There are numerous Government Financial Support Schemes available, we cover an easy to read guide for: 

1. Baby Bonus
   
2. Family Tax Benefit Part A
   
3. Family Tax Benefit Part B
   
4. Maternity Immunisation Allowance
   
5. Child Care Benefit
   
6. Child Care Tax Rebate  

1. Baby Bonus: A payment to assist with the costs associated with a newborn or the adoption of a child

Provided you meet certain residence requirements (refer Appendix 1), this is an amount paid to you per eligible child, meaning that if you have twins then you are entitled to the Baby Bonus for each of your children. The Baby Bonus may still be paid if your child is stillborn or dies shortly after being born. Additionally, the Baby Bonus is available when a new born comes into the care of a family within the first 26 weeks of birth and that the care will be provided for at least 26 weeks or for families who have a child entrusted to their care for adoption before the child is 16 years of age.

The payment process changed on 1 January 2009 and it is now only available to families who estimate their combined family income to be less than $75,000 in the 6 months following the birth or adoption of a child. The sum of $5,000 per eligible child is paid in 13 fortnightly instalments.

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2. Family Tax Benefit Part A: Provides financial assistance for the costs associated with raising children

Family Tax Benefit Part A ("FTB Part A") is an income tested payment that can be either paid fortnightly or at the end of the financial year. If you choose to receive the payment fortnightly you will need to provide the Family Assistance Office with an estimate of your family's annual income. Your payment rate will be based on the information you provide, however it is advised that you be as accurate as possible as any overpayments you receive will have to be repaid.

Eligibility:

1.       Have a dependent child (refer Appendix 1) under 21 years or a dependent full-time student aged 21-24 years.

2.       Have care of the child for 35% of the time or more

3.       Meet residential requirements (Note: The base rate of Family Benefit Tax Part A may be paid during a temporary absence from Australia for a period of up to 3 years, however more than the base rate can only be paid for up to 13 weeks of a temporary absence from Australia)

4.       Have income under a certain threshold

Family Tax Benefit Part A Supplement is a payment only given at the end of the financial year once you and your partner (if applicable) have lodged tax returns and your income reconciled.   This is an income tested payment of $686.20 per child.  This payment may be used to either top up your entitlement (given in a lump sum) or to pay off any overpayments you may have received. 

Family Tax Benefit Part A and Supplement Payment Rates

Please note: for ease of reference the payment rates below are based on families with 1 dependent child aged 0-12 years. For information regarding payments for families with more than 1 dependent child and/or dependent children over 12 years please refer to the Australian Government Family Assistance Office Guide to Payments page 2.

Family Income	Payment per fortnight	Payment per year	Payment per year with supplement
Up to $42,559	$151.34	$3,945.65	$4,631.85
Above $42,559 but less than $55,991	Annual amount received is reduced by 20 cents per 1 dollar of income earned above $42,559
$55,991 but less than $94,316	$48.30	$1,259.25	$1,945.45
Above $94,316 but less than $98,514	Annual amount received is reduced by 30 cents per 1 dollar of income earned above $94,316
$98,514 and above	FTB Part A may not be paid
$100,801 and above	FTB Part A Supplement may not be paid

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3. Family Tax Benefit Part B: Provides additional financial assistance to single parent families and to families with one main income

Family Tax Benefit Part B ("FTB Part B") is an income tested payment that is paid per family based on the youngest child's age. FTB Part B can be either paid fortnightly or at the end of the financial year. If you choose to receive the payment fortnightly you will need to provide the Family Assistance Office with an estimate of both the main earners income and, where applicable, the main carers income for the financial year. Your payment rate will be based on the information you provide, however it is advised that you be as accurate as possible as any overpayments you receive will have to be repaid.

Eligibility:

1.       Have a dependent child under the age of 16 years; or

2.       Have a qualifying dependent full-time student up to the age of 18 years, who doesn't receive Youth Allowance or a similar payment; and

3.       Meet residential requirements (refer Appendix 1) (Note: Family Tax Benefit Part B can only be paid for up to a 13 week temporary absence from Australia)

4.       Have income under a certain threshold

The FTB Part B is payable when the higher income earner in a couple, or a sole parent, earns up to $150,000[1]. Two parent (couple) families eligibility for the maximum rate depends on a second income test for the lower earner. 

Family Tax Benefit Part B Supplement is a payment only given at the end of the financial year once you and your partner (if applicable) have lodged tax returns and your income reconciled.   This is an income tested payment of $335.80 per eligible family. This payment may be used to either top up your entitlement (given in a lump sum) or to pay off any overpayments you may have received. 

Family Tax Benefit Part B and Supplement Payment Rates

Please note: Couple families have been referenced in column 1 (where the higher income earner earns up to $150,000 per annum), however the maximum rate* applies to sole/eligible single parent families where that parents annual income is $150,000 or less.

Lower earner income (in couple families)	Age of youngest dependent child	Payment per fortnight	Payment per year	Payment per year with supplement
Up to $4526	Under 5 years	$128.80*	$3,358.00*	$3693.80*
	5-15 years (or 16-18 years if a full-time student)	$89.74*	$2339.65*	$2,675.45*
Above $4,526 but less than $22,995	Under 5 years	Annual amount received is reduced by 20 cents per 1 dollar of income earned above $4,526, payment stops once lower earner income reaches $22,995.
Above $4,526 but less than $17,904	5-15 years (or 16-18 years if a full-time student)	Annual amount received is reduced by 20 cents per 1 dollar of income earned above $4,526, payment stops once lower earner income reaches $17,904.

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4. Maternity Immunisation Allowance: A 2 instalment non income tested payment to encourage parents to immunise their children.

Eligibility:

1.       If your child is fully immunised between the age of 18 and 24 months of age the first instalment of $121.65 (indexed) will be paid.

2.       If your child is fully immunised between the age of four and five years of age the second instalment of $121.65 (indexed) will be paid.

3.       If an approved immunisation exemption has been obtained for your child the Maternity Immunisation Allowance may still be paid.

Note: If you did not receive the Baby Bonus you must lodge your claim for the Maternity Immunisation Allowance on or before your child's fifth birthday.

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5. Child Care Benefit: Assists with the costs of approved or registered care.

Eligibility:

1.       Your child attends approved or registered care.

2.       You must be responsible for paying child care fees for your child (if your employer contributes to your child care through salary sacrificing or packaging, you should discuss with them who is responsible for the child care costs).

3.       Have income under a certain threshold.

4.       You or your partner must meet the residency requirements (refer Appendix 1),.

5.       Your child must meet the immunisation requirements or have an approved immunisation exemption (refer Appendix 1).

The amount of Child Care Benefit ("CCB") you receive depends on the type of care you use, the amount of care you use, the reason you are using care, the number of children you have in care and your family's income.

	Approved Care	Registered Care
Definition	These are Child Care services that are approved by the Government because they meet certain high quality standards and operating requirements. Some of the standards and requirements include, having a licence to operate, qualified and trained staff, being open certain hours and meeting health, safety and other quality standards. Most Long Day Care; Family Day Care; Before, After and School Holiday Care; Occasional Care and In Home Care services are approved. The Child Care service you choose will be able to advise whether they are an Approved Care centre.	Child Care that is classed as registered is when care is provided by grandparents, friends or nannies who are registered as carers with the Australian Government's Family Assistance Office. Some pre-schools; kindergartens; before, after and school holiday care and occasional care centres may be registered, but not approved, because they either do not, or choose not to meet the minimum operating hours or participate in the Australian Government's quality assurance schemes.
Eligibility to claim	All families can claim up to 24 hours of CCB per child per week. To claim up to a maximum of 50 hours you need to meet the work, training, study test (refer Appendix 1), or have an exemption from this test. You must also earn under a certain income.	Must pass the work, training, study test, or have an exemption from this test in order to claim up to a maximum of 50 hours per week. There is no income test for registered care.
How much do I get?	Depends on income and number of children in approved child care. Please refer to the table below.	2008-09 hourly rate for a non-school child: $0.581 The rate for a school child is 85% of the non-school child rate.

Family Income and hourly CCB entitlement comparison

(source: Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Child Care Benefit Ready Reckoner 2008-09)

Income	Children in approved child care and amount of CCB per hour per child (2008-09 figures)
	1	2	3
$36,573 or less	$3.47	$3.63	$3.77
$40,000	$3.34	$3.53	$3.71
$50,000	$2.95	$3.24	$3.51
$60,000	$2.57	$2.95	$3.32
$70,000	$2.18	$2.66	$3.31
$80,000	$1.80	$2.37	$2.94
$90,000	$1.42	$1.99	$2.62
$100,000	$1.03	$1.51	$2.17
$110,000	$0.65	$1.03	$1.73
$120,000	$0.26	$0.55	$1.28
$126,793	At this income amount CCB is not payable when 1 child is in approved child care
$130,000	$0.00	$0.07	$0.83
$131,457	At this income amount CCB is not payable when 2 children are in approved child care
$140,000	$0.00	$0.00	$0.38
$148,452	At this income amount CCB is not payable when 3 children are in approved child care

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6. Child Care Tax Rebate: Assists with the costs of approved care.

Eligibility:

1.       Your child attends approved care.

2.       You must be eligible for CCB (if you are eligible for CCB but for your entitlement being zero due to your income, you are still eligible for the Child Care Tax Rebate).

3.       You and your partner (if applicable) must pass the CCB work, training, study test.

What can I get back? (The following information is based on 2008-09 policy and rates.)

You are entitled to receive back 50% of your childcare out of pocket expenses once any CCB refund entitlement has been deducted, up to an annual limit of $7,500. 

The payment can be received at the end of the financial year (once you and your partner have lodged tax returns) or quarterly. If you choose to receive the payment quarterly, then the CCB[2] you receive will be deducted automatically from your overall Child Care expenses and your rebate calculated and paid in arrears in October, January and April. The final instalment will be paid once you and your partner have lodged your tax returns to ensure that you have not been under or over paid.

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Definitions

Residency requirements for Baby Bonus, Family Tax Benefit Part A, Family Tax Benefit Part B

(source: Australian Government Family Assistance Office "Guide to Payments")

"You must have legal residence status and be residing in Australia on a permanent basis, that is, Australia is your home. You may be able to claim a payment during a temporary absence from Australia.

To have legal residence status for the purposes of Family Assistance payments you must be:

·         An Australian citizen, or

·         The holder of a permanent visa, or

·         A New Zealand citizen who arrived on a New Zealand passport, or

·         The holder of certain temporary visas (to find out the temporary visa subclasses that may qualify, please contact the Family Assistance Office)."

Residency requirements for Child Care Benefit and Child Care Tax Rebate

(source: Australian Government Family Assistance Office "Guide to Payments")

"You or your partner must be living permanently in Australia and be:

·         An Australian citizen, or

·         The holder of a permanent visa, or

·         A New Zealand citizen who arrived on a New Zealand passport, or

·         A holder of a certain temporary visa, for example, Spouse Provisional and Temporary Protection and similar visas (to find out the temporary visa subclasses that may qualify, please contact the Family Assistance Office), or

·         A student from overseas sponsored by the Australian Government, or

·         A non-resident experiencing hardship or special circumstances."

Dependent Child

(source: Australian Government Family Assistance Office "Guide to Payments")

"A child or student cannot be dependent if they are:

·         Receiving a pension or benefit (such as Youth Allowance) or a labour market program payment, or

·         Aged 5 to 15, not studying full-time and their annual income is $12 287 or more, or

·         Aged 16 to 24 and their annual income is $12 287 or more and they are receiving a prescribed education scheme payment such as ABSTUDY, or

·         Aged 21 to 24 and not studying full-time."

Work, Training, Study Test

(source: Australian Government "Information for families using childcare Fact Sheet 7")

"The work, training, study test looks at whether you, and your partner if you have one, need child care for a work related commitment."

A work related commitment is one or more of the following activities:

·         Paid work

·         Self employment

·         Setting up a business

·         Training or studying

·         Looking for work

·         Voluntary work to improve your work skills

For:

·         At least 15 hours a week or

·         30 hours a fortnight.

·         Or you must have an exemption to the work, training, study test.

Immunisation requirements

(source: Australian Government Family Assistance Office "Guide to Payments")

"To get Child Care Benefit for any child aged under seven you must show that:

·         Your child's immunisation is up to date, or

·         Your child is on a catch-up immunisation schedule, or

·         You have an approved exemption from the immunisation requirements for your child."

For additional information, please refer to the Australian Government Family Assistance Office booklets that are attached: The What, Why and How and Guide to Payments or contact your local Family Assistance Office.