Casual Workers- HOW DO YOU ESTIMATE ACCURATELY?????

[Ashlee]

Oh and your PPP doesn't cease immediately - well, the payments do, but you still get to have a $0 rate of PPP (meaning keeping your health care card) for 6 fortnights or 12 weeks after your new estimate.

Your FTB rate will decrease again after your 6 fortnights are up too. My DP have recently declared we were partnered so are feeling the sting, we're $500 a week worse off than we were being "single".

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Your income estimate for FTB and CCB is the same... so if you over estimate for FTB and end up with a debt, your CCB will end up with a debt...
That said, if you still receive CCR quarterly that generally buffers the CCB debt and you end up ok.

FWIW the best thing to do IMO is give a higher estimate now in order to save you from the debt later... if you can afford to live week to week without the additional ftb.
For me to estimate 10-15k lower only gave me $13 extra a fortnight... not worth it

Oh... and (i think this is correct because I did it last year) - if you increase your estimate later on - you can choose to have your FTB and CCB 'adjusted' to avoid the debt as well.
So for example you estimate 70k combined income now and in four months you up it to 80k - not only will the FTB and CCB adjust to the new figure you are giving, but you can also elect to have more withheld to help it balance out - iykwim.

[~StarBright~]

Thanks everyone!! I guess I will just go with what I normally do and over estimate! I will fin dout my official payrate ect next week and go from there!!

I do actually rememeber that about the Parenting payment, that I will still officially be on it until I have 6 fortnights of nil payments the HCC will come in handy for sure for some of my medicines!!!

Thanks guys!!

Oh and with the FTB changing to DH its for the part A or B, I forget which one that goes to the lower income earner. Next year if things go well with me and DH decides to stay where he is on a lower wage we will change it over to him as I will be the "bread winner lol"

[The[cookie]Doctor]

It's fun being the breadwinner
Until you are going from two incomes to one for mat leave

[Jellyfish]

It won't matter who is actually 'recieving' the FTB payments or does the paperwork, Centrelink asses you as a couple so FTB will be based on the lower income earner regardless of that being the one whose name is in the system or not. When I was with DD's Dad for example, he worked and I did not but he was still the one who recieved FTB but the lower income earner part was based on my income ($0).

[briggsy's girl]

Oh and with the FTB changing to DH its for the part A or B, I forget which one that goes to the lower income earner. Next year if things go well with me and DH decides to stay where he is on a lower wage we will change it over to him as I will be the "bread winner lol"

FTBB is based on the income of the lower income earner and the age of the youngest child. doesn't matter which partner it is paid to, it's still based on the lower estimate. if your partner is working full time, he'd have to be on seriously crap wages to qualify your family for any ftbb at all (if he's working 38hours he'd have to be getting MUCH less than minimum wage to have a low enough annual income for your family to qualify - the ftbb cuts out totally at around 24k, including supplements, when youngest child is under 5 years old - at 24k, full time, he'd have to be on about $12 an hour just to qualify for a small portion of the supplement)

it is MUCH neater, as a family unit, to keep it in the one name all the time - if you swap now, you'd have the first few months you've been overpaid for ftbb due to your income. put it in his name, he may get a top up for overestimates for late in the year, you end up with a debt for start of the year. MUCH better to keep it in same name all the time!!

ooh, make sure you request to notify a return to work for ftbb purposes if this is the first time you have worked since the birth of your youngest - the consultant will know what that means!

[~StarBright~]

Thanks BG!!!

Yeah I definately wont change anything then as far as the payments for FTB.. I wasnt sure the cut off, but he will be on seriously crap wages, not quite $12 an hour, but around the $15 something. Once his three month probationary period is over (he is casual now on about $18) he automatically has to go on a traineeship to stay in the job. (hence why i think they go through so many workers there!! They all quit after three months!!) But def this year he has already earned above that due to the job he had before! Thanks for the tip on that!!

I have to call tomorrow to let clink know I have started work so I will mention the request to notify a return for work. At the moment though I have no idea until I start exactly what I am getting an hour, but i wont need to report my income until next fortnight.

I will start off doing night shifts, but you were saying I will get max CCB aswell as max FTB until the 6 weeks of zero reporting- at the moment my CCB% is a ridiculous 102%, but that is without it knowing I have returned to work... Its all so confusing!! I almost wish I hadnt applied for the PPP, but i knew if i hadnt we would have been screwed if i didnt get work right away!!!! lol I might try and pop into the office rather than call- the lady I have been talking to is really nice and I am sure she can explain it all to me so I get it right :-)

Thanks heaps BG!!! (and everyone else )

[briggsy's girl]

the office staff are good - BUT they are often run off their feet

the ppp app works in your file babe - it gets you that higher rate of ftba and ccb (plus hcc) while you transition to work

[~StarBright~]

ok cool. Yeah its a small town office here, the quietist clink I have ever seen Not to say my lady isnt busy though, she is the one everyone waits to see, but generally you only have to wait five minutes

[briggsy's girl]

Oh... and (i think this is correct because I did it last year) - if you increase your estimate later on - you can choose to have your FTB and CCB 'adjusted' to avoid the debt as well.
So for example you estimate 70k combined income now and in four months you up it to 80k - not only will the FTB and CCB adjust to the new figure you are giving, but you can also elect to have more withheld to help it balance out - iykwim.

you have a "choice" to adjust CCB. it is mandatory for FTB to be adjusted - so always better to put in the higher estimate early