*Cj*
11-08-2010, 21:38
PARENTS who receive income support will lose hundreds of dollars in welfare if their four-year-old child does not have a health check, if the Labor government is re-elected.
From next July, recipients of family tax benefit A will have to prove to Centrelink that their four-year-old has had a Medicare-funded health check. If not, they will miss out on the end-of-year supplement, now worth $726.35 a child.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard will announce the requirement today in Melbourne, as part of Labor's broader welfare policy.
The government says more than 11,000 four-year-olds are in Victorian families that receive family tax benefit A each year. Nationally, the figure is 50,000.
The government introduced the Healthy Kids Check in 2008.
The Age believes the new stick might be in response to concerns that not enough children are having the check. The number is believed to be well below what was expected.
It is also understood that GPs have been divided over the usefulness of the check.
Between July 2008 and June 2009, there were about 40,000 health checks, the equivalent of 15 per cent of Australia's four-year-olds, the government says.
At the end of December, 62,823 Healthy Kids Checks had been carried out by GPs.
Australian Doctor magazine reported in October that the smaller-than-expected number had led to the government underspending $5 million on the program.
The aim of the check is to ensure children are healthy before starting school and to intervene early if there are problems. It measures functions such as vision and hearing and is usually done when the child is immunised.
Regular payment of family tax benefit payments to parents who do not take their child for the check will not be affected.
Parents are generally eligible for family tax benefit A if they have children aged up to 24, usually in school or study.
Once the combined income of parents exceeds $45,000, the amount the family receives is reduced. The payment cuts out between $100,000 and almost $163,000, depending on the number of children and their age.
It can be worth between $50 and $208 a child a fortnight, depending on the child's age.
It is the latest of several government policies to reward parents who meet certain requirements and threaten to withdraw income support from those who do not.
The government is also testing the stopping of welfare payments to parents whose children regularly do not go to school.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-election/payment-to-depend-on-health-check-20100810-11y8v.html
What do people think???
From next July, recipients of family tax benefit A will have to prove to Centrelink that their four-year-old has had a Medicare-funded health check. If not, they will miss out on the end-of-year supplement, now worth $726.35 a child.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard will announce the requirement today in Melbourne, as part of Labor's broader welfare policy.
The government says more than 11,000 four-year-olds are in Victorian families that receive family tax benefit A each year. Nationally, the figure is 50,000.
The government introduced the Healthy Kids Check in 2008.
The Age believes the new stick might be in response to concerns that not enough children are having the check. The number is believed to be well below what was expected.
It is also understood that GPs have been divided over the usefulness of the check.
Between July 2008 and June 2009, there were about 40,000 health checks, the equivalent of 15 per cent of Australia's four-year-olds, the government says.
At the end of December, 62,823 Healthy Kids Checks had been carried out by GPs.
Australian Doctor magazine reported in October that the smaller-than-expected number had led to the government underspending $5 million on the program.
The aim of the check is to ensure children are healthy before starting school and to intervene early if there are problems. It measures functions such as vision and hearing and is usually done when the child is immunised.
Regular payment of family tax benefit payments to parents who do not take their child for the check will not be affected.
Parents are generally eligible for family tax benefit A if they have children aged up to 24, usually in school or study.
Once the combined income of parents exceeds $45,000, the amount the family receives is reduced. The payment cuts out between $100,000 and almost $163,000, depending on the number of children and their age.
It can be worth between $50 and $208 a child a fortnight, depending on the child's age.
It is the latest of several government policies to reward parents who meet certain requirements and threaten to withdraw income support from those who do not.
The government is also testing the stopping of welfare payments to parents whose children regularly do not go to school.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-election/payment-to-depend-on-health-check-20100810-11y8v.html
What do people think???