Parenting payment partnered?

[~StarBright~]

Hey Mildez.. I recently started to get PPP as DH changed jobs to a local job that didnt pay enough to pay the bills! I have just gone back to work though because even with PPP it just wasnt enough, but I have my print out... here are some figures

If you own your home and your combined assets exceed $265,000 then you wont receive anything

If you dont own your home your assets cant exceed $400,000

If your DH earns MORE than $1558.34 BEFORE tax per FORTNIGHT you will receive nothing

After that there is a sliding scale... up to 1400 a fornight and you get like $100, up to 1300 a f/n you get like $155 and so on and so on...

Now for us, DH is a casual, and some weeks he scrapes to where I would get nothing, but other weeks I would still have gotten something (if i didnt get a job) But before my application was accepted I had to show payslips from his work showing that I would be ellidgable (spelling, sorry lol)

Two days after I got accepted for the PPP I got a job, and I now still have to report both out incomes, and even the weeks that I would have gotten something because DH didnt make up to the $1500, I dont get anything coz I made money- BUT it was worth it because I get other beneifts from being on it (which i will technically be for 12 weeks of zero payment- if i get any payment between now and then, the 12 weeks starts again) like the HCC. Its nice to know its there, as we are both casual and if something happens to one of us then we know there is an avenue for the extra money (although as I discovered when DH was off sick and got barely any pay I didnt get anything because I got paid lol I think there should be a different way of calculating like a combined income rather than the way it is with both parents working. If our incomes had been swapped, like if I had earned what DH earned and he had earned what I did- I would have gotten like $300, but because it wasnt I got nothing!- Sorry my complaint there!!!)

As for the HCC though.. if your DH's income is less than $42,000 a year you are elidigble for one. I didnt realise this and when I went to estimate our income when DH got his lower paying job I still wanted to overestimate and went with 50k on the computer at home (a combo of what he had already earned in the high paying job this financial year and what he would get with the new job), and when I went into the office the lady explained that I should actually work it out because if its less than the $42k I get the HCC. So i figured it out and worked it out to be roughly $35k, so I made it 40k.. then within two days it all changed coz I got a job but I was lucky I went on it for the two days between me joining and me getting a job, coz now I still have the HCC for another 2 months or so!!

Ohh and the other thing to consider is that the PPP is a TAXABLE income, so it means with the FTB part B, where if your a stay home mum your income is zilch and you get the full amount, if you get PPP you have to include that in your combined family income estimate which will effect your FTB.

So i guess it comes down to what your DH is making and whether your entitled to it. It is a lot of messing around to GET it to begin with, and honestly its not alot of money- unless your Dh earns around $900 a fortnight, and then you get about $400 a fortnight. We worked out that yes, it would have helped us in the short term, to keep us with minimal food in the cuboard, but that for us we had to chose between DH traveling for work and working huge hours and never seeing the kids, or I had to look for work. I was really lucky and got a job that I can do nights and weekends so DH is home with the kids, and two days that the kids are in childcare (but they are 3 and 1, not young bubs) and because of night and weekend penalites.. some weeks I make more than DH working less hours We have more family time and more money than if he had just worked and I got the PPP.

Good luck with it, I hope it all works out for you to be able to feel financially stable again xoxox

But that is us and our circumstances. I dont know if i could have left a young bub to go to work, and I dont know what your DH's job is or if you will actually really appriciate the extra cash, but fo rus, the $50 odd a week, wasnt enough to help.

[Mildez]

Thanks for your replies. Its all so confusing. My DH is a tradesmen who works for himself. His a plasterer so say he renovates a room and gets $1000 for a supply and fix job maybe $400 of that is with materials (gyprock, plaster, tape etc) last financial year his taxable income was $21000 but gross income was $50,000 this is the part I dont understand. We almost own the home we live in which will be sold in the next 6-12months and then our other property we owe the lot. It doesn't have a tennant in it as we are about to move into it so this place can be painted and then sold. DH also has quiet a sum of money in his account as he needs alot to run his buisness. If he plasters a new home he may need $10000 worth of materials then it takes him 6weeks and often he doesn't get paid until a month after his finished. So currently his been paid recently so his account looks healthy but then he may go for 3months without getting a cent. I have a job to return to as a midwife as soon as DH can manage DD. We wont put her in care as 2 kids in care is just not worth the amount we pay out in child care, then the loss of income from the kids getting sick etc. Now the baby bonus is over my direct debits aren't covered by the amount of FTB I get (insurances, preschool fee's and rates) DH is really feeling the pressure and I want to return to work but I think they will put way to much stress on him it doesn't seem worth it this year. My pumpkin plants are just not growing fast enough or producing anything to eat yet lol.

[e_p]

with regards to the asset limit and your second property: depending on the value of the propert, if the second property is heavily mortgaged you may be under the asset limit UNLESS you used your principal home (home you live in) as security to obtain the loan for the second property. If your principal home was not used as security to obtain the loan for the second property, the assessable value of the property will be whatever the value of the property is (usually Centrelink will use the Capital Improved Value on the most recent rates notice, OR will request that the Australian Valuation Office determine the value of the property) minus the outstanding mortgage. For example, if the second property is worth $450,000 but there is a $400,000 loan outstanding, the net assessable value is $50,000. This is well under the asset limit, so as long as the net property value plus the remainder of your assets (shares, managed investments, savings, cars, household contents etc) is under $265,000, you will not be excluded on the basis of assets.

In terms of your DH being self-employed, in most circumstances, Centrelink will use his most recent business tax return to determine the net income from his business (i.e. gross income minus expenses) and your rate of Parenting Payment will be determined based on this figure. This is the case unless the current circumstances are different to what was reflected in his most recent tax return - for example, business has experienced a downturn, loss of contract, reduction in hours due to illness or family circumstances. If current circumstances are different to his most recent tax return, he will be required to provide a quarterly profit and loss statement to determine the net income from his business.

If you also return to work, you will be required to report your gross wages on a fortnightly basis - you can do this via online channels so not required to attend the office. You may be asked to provide payslips from time to time to confirm you are reporting your wages correctly.

Hope that helps x

[briggsy's girl]

firstly - WOW Eutra!! you're so close to due!! WOW!! awesome!!

secondly - Mildez - take Eutra's word at it! she works with this stuff!

the only way to know for sure if you'll qualify is to ring up, apply, and then let the staff that know the job assess you. if you apply and take all the stuff to centrelink to find out you don't qualify, no harm no foul - you tried. if you don't apply and could have qualified, you'll not get arrears payments, so it's money you'll never get anyway.

[e_p]

Thanks for your replies. Its all so confusing. My DH is a tradesmen who works for himself...last financial year his taxable income was $21000 but gross income was $50,000 this is the part I dont understand.

As I said in my previous post, if current circumstances are the same as they were for the most recent tax return, Centrelink will use those figures to calculate his income. If the net income from your husbands business was $21000, this calculates to about $807 per fortnight which is below the partner income free area - if this is the only income, you should be entitled to max rate Parenting Payment Partnered

Also - be prepared to make a few visits to the Centrelink office to take documents in - your circumstances are a little more complex than most people's so it may take a little longer than usual to be assessed. Claims for Parenting Payment Partnered are ideally finalised within 28 days of lodging the claim

BG - Yep - any day now!! Very exciting and loving being on mat leave so far! Managed to work up until 37w4d so I can have as long as possible at home with bub