Another series

The Australian Family Assistance Office manages government services available to families. Family Assistance operate from Centrelink offices throughout Australia, and their online services are managed by Centrelink. Read more about Centrelink in our recent article: Where’s your Centrelink office?.

Are you eligible to receive Family Assistance?

One of the first things families moving to Australia will want to know is whether they’re eligible to receive Family Assistance payments. Depending on where you’re moving from you will be used to receiving regular payments and/or tax benefits to assist financially with taking care of your children.

To be eligible to receive Family Assistance payments in Australia, amongst other things, you need to meet the specified Residency Requirements.

Yes, if you’re a permanent resident.

Permanent residents in Australia are eligible to receive Family Assistance benefits and payments.

No, if you’re on temporary business, subclass 457 visa

Those residing in Australia on a temporary resident visa, are normally unable to claim Family Assistance. One of the most common temporary resident visas is the temporary business (long stay) subclass 457. On a 457 visa you are not eligible to receive Family Assistance.

Yes, if you have one of these temporary visas

At the time of writing, the temporary residency visas that enable families to claim Family Assistance are listed here: subclass 070 – bridging removal pending, subclass 309 – spouse (provisional), subclass 310 – interdependency (provisional), subclass 447 – secondary movement offshore entry (abolished), subclass 451 – secondary movement relocation (abolished), subclass 695 – return pending visa (abolished), subclass 785 – temporary protection (abolished), subclass 786 – temporary (humanitarian concerns), subclass 787 – temporary witness protection (trafficking), subclass 820 – spouse (provisional), subclass 826 – interdependency (provisional).

This information is subject to change. Check the Family Assistance website for the latest details.

What payments do Family Assistance provide?

In this week’s Family Assistance series we’ll be writing about the different payments available from Family Assistance in Australia.

We’ll be writing about the family income limits associated with these payments, as well as what to do to lodge a claim.

Payments received in your country of origin

It’s logical that you shouldn’t receive payments from your country of origin as well as your new country of residence, in our case Australia; although it would be nice!

When we left the UK we informed HM Revenue & Customs that we were leaving, using this online form. Mum did this several weeks in advance and we provided the date that we would be departing the UK. Our Child Benefit (which had been paid directly to Mum’s bank account) stopped the week we left.

On the HM Revenue & Customs website, you’ll find details of circumstances that affect Child Benefit entitlements in the UK. UK Child Benefit entitlements may stop if you;

  • leave the UK permanently
  • leave the UK temporarily for more than eight weeks

Whether you’ve recently moved to Australia, or been living here for years; have you found claiming Family Assistance an easy process? How does it compare to your country of origin? Do you like the Australian system, or would you rather have the payment(s) you received ‘back home’?

Mum liked the fact that Child Benefit in the UK wasn’t income tested. When our children were little we genuinely used it as nappy money. We haven’t been here long enough to know whether we’re worse off without it, but we’ve found all the different options and the online form filling confusing. The information we share this week will make it clearer for all of us!

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