it is now another "social security" payment for families on "lower" incomes.
i honestly don't know if a larger car would be deemed a neccessity worthy of having the baby bonus paid in a lump sum as it is something that could be planned for. it's one of those things i really don't know sorry hun...
it isn't a maternity leave payment - the maternity leave reform suggestions are still going through submissions and things - they won't go through for quite a while i don't think
all so confusing, why wouldnt they have just left it the way it is. why do they have to confuse us and put most of us out who wanna put it towards things.
someone told me yesterday that your assets and profits come into the threshold too? is this correct? she was saying that they are going to sell their house in that 6 months and the profits from that would be added to theier 'income' which would set them as more than the 75 000.?
sale of a house in which they have capital gains and pay capital gains tax WILL contribute to it. that's with thanks to the tax department
BM - it's nothing to do with c'link - they just administer what the government of the day say they have to. the baby bonus was being abused by a portion of the community - it was widely known as the plasma bonus. KRudd has done what, IMO, should have been done in the first place. initially the maternity payment/baby bonus was there to increase population growth (one for her, one for him, one for the country) but population growth stabilised and the payment was no longer intended for that purpose - it was then changed by the Labour government to reflect financial assistance for lower income families to try and help in keeping mothers at home for those crucial first six months. a lump sum payment doesn't do that. it doesn't supplement any part of a wage. it gives the person money they can spend in a lump sum - but what do you really NEED for baby at that point - unless you've not taken the months before birth (and let's be realistic, almost everyone knows they are pg for 6 months before a term birth) to prepare? the payment can take up to a month to administer once paperwork is in, and you have months to submit it - so it's not going to help you with immediate needs when baby arrives anyway!
yes, for some people, the lump sum seems more beneficial - who doesn't want to have $5k go into the bank - but the reality of it is that, even though the name has not yet changed, the baby "bonus" is no longer a BONUS - it's a form of income support for eligible families. i have no issue cutting the payment to higher income families (i DO have an issue with having a hard cut off point though - it should be a sliding scale). i have no issue with it being paid fortnightly (for some, that fortnightly payment for those six weeks will be enough to supplement mortgage or rent - MUCH more important than a large payment to buy STUFF)
not everyone is going to agree - this is MY opinion only. well, maybe not just mine - it obviously has been studied by governement advisors who believe it will be more beneficial to the majority of lower income families to do what it is meant to do - to help them survive financially after the birth of a baby
how would this work...
The woman has the main income but will obv not be earning for the 6 months - may mat leave will cover about 20K say...
The DH earns about 100K - so 50K for the 6 months...
so inthe 6 months the income would be 70K... but the womanthen goes back to work when the baby is 7 months and earns much above for the remainder of the yr. would this couple get the money (not really low income family but i guess the incomes arent split the 'traditional' way)
I work for Centrelink in a communication role and part of my job is to provide info to the community about the payments and services we deliver, including changes to things like Baby Bonus.
The general principle you've followed is basically correct - that is, dividing your family's annual income in half is a pretty good way of working out if you are likely to be eligible or not. If you're on half-pay while on Maternity Leave or are only be paid for part of the six months, make sure your estimate is based on that. Also, don't forget to include things like share dividends if you've got them. Briggsy's Girl was right re the sliding scale for payment of the Bonus - if your income isn't $75,000 or below, you're not entitled.
Since the beginning of the year, the Baby Bonus is now being paid in 13 fortnightly instalments, rather than as a lump sum. Legislation no longer allows Centrelink to pay the bonus as a lump sum. If your baby was born before 1 January 2009, you'll still get it as a lump sum though.
The profits from the sale of a house may be taken into account but there are special rules for how this works.
If you're in this situation or think your income is close to $75,000, we're telling people to ring Centrelink on 13 6150 and we can make sure people are able to provide a fairly accurate estimate, as well as to discuss their options such as lodging once the income is known.
Last edited by nataliej; January 22nd, 2009 at 12:11 PM.
PAP - That's how I understand it to work, it's the income in the immediate 6 months from bubs being born so that family would get it. I don't know how they can manage that though as it isn't reflected in tax returns or anything. Sounds like it is going to cost a lot more to administer than it did before and there aren't that many families that are going to miss out so overall it will cost the government more.
I have a related question you ladies might be able to help me with. Under "normal" circumstances DH and I earn just above the $150k limit but I am the primary bread winner by about 30%. Luckily, the company I work for will give me 12 weeks fully paid maternity leave to be taken in lump sum when I go on leave (before baby is born) So technically for the next six months or so we will be "earning" less than the $75k. Does my maternity payment from the company make me ineligible for the baby bonus?
I wish I could say we didn't need it but after IVF costs, anticipated birth costs and our giant mortgage I have to say we could really do with it. As it is, I will only be able to take off the three paid months that work pays for then baby will have to go to full time care. I know there are many in a much worse position than us and we put ourselves in this situation but just want to know if we are eligible if worse came to worse...
Thanks in advance for any info! I have searched the web and found nothing on the BB as it relates to paid maternity leave.
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