Family assistance and child support

Family assistance

Family assistance is a range of payments from the Family Assistance Office to support families with their work and responsibilities.

• Family assistance index

Child support

Child support helps with the costs of raising children and is managed through the Child Support Agency.

• Child Support section

How much family assistance you will receive

You can use the combined family assistance, Child Support and Child Care estimator to estimate your family assistance and child support payments.

• Online estimators

Note: The estimator is a guide only and will not estimate payments for all circumstances.

Changes that may affect eligibility for Family Tax Benefit

Changes to your child support may affect the rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A you can receive. Family Tax Benefit Part A is reviewed every year and the payment is subject to an income test.

• Family Tax Benefit Part A section
• Income test for Family Tax Benefit Part A

Changes to your circumstances

There are some circumstances that may affect your payment rates and eligibility. If you get a payment from Centrelink and you have a change in your circumstances you need to let Centrelink know within 14 days in case it affects your payment.

• Factors affecting payment rates and eligibility
• What to do when your circumstances change

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Income tests

There are several types of income that may affect your eligibility and payment rates.

• Allowances income test
• Family Tax Benefit income test
• Income information
• Maintenance income test

Shared care

If you share care and pay or receive child support, your child support payments will be adjusted to take their percentage of care into account. Your Family Tax Benefit and additional benefits will be adjusted to reflect care levels and the interaction with child support.

If a child is in care for:

• less than 14% of the time, you are not eligible to receive Family Tax Benefit
• at least 14% but less than 35% of the time, you will no longer receive Family Tax Benefit but may still be entitled to the Rent Assistance component of Family Tax Benefit and some additional benefits associated with family assistance
• between 35% and 65% of the time, your rate of Family Tax Benefit is based on the time the child is in their care
• more than 65% of the time, you may be able to receive 100% of the Family Tax Benefit.

Additional family assistance benefits that may have been affected

If you care for a child between 14% and less than 35% of the time, you may still be eligible for additional benefits even if your family assistance has changed due to Child Support Scheme Reforms.

To find out more about the Medicare Safety Net and access to the lower threshold, visit the Medicare Australia website.

• Child Care Benefit section
• Health Care Card section
• Remote Area Allowance section
• Rent Assistance section

More information

For more information, you can:

• refer to the Parent or guardian section
• refer to information for grandparents and carers who raise and care for children
• view the Child Support Scheme Reforms factsheets on the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs website.

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