Living overseas - USA

[AUS_USA]

I currently reside overseas (USA) and have done so for 4 years (My husbands job brought us here). We had a son in 2007 who is an American Citizen.

We are in the process of getting my son an Australian Residency visa so we can move back to Australia. Can somebody please advise what Child Support Benefits we may be entitled to and how long we must be in the country in order to claim.

We have not claimed any Child Support Benefits or Baby Bonuses in the past.

Any help is certainly appreciated.

Thanks
Lara

[Traveller]

You will be entitled to family tax benefits straight away, depending on income. Have a look through the centrelink website Payments index for more info.

[AUS_USA]

Thanks for the link. We will have no income until my Husband finds a job. Do you know how long we will have to be in Australia before we become eligible. Centrelink website has nothing on this sunject.

[Traveller]

Are you an Australian citizen? If so you will be able to claim benefits straight away, unless they decide you have moved from an area with plentiful jobs to one without in which case I think they can make you wait 3 months.

For your husband it depends how long he has resided in Australia as a permanent resident. There is a 2 year waiting list for benefits such as jobseeker payment but if he has already been here for that long and just moved away temporarily then he might get them straight away.

[AUS_USA]

We are both Australian Permanent Residents. I have lived in Australia for 30+ years and my husband lived there for six years. Then we have both lived in USA for the last four years.

We will still be travelling in and out of Australia - USA for a while but not working in the USA. Will this affect our claim?

[Traveller]

You will not be able to claim family tax payments whilst you are out of the country (ours stopped as soon as the kids were noted to have left the country). I think with regards to unemployment help they might have a few issues if you were coming and going, the best thing to do would be call centrelink and see what they say.

[briggsy's girl]

FTB is claimable while overseas if it's is deemed short term travel (holiday etc) and that your actual place of residency is Australia. things like how long you've been in the country will be noted. your best bet is to make contact with the international team for infomation about your entitlements. there is much more to it than just residency - including your reason for unemployment, any pay outs you've received etc. if you contact them, they can help you out. if you send a message via the message us link on this page Contact us index they will be able to help you by contacting at an appropriate time