The Government has introduced reforms to remove discrimination to enable same-sex couples and children from same-sex relationships to be recognised by Commonwealth law.
From 1 July 2009 changes to family assistance legislation means that the Family Assistance Office will recognise all couples, regardless of the sexual orientation or gender of a partner.
Customers living in a same-sex de facto relationship will be recognised as partnered and will be assessed in the same way as opposite-sex couples.
Will the changes affect me?
From 1 July 2009, if you receive or claim family assistance and you are in a same-sex de facto relationship, you may be affected.
A same-sex de facto relationship is where two people are living together - or usually live together - and are members of a couple. If a same-sex de facto relationship is registered under a prescribed law of a State or Territory and the two people have not separated, they are members of a couple. If a same-sex de facto relationship is not registered, establishing whether two people are members of a couple involves consideration of financial and social aspects of the relationship, nature of the household, presence or absence of a sexual relationship, and nature of the commitment. Evidence relating to these and other factors may be considered, although not all factors need to be present for a decision to be made.
Customers with children from a previous same-sex relationship, and in receipt of Family Tax Benefit, may be required to take action to collect child support.
How could my payments change?
Your payments may be affected depending on your individual circumstances and the type of payment you receive. Most payments are assessed based on the combined income of both partners.
You may receive a different rate of payment, or you may stop receiving a payment once both you and your partner's income are included in the assessment. In some cases you may no longer be eligible for particular payments.
If you are a separated parent with children from a same-sex relationship, you are able to apply for child support. If you receive Family Tax Benefit you may be required to take action to collect child support if you have a child from a previous same-sex relationship.
What do I have to do?
From 30 March to 30 June 2009 you will be able to tell the Family Assistance Office if you are in a same-sex de facto relationship. Your payments will not be reassessed until 1 July 2009.
If you advise the Family Assistance Office prior to 1 July 2009, you will have the opportunity to discuss the possible changes to your payment. You will also be able to provide the information about your partner that is required to reassess your payment.
From 1 July 2009 you must advise the Family Assistance Office if you are in a same-sex de facto relationship. If you are overpaid because you have not told the Family Assistance Office that you are in a de facto relationship, you may have to pay back some or all of your overpayment.
If you have a child from a previous same sex relationship, from 1 July 2009 you must take reasonable action to obtain child support to get more than the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A for that child. If you do not take reasonable action, you may have to repay some of your Family Tax Benefit Part A.
If you are receiving any payment or concession card from the Family Assistance Office you should
contact the Family Assistance Office if you are in a same-sex de facto relationship or if you have children from a same-sex relationship.
What about my privacy?
The Family Assistance Office takes customer privacy very seriously. Staff have been trained to ensure that information about customer relationships is protected from unauthorised access or misuse.
The Family Assistance Office may lawfully request information from relevant third parties, depending on the circumstances, in order to determine correct entitlements to payments and may also give relevant personal information to authorised agencies where the disclosure is required or authorised under law.
