Payments for families

Family Tax Benefit

Family Tax Benefit is a 2-part payment that helps with the cost of raising children. To receive this payment, you must:

• have a dependent child or full-time secondary student aged 16 to 19 years who isn't getting a pension, payment or benefit like Youth Allowance
• care for the child for at least 35% of the time
• meet an income test

For more information about Family Tax Benefit, visit the Services Australia website.

Parenting Payment

Parenting payment is the main payment you can claim while you're caring for a young child. It's also for job seekers who are the main carers of young children.

To receive this payment, you must:

• care for a child under 8 years of age if you're single, or under 6 years of age if you have a partner
• meet income and asset test rules
• meet principal carer rules
• meet residency rules
• confirm your partner is not currently receiving a Parenting Payment

If you have a child under 6 years and have been getting the Parenting Payment, you can take part in the Government's ParentsNext program. This program helps you plan and prepare for study or employment, and links you to services and activities in your community.

For more information about the Parenting Payment, visit the Services Australia website.

Parental Leave Pay

Parental Leave Pay is a short-term payment for up to 100 days, or 20 weeks, while you care for a new child.

To receive this payment, you must:

• be caring for your newborn or newly adopted child
• meet an income test
• not be working on your Parental Leave Pay days, except for allowable reasons
• have met a work test
• have registered or applied to register your child's birth with your state or territory birth registry, if they're a newborn

For more information about the Parental Leave Pay, visit the Services Australia website.

Child Care Subsidy

This payment helps families with the cost of child care. It's for children aged 13 years and under. It's also available to help support children 14 to 18 years old if they have a disability or can't be left unsupervised.

The payment is paid directly to your child care provider, to reduce the fees you pay.

To receive the Child Care Subsidy payment, you must:

• care for a child aged 13 years or younger who's not attending secondary school, unless an exemption applies
• use an approved child care service
• be responsible for paying the child care fees
• meet residency and immunisation requirements

The subsidy is available to parents doing recognised activities, such as paid and unpaid work, training and studying.

For more information on Child Care Subsidy, visit the Services Australia website.

Other payments you may be entitled to

There are other payments available to help you with:

• having a baby
• paying for your rent
• paying for your telephone and internet costs
• paying for the costs of healthcare through Medicare
• paying for your child's dental care
• paying energy bills

Special considerations

There are several different payments for people looking after children in special circumstances.

These situations include if you:

• share the care of a child with someone else (Services Australia will work out what you're eligible for, depending on how much care each partner provides)
• are a grandparent, legal guardian or other family member providing full-time care for a child
• are adopting a child
• care for a child with a disability
• live in a very remote area and your child can't access a local state school
• have a stillborn baby, or if your baby dies after birth

These types of payments have different eligibility requirements, and time limits may apply.

You can find, estimate and compare payments and services you may be eligible for by visiting Centrelink's Payment and Service Finder.