My partner is a non-resident. What am i entitled to?

[Fuzzywuzzy]

Hi Guys,

Alot of you seem to have the whole Centrelink and Family Assistance thing down pat so i am wondering if you can help me out.

I am in a little bit of a different situation because my partner is a non-resident of Australia and i am a citizen, born and bred here. He is currently here on a student visa which expires in a couple of months and we are not sure if he will be here for the birth of our baby in early April next year. We are not married although have been living together for 2 years and haven't applied for any spousal visas at this stage.

I am a bit confused as to how i will be treated by Centrelink and whether i will be eligible for Parenting payment or FTB A as well as rent assistance (rent is currently $380/wk). As i understand it I am entitled to FTB B and the baby bonus of course. I am currently earning $52,000 pa and will be taking 6 months maternity leave (12 weeks paid leave) starting in March. I have the option of taking this pay as 12 weeks full pay, or half pay over 24 weeks - which might be a better option if this reduces my taxable income for the 07-08 financial year.

I would really appreciate any information/advice that you have to offer.

Thanks,

Justine

[Muppity]

Firstly, welcome to BB and congrats on your pregnancy

Personally I would simply ring Centrelink and ask them. They will be in the best position to tell you everything.

But, I can't imagine that the residential status of your partner affects your payments - I would have thought that this was pretty much just done on income etc.

I would also ring the department of Immigration and find out what has to be done to keep him here - I think that it would be a shame for him to miss the birth just because of residency issues - and there is a fair bit of time between now and then to sort it out.

Good luck

[Mummyof2under2]

Hi and welcome,

I agree with Muppity. Ring them and get onto Immigration about his residency.

We have been through the Immigration thing and it is really stressful. I am married to an aussie but i am British. When we had DD i was only a temporary resident. DH was still able to get the baby bonus and we were able to get FTB A and B.
I am currently a permanent resident and looking into applying for my citizenship test

GL with everything. If you have any questions feel free to pm me

[briggsy's girl]

you will be eligible for payment - the thing that will come into it is how you're treated in regards to being partnered or single. there are hundreds of customers that have one residentially qualified person, one not. i would however make an effort to try and get his spousal visa or temporary residence visa sorted ASAP - it just makes things heaps easier for you!

[Lulu]

You as an aussie resident will be entitled to the Parenting Payment - all FTB and the Baby Bonus.
Your partner may be eligible depending on the type of visa and/or how long he has been residing here. There is usually a 2 year waiting period and he MAY have met the criteria.

Centrelink will be able to tell you able DH's eligibility.

[Fuzzywuzzy]

Thanks guys,

I suppose the thing i was most confused about is whether we will be treated as a couple or not, but i guess that will be dependent on his visa status at the time. I am definitely onto the whole immigration thing though, as if having a baby isn't stressful enough

[Lulu]

Apply anyway and ask them then. I have granted a single rate payment to a couple, but the man had his working visa revoked after 5 years working here. If you ring and ask they have a list of visas and eligibility.
xoxoxoxo