as far as I'm aware, they don't have a call back service so you may be waiting a while for that one!

Basic info:

Family Tax Benefit is paid to families with children whose income is below a certain level. There are two components. Your entitlement to Part A is calculated based on your combined (yours and your DP) gross income and needs to be below about $101,000 to be eligible for any payment. Part B is paid based on the income of the lower income earner, in your case, being a SAHM that will be you. With a child under 5, if your income for the financial year is below $4891 you should qualify for the maximum rate. You may not be eligible if your income is more than around $24,000 for the financial year.

To be paid FTB, you have to provide Centreli nk with an estimate of yours and your DHs gross income for the financial year. You will be paid based on the estimate you provide. At the end of the financial year, your tax returns are data matched and reconciled - if you under estimated your income and were overpaid, you may incur a debt. If you overestimated your income, you may be entitled to a top up from Centreli nk.

You also have the option with FTB to receive nil fortnightly payments, then wait for your tax returns to be completed and be paid the full years' entitlement in a lump sum.


Parenting Payment is an allowance paid to low income full time parents of young children. If you are partnered, only one member of a couple can receive PP. Your partners income will affect your entitlement and needs to be below about $1500 p/fortnight for you to be entitled to any PP. PP is taxable.

Baby Bonus and Paid Parental Leave - you can only receive one or the other of these. Centreli nk cannot advise you which one you are better off claiming. You will need to use the estimator on the website to calculate this.

Baby Bonus is $5000 paid in 13 installments. The first installment is around $800 and the rest are about $350. To be eligible, your combined income in the first 6 months following the birth of your baby must be below $75,000. Baby Bonus is not taxable.

Parental Leave Pay is paid to primary carers who have left work (or taken leave) due to birth of a child. You need to have worked for a total of 330 hrs across 10 of the 13 months prior to birth of the child and not had a break of more than 8 weeks. Your income in the financial year prior to the child's birth must have been less than $150k. You cannot work while receiving PLP. It is paid for 18 weeks and is the same rate as the federal minimum wage which at the moment is approx $580 p/w before tax. PLP is taxable. You can receive any maternity/parental leave entitlements from your employer as well as the government PLP.

As I said, this is basic info! If you do decide to claim FTB, BB or PLP, I would strongly encourage you to apply before the birth as the processing will be quicker. You can apply up to 3 months prior to your EDD. The application is done online. Once the baby is born, the hospital/birth centre/midwife will give you the remaining paperwork you need to finalise the claim. If you want to claim PP, you need to contact Centrelin k before your baby is 28 days old.

The estimator on the website is very thorough if you want an idea of how much you might be entitled to. Good luck!!