ddb

Hi,

My apologies in advance if this post sounds absurd.

My friend whose sis-in-law lives in Oz told me something that I couldn't believe.

He told me that Oz govt. pays some monthly expenses for each kid you have to you.

Sounds too good to be true. But still I wanted to post to find out the truth.

Amazulu

$5k for every baby born in Australia plus some mumbo jumbo welfare/handouts/bribes if you earn under a certain amount or are a dole bludger.

the troubadour

Yes all true($5,000)And i think absurd is the operative word in your post.(too state it mildly)

PoppetUK

There are payments that come from centrelink. They have different names to the ones in the UK. Yes the UK does give people money to but I think its more complex!!!!

Maternity benefits from companies are some of the worst in the world in Australia (from what I understand). The govt however does give a baby bonus. It is $5000 spread over 6 months being paid fortnightly. From my memory something like $384 per fortnight. Certainly going to make a difference to us. I also think out fortnightly payments are going to increase by $100 with this baby so that's a huge help.

You do also get family assistance which is a bit like child benefit. You have to earn under a certain amount and the amount varies depending on income, number of kids and age of kids etc.

Child Care allowance is the other one I can think of but couldn't tell you how that is worked out just the figures get sorted for you.

I haven't worked out if we are better off for having children here or in the UK but have a feeling that we get more help here especially the more kids you have (Australia is trying to increase the tax base).

Just my opinion but I find that the way the govt manages all the payments, credits, tax refunds etc in Australia actually makes it feel like they are helping more. It always felt like such hard work in the UK and because one department didn't talk to the other and so on we wouldn't know where we stood to ever really plan our finances from the UK govt. We were self employed. Would telephone and write several times with updates and goodness knows what and nothing would get done or changed. There was absolutely no help for child care in UK unless we were working. Not exactly encouraging you to have more kids. I'm not saying that child care is the answer and god I hate the places but they have a purpose.

That's my 2pence worth. I'm sure there will be someone with more factual information.

ddb

I appreciate your responses. But I was trying to find out about the kids migrating with us to Oz. I have two, aged 7 and 5. So just an enquiry if I will be getting these benefits? Or are these just for the kids born in Oz

PoppetUK

If you are a permanent resident on pr visa then you will. The websites to look at are centre link and familyassist.gov.au

Hope this helps.

ddb

Thanks.

The websites seem to suggest that these benefits are not payable until the person on PR has spent 2 years in Australia.

Mipik

You get the family tax benefit from the day you land in Australaia on PR visa.

Sandra

Only if earning under specific income levels - you need to check the website for those earnings levels.

Eastend Girl

I think the two years might be if you are 'sponsored' and they deduct anything you might claim from your bond.

Sammy T

Hi

As a PR you qualify for Family Tax Benefit from the date of your arrival, if you earn under a certain amount of course (check the Centrelink or Family Assist website for info)

I think of it as just the same as child benefit in the UK, although we earn less than 1/2 of what we earnt in the UK here in Oz but get less than 1/2 than we used to recieve as child benefit so we are much worse off but that's just one of those things, I guess.

There are benefits if you have a child whilst living here but as someone else pointed out the maternity leave and allowances here is poor compared to Europe, so I imagine the money is well appreciated.

There is also the Education Tax Refund which you can use to claim back some expenses for school, eg text books, computer equipment so every little helps!

Sam

moneypenny20

In very simple terms, it's much the same as the child tax credit thing in the UK, means tested so not so absurd or ridiculous in that respect.

JAJ

Some payments are not subject to the 2 year waiting period, nor are they recoverable from the bond.

sj oldfield

More or less the same as Child Benefit or Child Tax Credits!