Understanding Benefits: Multiple Birth Allowance

Multiple Birth Allowance is an extra payment to help you if you have a multiple birth.

Who Qualifies?
You can get Multiple Birth Allowance if you have three or more children who are born during the same birth for whom you receive Family Tax Benefit.

How much is it?
The Allowance can be added to your Family Tax Benefit. The Australian Government has announced that from 1 January 2008, families will remain eligible until the children turn 16 years of age, or for fulltime students, until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 18.

Parents of triplets will receive an additional $3,179.15 extra per year ($121.94 fortnightly).

Parents of quads or more are entitled to an additional $4237.65 each year ($162.54 p.f).

How to apply?
You do not need to make a separate claim for Multiple Birth Allowance, as it will be paid as part of your FTB.

Child Support Scheme Reforms

Significant changes are being made to the Child Support Scheme from 1 July 2008 and all child support payments will need to be reassessed.

The Child Support Agency (CSA) is currently running a campaign between now and the end of July 2007 to make sure they have the most up-to-date contact details for all parents.

The CSA needs all of their customers to update their contact details so they can let them know about the changes, and so CSA can make sure they get the new assessments right.

Child support and Family Assistance are linked - the amount of child support you pay or receive can affect how much Family Assistance you receive. If CSA can't contact you, your new child support assessment may be incorrect, which could also mean you do not receive the family assistance that you are entitled to.

For more information or to update your details go to www.australia.gov.au/csa or to update your contact details with the CSA, call 131 272.

You can register your email address to receive important updates about the changes to the Child Support Scheme directly to your inbox. You may also choose to take part in future email surveys, which will help CSA improve their service to you. To subscribe go to www.australia.gov.au/csa.


Source: Family Assistance Office

Understanding Benefits: Family Tax Benefit #1

The Understanding Benefits series will continue with a look at Family Tax Benefit (FTB). This can be a somewhat confusing payment, so I'll split this into several shorter posts.

What is Family Tax Benefit?

There is probably more confusion surrounding FTB than any other payment. Family Tax Benefit has two parts; Part A and Part B. You may be eligible for either one of Part A, Part B or both.

Part A is designed to help with the cost of raising kids and is paid for each dependent child you care for who is aged under 21 (or 21-25 years and still studying full-time).

Part B is designed to provide extra support to families with one main income earner, including sole parent families. Part B is a family payment and can be paid until the youngest child is 16 years (this can be extended to 18 years if the child remains in full-time study and does not receive a social security payment of their own).

Future posts will look at both Parts A and B and answer the questions of who qualifies, how to claim and how much it will be.