About the Family Assistance Office and payments
The Family Assistance Office is a partnership arrangement between four government agencies - the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA), the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), Centrelink and Medicare Australia - to provide families with a range of payments and services.
The Family Assistance Office administers family assistance payments, including:
- Family Tax Benefit Part A - helps families with the cost of raising children
- Family Tax Benefit Part B - helps single income families including sole parents
- Child Care Benefit - helps families with the cost of child care
- Child Care Rebate (for child care costs incurred on or after 1 July 2006) - additional help for working families with the cost of child care
- Maternity Allowance - is money to help with the extra costs of a new baby (including adopted and still born babies) born on or before 30 June 2004
- Baby Bonus - is money to help with the extra costs of a new baby (including adopted and still born babies) born on or after 1 July 2004
- Maternity Immunisation Allowance - is a non-income tested payment that is usually payable as two separate amounts for children who are fully immunised between the ages of 18-24 months and between 4 and 5 years, or who have an approved exemption from immunisation
- Large Family Supplement - if you get Family Tax Benefit for three or more children, this will be added to your Family Tax Benefit for each child after the third
- Multiple Birth Allowance - if three or more of your children were born at the same time, this can be added to your Family Tax Benefit until the children turn 16 years of age; or if at least three of the children are in full time study, until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 18 years of age.
- Rent Assistance - can give you extra help with your rent or accommodation costs if you are receiving more than the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A and paying rent to private landlord, for example, not paying rent to the Government.
- Health Care Cards - you will automatically be issued with a Health Care Card if you are entitled to receive the maximum rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A and get your payments through the Family Assistance Office
- Double Orphan Pension - can provide you with additional assistance to bring up children who are double orphans
- Jobs, Education and Training Child Care fee assistance – extra help with the cost of approved child care for eligible parents undertaking activities such as work, job search, training, study or rehabilitation as part of an activity agreement, to help them enter or re-enter the workforce.
You may also be eligible to receive other payments through Centrelink. To find out more, visit the Centrelink website.
[ Top ]