Applying for baby bonus/parents payment

[ScottyDuck]

Hey everyone,

We've been procrastinating on this and now I sit down to do it... It's bloody hard! It tells me I have to Fill in an estimator online and that's all I have left, but I don't get how this estimator tells them anything? It's not like it has a button saying submit form to centrelink. HELP!!


From the guy that gave the world Ianto and Amelia

[Charlotte91]

Don't have any advice, but its a complete joke. DD is near 4 months old and we haven't got money yet. Centrelink has to be the worst thing to deal with ever.

*hug*

Good luck!

[Just Me]

Don't have any advice, but its a complete joke. DD is near 4 months old and we haven't got money yet. Centrelink has to be the worst thing to deal with ever.

*hug*

Good luck!

DH is starting to wonder if Centrelink has a cash flow problem We filled in the form and they sent us a rejection letter within two weeks so we didn't see it (a dot point note written on the back of our FTB info sheet). Since they say the maximum processing time is 3 weeks, we rang them at 4 weeks after they lodged it and they said it had been rejected because we hadn't claimed to the carers of the child or something - doesn't make sense since our FTB went through with no issues. If he wasn't in our care why did that change? So we filled in the whole form online and we are still waiting even though we were told initially it would only take 1 to 2 days to process. It has been another 2 and a half weeks. We rang them yesterday and they said they have just implemented a minimum 3 week processing period now so even if our form has been processed they won't start paying anything until at least 3 weeks since we lodged. Grrr ... irritating!

Sorry small centrelink vent there.

[PumpkinZulu]

Did you do the portions of the application that you can do in advance? That should at least make it a bit easier. But yeaaaaaah, sorry no joy from me, DF handles most of our paperwork (he has the mind for it, accounting!) because it makes me want to hide Hopefully someone will have some constructive advice!

[emc2]

You have to estimate your income so they can process the claim. I think you'd just keep going to the next page. I'm already on another Centrelink benefit so I just put that in, in the appropriate sections. The estimator is different to the Centrelink Rate Estimator, because this time you are estimating your income, rather than what you are receiving from them.

[ScottyDuck]

That's the thing, it's all done, but it says to complete the application you must now go online and provide more information... My idea would be to put more pages in what I need to fill out so that I don't get lost on the stupid government websites!


From the guy that gave the world Ianto and Amelia

[~clover~]

I didn't. Take the forms into the office & see what they say

[beckoes]

i just filled in the forms and was told by one centerlink person on the phone to do the esimator thingo....got confused, rang back and was told not to bother by the next person. we just went in to our local medicare office and they said it was all fine and we put it in last week. was told we should get the baby bonus sometime this week....and the FTB with out next payment next tuesday.

[PumpkinZulu]

Ahh mkay, I'm with you now! How odd, maybe just try it and see why online services does? I assume it'll record it like all online services, and at the end there may be a page with a receipt number or something? I'd call them up, ask them, ask for a receipt number for that call and then do it online...that way, if there's an issue, you have proof that you called and enquirer about it, and that you were given that info. Let us know how you go...argh it's making my brain melt just thinking about it!

[Frantelle]

I had the same problem it has to do with the family tax brnefit. I had to go in and redo the online portion of the application. Maybe you could give them a call they were very helpful when I called.


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[Miss.September]

We ended up taking the forms in and did it at the office. The lady DH spoke to on the phone didn't understand that I wasn't working anymore and kept telling him to give her my current income. When he asked if she meant the income that I was earning, she said no, the income now, he said I wasn't working and she said that we weren't entitled to it at all. Very frustrating. We did get it, but we took it into the office.

[UsPlus2]

aaah dont get me started on that %#!@ form! I was told tha since we were already recieving FTB we only had to fill in one section, so did that, went in to hand it in and low and behold had to do the whole thing! oh was not a happy camper, thankfully the lady was really helpful and told us which questions we could skip (like the passport question) and she processed it. having said that I never filled anything in online either time. If you have a good Family assistance office I would try going in, at least then you can also hand the form in and get the ball rolling quicker.

[sconeonamission]

It's a freaking stupid form! I had to call up about 3 times. Apparently if you lodge it at Medicare, they input it then and there... They told me 3weeks. We are currently flat broke, so it better not take 4 months.

We applied for the baby bonus, not paid parental leave...

[UsPlus2]

MIne was processed within 4 weeks. think its meant to-be done in 21 days. It's a good idea to call them around 3 weeks after you hand it in to make sure they don't need any more info.

[Ahurani]

We went in yesterday and they said we will get ours on Wednesday or Thursday. But we had a letter from the social worker

[ScottyDuck]

Our slackness is still an issue then, because we haven't sent off the registration for her birth and hence don't have a birth certificate... Should that matter though? Coz with Ianto I did it all at once and they didn't need to see it...


From the guy that gave the world Ianto and Amelia

[skybie]

ive never needed a birth cert to claim the baby bonus

[Frantelle]

If you have the form with the section that was completed by the midwife then no you do not need the birth certificate. If you do not have this form then yes you will need the birth certificate.

Sorry I should say the I claim the Baby Bonus (last year) not paid parental leave and it took the full 28 day procesing time (that is 28 days from the date they had all the information required by them).