Parenting payment troubles

Okay, baby was born 3 weeks ago, 4 weeks early.

Last week C was told by Centrelink that if she dropped in the completed form she got from the hospital to Medicare, and then rang Centrelink and told them, she would be changed over from Newstart to Parenting payment and backpaid that day.

She then did this, but when she rang Centrelink they said they had to wait for it to come onto their system. They advised that if she went back to Medicare and picked up the form and brought it to Centrelink, they could scan it and it would be on their system and be backpaid. When she rang the Medicare office in question, they said that they have a Centrelink officer working in the office, so it wouldn't be necessary.

She called Centrelink 2 days ago to ask if it was in - not in.
She called Centrelink yesterday - told it wasn't in, would definitely be in this morning.

She called Centrelink this morning and was told it would take 5 weeks, and C can't do anything to speed it up. She was told she should've given part f the form to Medicare and brought the other part to Centrelink. When she asked what she's supposed to live on in the meantime, she was told she's still getting Newstart. 'Tis not enough.

Is there anything we can do? And is there any point to complaining about the lack of correct info?

until the proof of birth turns up on c'link systems, no one there can do anything. medicare collect the form and have to send it off to be scanned in canberra - it can take up to a couple of weeks. once it's on the system, she can speak to someone about getting it done. until that form is available, c'link staff have their hands tied.

Can u take the form direct to centrelink? I did last time but not sure if rules have changed. The Medicare office I went too had boxes stacked 5 high in the corner so there was NO way I was leaving it there for them to loose it

I was in this situation when I had my dd, I handed my birth forms in to BDM personally and my centrelink/Medicare forms in to them personally, (family assistance is associated with Medicare not centrelink as far as forms are concerned), it still took 8 weeks, it gets backdated to the day of birth (so it will get backdated no matter what she does) BUT that doesn't help in the meantime. Unfortunately there's not a lot you can do BUT she can request an appointment with a centrelink social worker for possible emergency help/try to speed the process, although this may not work. Also if she is applying for single pp then she HAS to make a claim for child support otherwise her pp won't be approved, if it's partnered then her partners income has to be taken in to account too.

I always thought it took 5 weeks :dunno:

In the meantime, can she borrow some money or go to the Salvos or Vinnies or even your congregation for some help?

Just to correct some misinformation in your post mummy_allyk
Family assistance is a part of centrelink that Medicare has limited access to in their offices. The processing of claims was previously shared between centrelink offices and Medicare specialist staff that were trained. That is no longer the case. No forms are processed at your local centrelink office for fao claims, and very few, if any, are processed by Medicare staff on their offices. Medicare staff can update estimates if absolutely necessary. Maybe make some updates - but their access and knowledge is extremely limited. Fao updates are auctioned by fao/centrelink staff.

Contracting a social worker at this point relating to the claim in question is pointless. Until the proof of birth is received on the centrelink file, which, if lodged at a Medicare office, can take up to two weeks, nothing can be done by anyone to speed the process as there is no proof of birth available to confirm the child exists. A social worker can make recommendations up the wazoo but nothing can be acted upon until that proof if birth can be viewed on the file.

Parenting payment single is NOT contingent on claiming child support. This is not the case AT ALL. The ability to get more than $50 ish per fortnight if ftb part a is related to child support assessment, and yes, after a period of time, if no claim has been made for child support, ftba will reduce. But it does not have any impact on parenting payment at all


Keike, I can't recall exactly, but I have vague recollections of your nieces dad going back overseas. It will still be an expectation that your sister contact child support if that is the case, but if he is in a country with no reciprocal agreement for child support purposes, she will likely be exempted from the child support side of things until her returns to Australia

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I always thought it took 5 weeks :dunno:

In the meantime, can she borrow some money or go to the Salvos or Vinnies or even your congregation for some help?

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The aim is to have them done ASAP. It really depends on how many claims are on hand at any given time though. They get done as quickly as they can. If people make preclaims before the birth it helps to speed the process afterwards as any missing info is able to be chased up before bub arrives.

The salvos should be able to give her some financial assistance if she contacts her closest centre and explains the situation.

what extra expenses does she have at the moment, that Newstart doesn't cover? you might be able to get assistance with these. does she need things for the baby?