you can claim up to three months before EDD, online. in that claim, you will need to estimate your income for the 10/11 year. it will be processed and accepted, pending proof of birth. once your proof of birth (the paperwork from the hospital) is received, you will become active. it can take about 3 weeks from when it is received.

once it is received, and your payments activated, you will be asked to provide an income estimate for the new financial year too

you will need to put in a 10/11 estimate, and an estimate for the six months immediately following EDD, both in the online claim and on your paper form - so keep a record of what you put in the online claim - baby/new mummy brain makes it easy to forget!