approved services that are on the lowest incomes receive the highest rates of assistance. The CCB rate is reduced as family income increases, to the point where families receive the minimum rate. Approved child care services include Long Day Care, Family Day Care, Outside School Hours Care, Occasional Care and In-Home Care services. Working families are also able to claim the minimum rate of CCB for up to 50 hours of care per child per week for registered care services. Registered carers are informal carers who register with the Family Assistance Office but do not have to participate in Australian Government quality assurance systems. Examples of registered care includes some preschools, creches, nannies, kindergartens, friends and grandparents.

Waiver of the work, study, training test for grandparents

The CCB work, training and study test is waived for eligible grandparents who have the primary care of their grandchildren. This allows eligible grandparent carers to access up to 50 hours of CCB for each grandchild in approved care each week. Previously, grandparent carers could only receive CCB for up to 20 hours per week if they were not in work, training or study.

To be eligible for the waiver a grandparent must be:

• the natural, adoptive, or step grandparent of the child. Great-grandparents who are looking after grandchildren are also eligible; or
• the current or former partner of a grandparent if they are the primary carer of the grandchild; and
• the sole or major provider of ongoing daily care for the grandchild; and
• have substantial autonomy for the day-to-day decisions about the child’s care, welfare and development; and
• meet existing CCB eligibility requirements for approved care.

CHILD CARE TAX REBATE

In addition to CCB, the Australian Government announced the Child Care Tax Rebate (CCTR) to further assist working families with child care costs. Families meeting the work, training, study test will be eligible to claim 30 per cent of their out-of-pocket child care expenses for up to $4000 per child, per year. Grandparents who are claiming CCB and have had the work, study, training test waived can claim the CCTR for their out-of-pocket child care costs. Grandparents claiming GCCB are not eligible for the CCTR as they do not incur any out-of-pocket child care expenses. For more information about the CCTR you may wish to contact the Australian Taxation Office on 13 2861.

WHERE DO I GO FOR MORE INFORMATION?

• Call the Family Assistance Office on 13 6150 between 8.00am and 8.00pm (local time) Monday to Friday.
• Visit the website at www.familyassist.gov.au.
• Visit the nearest Family Assistance Office located in all Centrelink Customer Service Centres, Medicare Australia offices and Tax Office shopfronts.
• You can phone the Child Care Access Hotline on 1800 670 305 for information on child care services available in your area.

To claim GCCB or a waiver of the work, study, training test you must apply to the Family Assistance Office. Grandparents who are not the main carers of their grandchildren are not entitled to GCCB or a waiver of the work, training, study test. However, they may wish to consider applying to the Family Assistance Office about becoming a Registered Carer if they charge a fee for the child care being provided for their grandchildren.

The information above was provided by the Australian Government Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.