Payments for families

We provide a range of payments and services that help you look after your children’s education and health care, and any family issues that may come up along the way.

Payments to help families

We provide payments to help you with the expenses of raising children and looking after health issues.

Birth and adoption

If you have just had a baby or recently adopted a child, you may be eligible for Baby Bonus (paid in 13 fortnightly instalments) or the Paid Parental Leave scheme. 

The Paid Parental Leave scheme provides financial support to eligible working parents when they take time off work to care for a newborn or recently adopted child. There are two payments available under the scheme:

• Parental Leave Pay (for up to 18 weeks) if you are a child’s primary carer, and
• Dad and Partner Pay (for up to two weeks) for dads or partners.

Raising children

Payments like Family Tax Benefit and Parenting Payment can help you with the cost of raising children. You may be eligible if you are a carer of a child, whether it’s your birth, foster, or adopted child, or your grandchild.

If you are 19 years old or under, get Parenting Payment and you live in one of 10 selected Local Government Areas, we will be contacting you as part of Helping Young Parents.

The Double Orphan Pension is available to help with the cost of caring for children who are orphans or unable to be cared for by their parents in certain circumstances.

Payments like Rent Assistance and the Telephone Allowance can also help you manage household expenses if you are on income support.

Help with child care

To assist you with the cost of using child care services there is:

• Child Care Benefit which can help cover long day care, family day care, occasional day care, outside school hour care, vacation care, pre-school, kindergarten and child care provided by relatives, friends or nannies
• Child Care Rebate which covers 50 percent of out-of-pocket child care expenses, up to a maximum amount per child per year, in addition to the Child Care Benefit
• Jobs, Education and Training Child Care Fee Assistance which can help you meet the cost of approved child care by paying some of the 'gap fee' not covered by Child Care Benefit for the hours of care you need for approved activities such as job search, work, study or training.

Payments to help with education

There are payments to help you with expenses relating to your children's education. For example, Youth Allowance provides financial help for young people who are studying full time, doing a full-time Australian apprenticeship or training, looking for work or sick.

The Education Entry Payment is available to help with the cost of study if you get specified income support payments

If eligible, you can claim Family Tax Benefit Part A for your children who are studying, up to the end of the calendar year in which they turn 19.

The Schoolkids Bonus can help you with education costs. It is paid to eligible families in two instalments, in January and July each year.

Help with health care

We provide financial support to help families with the cost of health care. 

Medicare payments and services can help when you or your dependants use health care services or need medicine.

The Medicare Teen Dental Plan helps with the cost of an annual preventative dental check for children aged between 12 to 17 years.

The Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Scheme helps families with the cost of treatment for cleft lip and cleft palate specialised services.

The Continence Aids Payment Scheme helps people who have permanent and severe incontinence with some of the costs for incontinence products.

The Youth Disability Supplement provides additional financial support to young people with a physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability who get certain income support payments.

 Carer Adjustment Payment is a one-off payment to help families adjust following a sudden event where a child aged under seven years is diagnosed with a severe illness, medical condition or major disability.

Carer Payment can provide financial support if you are unable to work in substantial paid employment because you are providing full-time daily care to someone with a severe disability or medical condition, or to someone who is frail aged. Carer Allowance is an income supplement for parents or carers who provide daily care to an adult or child who has a disability, medical condition or who is frail aged.

Child Disability Assistance Payment is an annual payment that helps parents with the costs of caring for a child with a disability.

On 1 July 2012, Maternity Immunisation Allowance and immunisation requirements changed. Read more about these changes.