the c'link side of it - family tax benefit part a has two components - base rate (approx $52 per fortnight) and the amount above the base rate (the rest of it - approx $100 a fortnight). for a single parent (or a person who has seperated from the parent of their child and repartnered) you are assessed for ftba dependent on your child support status

if you choose not to apply for child support, or don't have a REASONABLE child support agreement with your ex, you will get nothing more than base rate, no matter what your income is. this can be a private or CSA agreement, but if you go private, and your ex is earning mega bucks but you agree to a pittance to keep him happy, it's deemed an unreasonable agreement. also if you have a private arrangement to collect your money and you don't collect, or don't collect your FULL entitlement, you will be dropped to base rate. for example - CSA says your ex has to be pay $200 a month but you decide to only collect $100 for whatever reason (keep him happy, you're being intimidated etc) - if that becomes known to FAO you will be dropped to basic rate of payment. i ALWAYS suggest CSA collect your money -yes, its a PITA that it's only dispersed once a month so you have to wait til then, but if he doesn't pay for whatever reason, there is a record

with FAO/C'link - you have an amount of child support you are able to receive that doesn't impact your payment - for one child i BELIEVE it's around the $1800 mark but i can't be sure. brain is fried at the moment! anyway - for that first $1800 (as an example) nothing happens to your FTB at all. when your annual entitlement goes over $1800, your FTB/rent assistance combined payment is reduced by 50c in the dollar. neither of these payments is taxable so the reduction is only ever that 50c. now that 50c in the dollar occurs over the full 12 months/26 fortnights - so if you are entitled to $100 over that threshold for the year, your fortnightly entitlement is reduced by less than $2 ($50 reduction over 26 fortnights).

this can become a bit more complex if you get a lump sum in the middle of the year (garnished tax cheque paying arrears etc) or if he changes his job mid year and your entitlement changes. this is why it's always best to have CSA collect for you - there is a record of every dollar that you receive and it's monitored so that, if he doesn't pay up, they will chase it later. employer garsnishing isn't automatic - and can be painful to set up if the employer doesn't want to help - but CSA have recently gained more powers to follow up

another reason it's good to get CSA to collect - monies received for child support ONLY impact FTBA in the financial year in which they are received - so, if you're ENTITLED to $2500 - that's $700 over the threshold, so over the course of the year, you would have an ftb reduction of $350. if he decided not to pay that, and over the course of the year you only received $2000 in child support, when reconcilliation occurs, CSA will notify FAO of exactly what you got, FAO acknowledge you were underpaid FTB as you didn't receive your child support, and will give you the additional FTB you didn't receive (so you get an extra $300 at tax time). if this occured on a private collection (where he gives you the money direct) you'd be $300 out of pocket as there is no proof of what has happened

i hope that makes sense - if it doesnt PLEASE let me know which bit confuses you and i'll elaborate - it's hard to answer as thoroughly online as you do on the phone/in person cos you can't read someone's cues as to whether it's making sense!