As of Jan 09, every one that is entitled to the Baby Bonus will recieve it in fortnightly instalements over 6 months, and is around $380 p/f (I think?) tax free.
Does anyone else think this is a step in the right direction?? What if it was called Maternity Payment, and ALL mums got it, as in its not means tested?
Would more mums be able to stay home longer?
Would more mums be able to breastfeed longer?
Would more mums not have to use CC if they dont want too?
Most mums get CCB and/or Rebate, but if ALL mums got "Maternity Payment", not just low income earners, would that be better? Maybe mums got the choice of the payment or CCB after birth, and after 6 months, CCB kicked in for everyone??
I know the Baby Bonus is going to pay half our mortgage for 6 months, a massive bonus to us, and one less bill to struggle with, and I see it more as "paid Maternity".
Is it the same for the rest of you mums??
Will the installments help you more with week to week bills, and to stay home longer??
I dont think I could work, pay child care costs, and still come home $380 ahead a fortnight anyway!!
Is this the start of the gov paying our mums to be able to stay home if they choose, or am I just dreaming???
i honestly think it's a step backward to consider it under the guise of "maternity" payment - there are some, if not many, corporations that DO pay maternity leave, and would see this as a way to stop. for some of us, the baby bonus, or whatever they call it from Jan, would be a huge reduction in entitlement to what we're currently getting from our paid maternity leave. for me, i'm working part time at the moment, and getting the baby bonus on top of my half pay mat leave will mean, essentially, for six months i'll get full pay (well, full for what i'm being paid now).
i don't believe giving people an either/or option with CCB is realistic, or fair. to tell someone they only get CCB if they forfeit the baby bonus payments is essentially telling them that the government know better than them what is appropriate for a child under six months of age, which is ridiculous. every family, every situation, is different, and the need or desire to use child care under that age shouldn't negate entitlement to another payment. a lot of mum's, particularly first time mum's, need to return to work before that magic six month mark as $380 and the small amount they get for FTB isn't enough to supplement their wage. it's not appropriate to take away that bonus simply because they need to use child care.
PM - i understand where you're coming from with trying to find ways to encourage parents to stay at home with younger babies, but it's not something the government should legislate. personally, i could see it causing massive issues as a discriminatory action
I would like mums to have the CHOICE, not be forced, to stay home or work. At the moment a lot a forced.
And I agree, the ccb wasn't well thought out by me!
As someone who has never had real maternity leave, none that was paid, it is a MASSIVE bonus!!! I recieved nothing for staying home with my first 3, and now I do! I think a lot of mums are the same. We would get nothing from our boss anyway...
"PM - i understand where you're coming from with trying to find ways to encourage parents to stay at home with younger babies, but it's not something the government should legislate. personally, i could see it causing massive issues as a discriminatory action "
I didnt mean to "encourage" or "discriminate". I want everyone to get a say, a choice. At the moment it is already dicriminitive. If you stay home, you dont get paid enough, if you work and earn good money, you pay half back in fees. I dont feel that anyone is winning....
Obviously this doesnt help with b/f, but if they extended it to either parent staying home, we *could* afford DH to, but not me.
Unfortunately for families where the mum is the main income earner, there are often limited options available other than to return to work, and I dont think I should have to choose between a job and a family.
For me, having the baby bonus paid fortnightly will just make it easier for me to spend it before I need to. We will be using it so that I can take an additional month off work for maternity leave.
Last edited by Pandora; September 2nd, 2008 at 11:42 AM.
: Misunderstood the question.
i think it is stupid there was the big debate about paid maternity leave so now they have just changed we would normally be entitled to, to make it look like they r paying maternity leave.
i do family daycare so i am classed as selfemployed and when i took time off i had $0 pay and coudlnt get any money until dd was born and then i only got $50 a fortnight.
her baby bonus went to paying off my credit card because we had to put food and bills and some baby stuff on it from the time i had off with no pay.
its great that some companies pay maternity leave but i think if ne person gets paid then everyone should and not get their other benifits taken away because of it.
i had to go back to work when dd was a few days off 4 weeks. i had no choice we had no money and a few dramas witht he lady i got to replace me while i was gone but i so wish i got more time while dd was newborn. i was lookign at her the other day and was thinking she is so big now i missed out on so much.
i even have to put her in another daycare 2 days a week because she counts as one of my numbers but i dont get paid for her
LSK - up until Jan 1, 2009, baby bonus is paid in a lump sum unless you're under 18, or you choose to have installments. from Jan 1, it will be paid in 13 equal installments
BABY BONUS is not an entitlement - it was a bonus created to help in population growth - the goverment realised that, once the baby boomer generation entered aged pension age, we'd have a massive reduction in skilled workers in the country, a massive reduction in the number of tax payers, and the pension/welfare system would be under a massive amount of strain. by encouraging people now to have children, 20 years from now, they would be entering the work force and helping to support those baby boomers entering the age pension age. it was always a BONUS, no matter what name it was given - hence the reason it was given to everyone
from this year, with the Labour government taking over, the population growth wasn't seen as such an issue, so the baby BONUS was no longer a bonus for everyone, it became part of the welfare system and, as such, is only available to those considered to be on lower incomes (less than $75k in the six months after bub is born). as a result, not everyone is now "entitled" to the payment - you have to meet the eligibility criteria just like you do for every other welfare payment on offer
personally, i don't believe that receiving additional payments over a period of 13 weeks is enough to help a new parent - ideally, i would like to see a PROPER federally funded maternity scheme that takes into account the income of the SAHP and pays appropriately for a period of at least 6 months - if you're a FT SAHP, then minimum wage, but if you're someone that has a higher paying job, then you should be able to get a percentage of that, to a maximum amount (so as not to be excessive). supplement wages by more than the pitiful amount of FTB you get if you return to PT work when you were full time before bubs etc. it should be your choice as to whether you or your partner stay home - but ultimately, until something like this comes in, there is nothing the goverment, or anyone else, can do. trading off child care entitlement for baby bonus/maternity payment/whatever title we want to use, just isn't appropriate.
ideal world - federally funded maternity scheme, not a pitiful baby "bonus"
ideal world - goverment regulated child care - make sure there are enough places, and cap on fees to stop profiteering
just wish i knew how to make the idea world come visiting AU!
I prefer the lump sum personally, but that's us in our situation. If we have money filtering in, it gets frittered away with nothing to show for it. Which is why we also get the FTB as a lump sum at the end of the year too. I'm already a SAHM, so don't need to supplement a wage. I guess tho with it coming in instalments, it could be looked at as a source of income rather than a bonus, and could go towards DH taking more time off or something. Usually the bonus reimburses our savings tho, which got depleted preparing for the baby (well.. bub #1 more than #2).
I know in our situation, we already use the baby bonus so I can stay home for 12 weeks - thats only paying 10 weeks of our mortgage repayments.
So unfortunately, unless I want me and my family out on the street - I have to go back to work when Mehkelti is 12 weeks old, and she will be going into care.
And its not like I work so I can have a big house, expensive car etc - we have a crappy old magna (yes only one car) and we live in a house that was made in the 60's and is falling apart around our ears. However, we brought in the cheapest suburb on the coast, and it wasn't the most expensive house (obviously).
I'm not complaining, thats just the way that our life is. So even if they made it a fortnightly payment like maternity leave payment, I would still have to go back to work at the same time, because I can't make it stretch enough to cover the mortgage repayments..
(Did that make sense? Sleep deprivation is ruling this house at the moment... )
I agree, it is a blessing
I think its wonderful and will help a lot of women stay home longer, some more than others.
Its just that a once size fits all doesnt always fit.
We are only able to afford this baby because I got made redundant from my job and was fortunate to get another one.
Otherwise we would be in the same position as Gudism - the BB will cover 2.5 mortgage payments and then Id be back at work.
Which for us, and in no way am I trying to judge or offend anyone, would have meant not having number 2.
Its a really tough one and I dont see an easy answer to it.
Its a great discussion topic though, that needs to be thrashed out, so thanks for bringing it up
Baby Bonus V's Paid Maternity
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I think a lot of mums are the same. We would get nothing from our boss anyway...
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