Centrelink Payments

[SamanthaJane]

I was just wondering how much my payment will be from centrelink once i have the baby ?

Or how much do you get ?

Is there a set amount or does it vary ?

[~rambox~]

It varies depending on DP's wages

[blessedmummy]

yeah.. it does depend on your dp income, atm i get about 500 a fortnight... and my DH earns around $500 or so a week.. (that varies also) so.. yeah.. maybe you could check out the website and see if they have any way of calculating it? hope this helps..

me25
DH25:hugs:
Emily3:smiliedance:
Clare22months:smiliedance:

[Taylors_mum]

Are you talking about your family benefit entitlements or baby bonus??

If you have a look on the website im prety sure they have a calculation thingy that works it out for you. Well gives you an estimate anyway. Thats for the family benefits.

Baby Bonus is $4,000. And once you lodge the forms (the hospital will give you the forms) they say it takes 10 days but i had mine within 3.

[SamanthaJane]

I tried to apply for youth allowance last month, due to me finishing work (which i couldnt end up receiving anyway) but the lady told me my partners income wouldnt be included because i would be classed as a "single" mum :confused:

But she couldn't tell me how much i would get...

[*Sparkles*]

Does anyone know if they look at partner's gross or net income before working out entitlements?
Also, anyone know how this works for the self employed? :confused:

[SamanthaJane]

Sorry hels*bels no idea... :no:

I really dont know anything about centrelink or payments lol

[InSaneOne]

that doesn't sound quite right. for a single child under 13 the maximum rate of family tax part a is $137 (or it was when i call up about 3 months ago). on top of that you can get part b and rent assistance.

i would just double check about the partner thing tho. if you guys are sharing a house then his income would affect your centrelink payments.

when i have a question i try to call up about it several times over a few days to speak to different people. everyone has a different answer and i found the best way was to compare and take notice of the similar bits of information that they gave me.

[RedPanda]

The whole Centrelink thing is confusing :confused: as there's so many different kinds of payments that differ depending on your individual situation. I'm not sure what I receive, but I couldn't be bothered trying to calculate DH's income, so we just get it yearly after we do our tax.

[blessedmummy]

hmm... thats strange.. they would certainly know how much you would get wouldnt they??? seems a bit strange.. alwell..umm.. other than that.. i have no idea!

me25
Dh25:kiss:
Emily3:smiliedance:
Clare22months:smiliedance:

[SamanthaJane]

Well i live my parents... and dp stays here most of the time, but its not classed as where he "lives"... because his address is his parents house.

But when we move out together im guessing it would change, maybe then i would be classed as "partnered" ??

I really have NO idea... :confused:

But yeah asking a few other people from centrelink is a good idea! Thanks :thumbsup:

[*Sparkles*]

Yes SJ when you move in together you would be considered defacto and this includes on your tax returns. As a single person you would be entitled to more money but it's not a good idea to try and pull the wool over their eyes when you do move in together (not that I am suggestion this is what you would do lol)

[SamanthaJane]

I am guessing the single mum payment must be higher then?

lol sorry i dont mean to sound like a ditz i just dont know how any of this work... and to be honest it sounds like the lady i spoke to at my centrelink office didn't know what she was on about either... lol

[WeThree]

If you have a partner, you are entitled to family payment, the amount you get will depend on how much he earns, you may also be entitled to some rent assistance, again depending on his wage.
If he does not work, or is a low income earner and still recieves part centrelink payments, then you are entitled to parenting payment partnered as well.

Oh, meant to add, if you and your partner honestly do not live together, and you do not work, then you are entitled to full parenting payment single, and full family payment, plus rent assistance. I think all up for one child it is about $600-$700 a fortnight. :)

[skyejax]

when bubs is born u will get $4000. the amount of ftn assistance depends on income. if you hav a partner his income for the 06/07 financial year plus yours is taken into account and the amount u r entitled to is calculated from this. if your combined income for the financial year is less than $40,000 you will b entitled to maximum family a+b payments plus rent assist if applicable. you can go to family assis site to calculate your possible entitlement for a rough idea. go to www.familyassist.gov.au (http://www.familyassist.gov.au) click online services and then click on family assistance estimator (it'll b somewhere on the right side of the screen).
hope this helps.
good luck for the rest of your pregnancy and the birth.
mary

[*Sparkles*]

I am guessing the single mum payment must be higher then?

:yes: because they do not have to take someone else's income into consideration (which lowers the entitlments)
So if you are not working then you may be entitled to the maximum benefits depending on your other circumstances.
It's all very complex and involved, but I think they have an enquiry phone number and website. You could ask them what you would be entitled to based on both scenarios (eg as a couple or single). Plus it will also change again when the bub comes :)

[sam's mum]

also be very wary about classifying yourself as single at the moment. Just because he says his address is his parents, it does not mean that this is where he lives, especially if he stays with you most of the time....

[~Danni~]

yep you will be classed as a single mum cos he dosen't live with you... single parents do get a higher rate of pay also

then when you move in you will be classed as partnered and your DP's wages will be taken into account

There is a payment calculator on the website that you can have a play around with and test out all the different possibilities
http://www.familyassist.gov.au/Internet/FAO/fao1.nsf/content/online_services

go to the family assistance estimator bit under "getting Started"

if you want I can Pm you with how much I get paid an how much DF earns etc to give you a better idea :fingerscrossed: hope it helps:D

[*Sparkles*]

I just checked on the family assistance website and we should get the maximum of $140.84 per fortnight plus a healthcare card as our annual income will be under $40,000 on one income. That's a relief as every little bit will help especially with interest rates going up etc.

[jessgray]

my friend had a baby in june and she has been told because her and her partner havent lived together for 12 months (she moved in about 8 weeks before bub was born) she is classed as single on the computer and not defacto. yet when i applied for parenting after having ds1 i was classed as defacto and had only been living with dp for just under 12 weeks. anyone able to shed light on if this is a new thing that was brought in ?

[SamanthaJane]

also be very wary about classifying yourself as single at the moment. Just because he says his address is his parents, it does not mean that this is where he lives, especially if he stays with you most of the time....

I wasn't classifying myself as either... i'm only going off what the lady at centrelink told me... which was that i would be classed as 'single' and she knew that he spent most of the time at my house.

Hope no one thinks i am trying to "rort" the system or something... because i dont even know anything about it... i'm only going off what the lady at centrelink said :(

[*Sparkles*]

Oh no not at all SJ, I'm sure everyone's comments are just meant as a general "beware" because of the severe penalties that can be imposed by Centrelink.
If you are honest about your situation (which you have been) there will be nothing to worry about :)

[Illusional]

Hels.. I saw you ask about being self employed earlier... (bit late I know lol)
When you are self employed.. centrelink uses the Nett wage to work out any other entitlements.. Im self employed and thats what they have advised me.

[skyejax]

my friend had a baby in june and she has been told because her and her partner havent lived together for 12 months (she moved in about 8 weeks before bub was born) she is classed as single on the computer and not defacto. yet when i applied for parenting after having ds1 i was classed as defacto and had only been living with dp for just under 12 weeks. anyone able to shed light on if this is a new thing that was brought in ?
must b cause when i had dd my partner only moved in the week before. (she was 3wks early)

[Deity]

Centrelink sucks balls. If you have a male staying over, even if it is not all the time they consider you in de facto cos they consider the contributions he is making.

They look at joint stuff - like bank accounts and loans and if he pays any rent or board to you or financially contributes in any way for that matter.

They don't care if you sleep in the same room or how long you have known him. They just want to make sure you don't get assistance from anyone other than them and keep you on the poverty line.

My advice: Don't call them until you are SURE you are in a relationship with a guy. Someone staying over now and again cos its cheaper than getting a cab home at night does not constitute living together in my opinion.

[Kells]

HelsBels - My DH is self employed, and they go by the 'taxable' income. (all of his earnings less any expenses BEFORE tax). So, for example if he has a turnover of $50,000 and spends $10,000 on petrol, tools, wages etc then his taxable income is $40,000 which is used for family tax purposes. (You then of course also pay income tax on the 40K as you would if you were being paid by an employer).
Gets very hard to estimate for the financial year in advance!! Just make sure you get an accountant to do the tax cos they can find ways to bring it down a lot!

Jessgray - Get your friend to double check - she may end up in debt with Centrelink. My DS is nearly 6 and the day DH moved in, I was classed as 'partnered', so it's not a new thing.

Talk about confusing! :confused:

[bekkyboo]

Im Dh is a sub-contractor, so he is classed as self employed. we were told to estimate his income for the year and thats what they go off. But he is a renderer, so it all depends on the weather what his income will be... We jsut did a rough guess - and told centerlink that it was the best attempt we could do for now. They seem to be ok if your upfront and honest....

As for the whole partnered thing - I thought it was if they were staying over at your house more than 3 nights a week they class them as living there, even if their address is different. SJ - hound them before they give you any payments, because even if it is their fault if they pay you too much, you will still be breached - sucks hey.

[jessgray]

Kells - my friend rang the c/link number to make sure she had been told the right thing after telling me and i didnt think it sounded quite right. and when she called me back she had been told the same thing again :confused: she was told once it hits 12 months on the computer she will be classed as partnered. so confusing for her.

[mz sv6]

I tried to apply for youth allowance last month, due to me finishing work (which i couldnt end up receiving anyway) but the lady told me my partners income wouldnt be included because i would be classed as a "single" mum :confused:

But she couldn't tell me how much i would get...



when i went on maternity leave they told me they couldnt help cause i had a job to go bac to and cause i didnt have another kids so they wouldnt help me till i had they baby but then cause i had a big stink at that them they jus ended up puttin me on newstart allowance (and i have a job to go back to) till i had baby now im on family assistance till i go back to work

[MissSparkle]

U are classed as single until u and DP move in together. From that moment on u r classed as defacto.

While u r classed as "single" u will get the maximun amount of Family tax bennefit A & B and probably also the parenting payment. Once u and DP move in together u'll prossibly lose ur parentling payment depending on wat he earns.

I hardly get anything from centrelink (about $90 a fortnight) and Im a SAHM at the moment. Its so confusing I set up my account on the family assistance wedsite so I can do everything over the net and they sort it all our for me.

[*Sparkles*]

Kells - Thanks for the info on self employed workers :thumbsup:

[AquaDevil78]

If you go to the centrelink webiste you can work out roughly how much you will get, by going to the individuals section, then select the parenting category and it has info like how much will i get, which tells you the max amt, what incomes etc.. my i worked out i should get around $600 a fortnight based on my DP income. Its not an exact figure but its an idea, that includes rent assistance.

[jessgray]

My DF and I were classed as defacto and we had JUST moved in together... I'm talking we moved in and he called Centrelink to advise them of his change of address and all of a sudden we were defacto...

Go figure :rolleyes:

I hate Centrestink anyway! :D
yeah it seems like depending on who you talk to, your payment rates could be higher or lower or your circumstances recorded differently.

[Deity]

I don't even qualify for Rent Assitance now and I am single, living alone with my baby because my Child Support is too high to qualify for it.

I'm telling you, between Centrelink and CSA you can never get ahead. The give it to you on hand and take it out of the other.

Centrelink made me go to CSA, CSA got in my ex's face, now he thinks I'm living on Easy St. but I'm practically living on all he gives me cos Centrelink have reduced my income by what he has to pay. :banghead:

[brizbabe]

Kells - my friend rang the c/link number to make sure she had been told the right thing after telling me and i didnt think it sounded quite right. and when she called me back she had been told the same thing again :confused: she was told once it hits 12 months on the computer she will be classed as partnered. so confusing for her.

After over 4 and a bit years working with FAO, I have NEVER heard of such a thing (12 months on the computer!?)
Being assessed as partnered (defacto) can go on a number of things, such as nights stayed over (usally start to question at 3 or more) but ALSO a number of other things such as monetry & emotional support between the 2 parties involved is taken into consideration-it is not always a black & white situation. It can also depend on the age of the "couple". Under a certain age considered single(can't remember what that age level is though-sorry)

Maternity Payment
@01/07/2006=$4000 but increases a couple of times throughout the year due to CPI increases

If paid as a single
FTB A is paid at maximum rate per child (less and child support assessed amount-if you do not have child support agency do an assessment-you would only get minimum rate of Part A.)
http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/ftb_a.htm

FTB B is paid at maximum rate regardless of any income for singles
http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/ftb_b.htm

You do not have to do an estimate for FTB if on PPS(PP single)

Rent Assistance may of course be also payable although only if you're getting more than the min rate of Part A

Parenting Payment Single- PPS
Max rate at the moment is $505.50-not affected by child support and if you are unable to get paid rent assist with the FTB you may be eligible to receive it with parenting payment instead. You qualify for a pensioner concession card with this payment.
http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/parenting.htm

If Paid as a couple
FTB A is paid per child based on your combined gross taxable annual income.
If your combined gross taxble income is LESS than $40000pa you are eligible for the max rates and a Health Care Card.

FTB B is paid (not per child) based on the secondary earners gross taxable annual income-so who ever earns the least in the couples income determines the amount-if any-of part B you would get.

Rent Assistance may of course be also payable although only if you're getting more than the min rate of Part A

Parenting Payment Partnered- PPP
Paid dependant on your fortnight to fortnight earnings or if self employed calculated profit/loss expectations. If eligible for this payment, irregardless of what your combined income estimate is in place for FTB part A, you qualify for the max rates of FTB A. Example even if you had an expectation that by the end of the fin year your combined income may well be $80000 you would still get max rate part A for the period of time your on PPP. You also get a HCC on this payment which overides the FTB concession card.

If you receive this payment you need to make sure you include an estimated amount in your FTB estimate also as it is taxable.

The above are just some generics, but I hope it helps anyway

Cheers, :)

[mythreelittlemonkeys]

question why parenting payment single not affected by child support? for instance if someione was getting heaps and heaps of child support seems unfair they get max rate pps too?

[brizbabe]

question why parenting payment single not affected by child support? for instance if someione was getting heaps and heaps of child support seems unfair they get max rate pps too?

I believe that the reasoning is that FTB A is the only "family" payment that is paid per individual child-therefore this makes sense. FTB A is the new format @ 01/07/2000 of the child endowment. Whereas PP (either partnered or single) is paid for the main or principal carer, it is not paid per child. So a claimant can have 1 or 12 children and they won't get anymore PP which to be quite honest is not a kings ransom at all by any stretch of the imagination!:eek:

Wouldn't work any other way when you consider it in this way. :rolleyes:

Example:-single parent has 2 children with differerent non custodial parents.

Paying parent 1-has to pay $20 month for johnny-that childs portion of FTB a is adjusted accordingly.

Paying parent 2-has to pay $80 month for jane-therefore that childs portion of FTB a is paid appropriately based on this parents assessment.

Hope this explains it:)

[mythreelittlemonkeys]

ah ha I see!! :)

[SammieSnail]

After over 4 and a bit years working with FAO, I have NEVER heard of such a thing (12 months on the computer!?)
Being assessed as partnered (defacto) can go on a number of things, such as nights stayed over (usally start to question at 3 or more) but ALSO a number of other things such as monetry & emotional support between the 2 parties involved is taken into consideration-it is not always a black & white situation. It can also depend on the age of the "couple". Under a certain age considered single(can't remember what that age level is though-sorry)


When I was 18 I moved in with my partner and applied to change my Youth Allowance payments from dependent (around $220) to independant (around $340) and declare that I was living in a defacto relationship.

I was told that as I was not on the lease for at least 12 months that I could not be classed as independant and someone who is classed as a dependant cannot be considered to be in a defacto relationship.....
Unfortunately it was NOT beneficial for me to not be classed as defacto as my payments were around $120 less per fortnight for 12 months....even though I received no family assistance....such as money from mum etc. :rolleyes:

I'm sure it is to do with whether you are classed as dependant or independant by centrelink which affects whether you can be seen to be in a defacto relationship.

Make sense? :ecomcity:

[jessgray]

brizbabe- my firend is just turned 21 in june. you may not have heard of it happening but her local c/link have classed her as single for some reason she even has the blue card that single parents get. she got it yesturday in the mail. she has told them about her partner and decleared his income but they said it wont affect her till they have lived together for 12 months :confused:

[SamanthaJane]

This is really weird that everyone gets told different advice...

I don't want to be on single parent payment (their advice) and then for them to say "oh, hold on, no, you should be on partnered payment... you owe us $$$$$$$$"

Because i'll end up just having to pay for their stupid mistakes :mad:

[brizbabe]

Well well well, ya learn something new every day:

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/qual_ind_yal.htm

The above link is actually for Youth Allowance / independant and does do the whole 12 months thing. As I mentioned, I work in FAO so have very little knowledge of Youth Allowance and its criteria.

You are also considered independent if you are aged 15-24 and:
are above school leaving age in your state or territory, and
are a refugee, an orphan or it is unreasonable for you to live at home, or
are in state care, or only stopped being in state care because of your age
have, or have had a dependent child
are or have been, married , including living in a marriage-like relationship for 12 months or more, or six months (in special circumstances);
have parents who cannot exercise their responsibilities.To qualify as independent on the grounds that you have been in a de facto or marriage-like relationship for at least 12 months, the 12 months must have been while you were over the age of consent in the state or territory you live in.

So we were all right, its paid under the Youth Banner not FAO (PP) thats why I'd never heard of it and it is 12 months defacto. I knew there was an age thing happening there.


:)

[jessgray]

:) wow so my friend doesnt have to stress that she will end up with a huge debt?

[Ponyboy]

Does anyone know if savings you have in a bank account have to be spent prior to receiving any government assistance??

The reason I'm asking is that my DH and I have a bit of savings sitting in our account to be used on our house renovations. We actually applied for a loan (top up on our home loan) to get this money and I'd hate to see it have to be used for "general living" costs rather than what it was intended to be used.

My DH currently works p/t and I am on half pay maternity leave - I'm hoping to get a early retirement package soon and would like to see if we are eligible for benefits once I'm no longer on paid leave.

On a side note, my uncle used to work for centrelink (a long time ago) and those on benefits used to be able to have up to $250,000 in savings and still be eligible for benefits. I think that's a bit questionable but if you have say $4000 sitting there for house renovations I'd be very disappointed to have to use it on something other than that.

I hope not to sound selfish in this post as I know there are people out there with nothing. I just don't understand how you are to get ahead if they don't allow you to have some savings.

[~EmsMum~]

don't forget tho once you turn 21 the payment will go up aswell