What is the point...

[~MummaBear~]

I am trying to figure out what the point of claiming the baby bonus/ FTB online 3 months before is... I did that and i still had to fill out all the paper work when bub was born and it has been 19 days since we claimed and it still hasn't been processed. When i had the other kids it was all done within 3 or 4 days so we kinda counted on the money before Christmas and when i rang this morning they said they take 21 days to process and then 2 days after that it will be in the bank so we wont have our money until a week after Christmas... so the online bit i did before bub was born didnt speed anything up, it didnt stop all the paper work i had to fill out so just wondering what is the point of it

[Lulu]

You are always given a time frame of UP TO 21 days for these payments. With the others you got very good service, I'm sure this will completed by the 21 days as well.

[~MummaBear~]

oh yeah i know! im not exactly complaining.. altho it would be nice to get it quick i was jsut wondering what the point of the pre claim is cause i didnt do it with the others and they were processed alot faster so it doesnt make it quicker and i filled out just as much paperwork ( well actually more because i answered the questions online then answered the same questions again on paper) so it didnt save any time/ effort there either.. it just seems like a bit of a waste of time!
so yeah not a vent just a genuine question!!

[Lulu]

I have no frackin idea and it sounds like a bunch of baloney to me

C'link don't seem to understand the whole "if it ain't broke don't fix it" theory. You are just adding a bubs on, not doing a whole new claim fgs. I used to hate working there during policy or claim changes - it would take about 2 minutes for the office staff to pick out 100 problems with any "new, improved" way of dealing with things. Pity they never used to listen to us in the FIRST place

[~MummaBear~]

well im glad it wasnt just me that didnt think it was a good change lol
Gee why would they listen to the office staff?? you are JUST office staff afterall lol

[Lulu]

Duuude, you have no idea of the millions they have already spent on software that never even makes it through the change process in the first place. Then you get a new government that comes in making all sorts of promises and it hits the fan ALL OVER AGAIN.
The pollies wouldn't bother listening to the drones on the frontline, they WILL however swan into the offices for a photo op and shake the hands of the staff they make life hard for. Last time they did that no one wanted to meet them and the TL's had to come threaten us.... I hid behind a pot plant because I knew I couldn't keep my mouth shut.

[~MummaBear~]

i couldnt imagine you having a problem keeping your mouth shut ROFL ROFL

[luna moth]

Urgh - i did the pre-claim too, then still had to do the paperwork, so toook it in to drop it off and some disgusting scrote TOUCHED my baby ew ew ew ew ew. I put sanitising gel on her hands, not great for her, but better than whatever that dropkick was trying to give her.

[briggsy's girl]

the pre claim is mostly for paid parental leave - there is a lot more processing involved as it needs to go through and, in a lot of cases, be paid via the employer - lots more data matching there

if additional info is needed, you are notified before the baby arrives so you don't need to do it after baby arrives (hence delaying claim) - but it doesn't put you ahead of anyone who didn't pre-claim in actually getting it processed

you don't actually need to do a claim online if you're just adding a child - as long as you are aware that you may need to provide verification of earnings if your estimate is over 60k for the six months after baby arrives - all you need to do is lodge the proof of birth!


oh yeah, it DOES save you having to spend time online when you have a precious baby to spend time with!

[Early Kids]

Either way, I hope the payment comes in quick. I got DS2's a LOT quicker than DS1's, but I also posted the paperwork off sooner too! (DS1 was about 3 weeks old when I decided to post in CL paperwork )

[~MummaBear~]

i just have one more question.. is it UP to 21 days or Up to 21 'working' days?

[briggsy's girl]

the expectation is that at laeat 70% of claims are processed within 21 days - that still means there are 30% that may not be.

[Just Me]

I think it is up to 21 normal days ... 3 weeks but that wouldn't include public holidays. I think they just process it as fast as they can so if there are a lot of people lodging forms at the same time, it would take longer. We have had anywhere from one week to three weeks when we have lodged ours with each of our kids.

You never know, the first payment of your baby bonus might still be in by Christmas