Paid Parental Leave and Baby Bonus

[briggsy's girl]

The impending arrival of a new baby means making decisions about eligibility for payments. As well as family tax benefit (I will do a separate thread), you have to decide if you apply for Government Paid Parental Leave (PPL) or Baby Bonus (BBY), and then work out how to apply. This thread will give links to the information you’ll need to make decisions about which payment is most appropriate for your family, and whether you will qualify for the most appropriate payment for you.

Paid Parental Leave Scheme

The Paid Parental Leave scheme is a government-funded entitlement for working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. If eligible, you may receive up to 18 weeks of Parental Leave Pay at the National Minimum Wage. It is, as most pay is, taxable.

Baby Bonus

Baby Bonus is paid in 13 fortnightly instalments. It is paid to eligible families following the birth (including stillbirth) of a child. You can also claim it for adopted children who enter your care before they turn 16 years old

You cannot receive both Parental Leave Pay and Baby Bonus for the same child.


In a multiple birth, you may receive PPL for one child and BBY for additional child/ren. If you do not meet the qualification for PPL, you may receive BBY for all children in the birth

As PPL is taxable, you need to keep in mind that 18 weeks of payment will impact your taxable income for the year, as well as your FTB entitlement and any CCB entitlements. When making any decision about whether to claim PPL, you need to factor these things in yourself. It can be difficult to decide which payment is more appropriate for your family. There is a fact sheet and PPL/BBY estimator that will help you decide. Make sure you put in as much information as you can when completing the estimator so that you get the most accurate information possible. The estimator will not tell you which payment to apply for, it will simply say that, based on the information you have provided, you will end up with x amount more money in your hand if you take one option over the other. It is important to be as accurate as possible when running the estimator so that you know you are getting the most relevant information

Claiming parental leave or baby bonus choosing PPL or BBY factsheet

https://www.centrelink.gov.au/RateEs...mbinedStart.do estimator


The first thing to do, if you think you may qualify for PPL, is to check whether you meet the eligibility criteria, and then run the estimator via the link above.

Eligibility for the Paid Parental Leave Scheme

It is important to make sure you meet the work test, and it seems to be the bit that catches most people out.

Work test
To meet the Paid Parental Leave work test you must have:
• worked for at least 10 of the 13 months before the birth or adoption of your child and
• worked for at least 330 hours in that 10-month period (just over one day a week), with no more than an eight-week gap between any two consecutive working days.
A working day is a day on which you have worked for at least one hour.
If pregnancy complications and/or a premature birth have prevented you from meeting the work test, just let us know. There are some exceptions.
You do not need to be working full time in order to be eligible for Parental Leave Pay. You may meet the work test even if you:
• are a part-time, casual, or seasonal worker or
• are a contractor or self-employed or
• work in a family business (such as a farm) or
• have multiple employers or
• have recently changed jobs.
If you work for a family business (such as a farm), you can include your hours of work even if the business is not generating any income, providing that you are doing the work for financial gain or benefit.

It is important to note that you have to meet ALL the criteria. Working 330 hours in a ten month period does not allow you to have a period of three months off prior to the birth of the child and still meet the criteria. You must have worked 10 of the 13 months before estimated due date (EDD) AND not have had a period of more than 8 weeks between any day of work. If you are looking at your period of leave immediately preceding the birth of the child, it cannot exceed 8 weeks (and you will then have had to work 10 of the 11 months prior to the date you start your leave) - if you have your baby after EDD (which is very common) this would be taken into account - you may need to provide documentation from the doctor regarding EDD vs actual date of birth due to going past EDD if it's a significant time frame

If there are exceptional circumstances (premature birth, complications of pregnancy that prevent you working but you WOULD have met the criteria had this not arisen) it can be looked at on a case by case basis.

PPL is the equivalent of minimum wage each week for an 18 week period. If you return to work before the 18 week period has expired you will lose eligibility for the payment. You can nominate any start date you like but you must have received your entire 18 weeks payment before the childs first birthday so the latest you can start is when your child is 34 weeks old, otherwise you’ll miss out on some of the payment.

PPL may have an impact on other payments/entitlements, beyond those mentioned here. Below is a link that will give you further information

Effect on existing payments and support

If you don’t qualify for PPL, you may qualify for Baby Bonus

Baby Bonus is payable if your family's estimated combined adjusted taxable income is $75 000 or less in the six months after your child is born or enters your care.
You have up to one year from the birth of your baby or from the time a child enters your care, to claim Baby Bonus and provide your income estimate. If your income is initially too high or your circumstances change, you should tell us immediately and we can reassess your claim.

Baby bonus is not a taxable payment, so does not impact ftb entitlement or taxable incomes at all. It is paid over a period of 26 weeks – a first instalment that is higher (approx. $875 at the moment) and then 12 fortnightly instalments of approx. $375 each. If you have a multiple birth, you can receive baby bonus for all children, or you may qualify for PPL for one child and BBY for each subsequent child in the same birth. BBY must be claimed by the childs first birthday.


How is it paid?

Payment of BBY is direct from the Family Assistance Office to your nominated account. The first payment is received within a couple of days of the claim being finalised, and the remaining instalments are fortnightly from this date. You cannot choose what day you receive payment

Payment of PPL is generally through your employers payroll. There are circumstances in which FAO will make the payment direct to your bank account, but generally it is expected that your payment is made via your employer. When your PPL is processed, your employer is contacted. Payment is sent to the employer, and from the employer, it is delivered to you to fit with their normal pay cycle (weekly/fortnightly/monthly). Sometimes there is a delay between FAO processing and approving your claim, and the employer accepting the payment and starting to pay into your account. If you need to confirm payment dates, you will need to check with your employer.


Making a claim

The claim process varies for PPL and BBY depending on what your current circumstances are and which payment you are claiming.
If you are already in receipt of Family Tax Benefit (FTB), and you’re intending to claim BBY for your new baby, you don’t need to do anything before the baby arrives. You will be given a form in hospital when your baby arrives, which has proof of birth on the back. Complete the form, stating you wish to claim BBY (and FTB if that is the case) and post it in the replied paid envelope. You will need to provide an estimate of family income for the six months immediately after the baby is born – if your estimate as a family for those six months exceeds $60000, you will be asked to provide evidence that confirms it does not exceed the $75000 limit. If you’re lodging a claim this way, it’s probably a good idea to lodge the evidence at the same time so that your claim is not delayed

If you are claiming BBY and not receiving FTB for other children, you can lodge a pre-claim up to three months before your EDD. To do this, you will need to use online services on the Human Services website. If you’re not already registered, there is an option there to register yourself. When the claim is lodged online before the EDD of your baby, it is sent to FAO, and eligibility assessed. If any further information is required to assess your claim, it can be requested before your baby arrives so that you don’t end up having to chase extra information after giving birth. At the end of the claim process, you will be asked to provide any extra information – make sure you get that information into FAO within 14 days so your claim can be completed. When your baby arrives, you will follow the same process as above, providing the proof of birth for your baby as supplied by the hospital.

If you are claiming PPL, you will need to do an online claim. This can be done up to 3 months before EDD

Lodging a Parental Leave Pay claim

In the same way as the BBY can be pre-assessed, so can PPL. Your eligibility can be confirmed, and required evidence can be obtained. Contact can be made with your employer so that they can register ready to pay when your claim is processed.
After the birth off your baby, you will complete the paperwork from the hospital, nominating PPL, FTB (if claiming) and completing the required questions. The form can be posted to FAO in the replied paid envelope. When your claim is processed, notification is sent to your employer asking them to accept the payment, then payments are sent to them, and they deliver to you through your payroll. If you have nominated a later start date, the same process is followed, link established with employer, and payments start being delivered ready to start your payments on your nominated start date. You can alter your start date at any time online – moving it later, or sooner (but not before the date you make contact) depending on what works for your family

Both BBY and PPL claims can take several weeks to process, depending on the number of claims coming in at the time.

[lady_neon]

Just a question re the PPL... (gosh planninga budget is so annoying!)

My EDD is 25 Sep, last day of work being 17 Aug. I'm still eligible right?

I'll be lodging all the paperwork etc soon (you can do so 3 months before EDD correct?) so when do the payments start? Do they wait until you've advisted DOB of baby or what?

[briggsy's girl]

yes you can lodge up to three months before baby is due. they will process the claim and have it pending proof of birth. payments will not start until proof of birth is provided

if you finish up 17th aug you're only taking about 5-6 weeks before EDD - that's fine (provided you've met the 10 months criteria prior to that)

[Razzberry]

Another question, My employer paid almost $8000 of PPL into my account. We normally get paid fortnightly at work. I called the pay office and they said as soon as centreline pays them the money they don't hold onto it they just put it in our account and that centreline paid mine to them up till 26th July, so I won't get anymore till after then when. I'm annoyed cause I didn't want a lump sum but understand this was my employer not centrelines fault.
However, if centrelink pay the rest owed to me sometime after 26th July in another lump sum to my employer and then they pay it too me could I go back to work early from mat leave or no because according to centrelines records I am getting payments are to me till 3rd sept?

[briggsy's girl]

you won't b able to go back until the period you are being paid for (sept 3) has passed.

[lady_neon]

Thanks hun

Hope my employer doesn't do that Razzberry :|

[Ilithyia]

Hiya,

Just trying to work out my eligibility for PPL.

Babe is due 1 Feb 2013. Does this mean if I want the PPL I can't finish work until December?

[briggsy's girl]

you can't finish up more than 8 weeks before bub is due - you can't have more than 8 weeks off at any time - and you can only finish that early if in the previous 11 months (cos you are essentially taking 2 months off) you have worked at least 10 months....

[Ilithyia]

Ok. Cool. Thanks BG!

I wanna resign now so maybe the BB is best for me.

Thanks for your help

[Maruschke]

If DH hasn't worked in 2 years... and I pass the work test but plan on returning after 6 weeks, doesn't that mean neither of us could get the PPL (I could, but only for 6/18 weeks) and so the only thing we can get is the BBY?

[briggsy's girl]

have a look at the eligibility stuff hun, i'm running a blank but i'm pretty sure he would have to meet the work test as well as you if he intends to claim

Transferring payments

If you are the birth mother of a newborn child or the initial primary carer of an adopted child, you must lodge the claim for Parental Leave Pay, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

If you are found to be eligible for the scheme, you can receive the Parental Leave Pay yourself, or you may, if you wish to return to work early, transfer some or all of your unused Parental Leave Pay to:

your partner or
the other legal parent of the child or
the other legal parent's partner.

The person to whom you transfer Parental Leave Pay must lodge a claim for the scheme and meet the eligibility criteria. This person cannot be eligible for the scheme if the birth mother or the initial primary carer of the adopted child is not eligible.

the bolded bit states they must meet the same criteria in terms of working etc

[2CheekyMonkeys]

wow, thats complicated!

[Mother Goose]

BG - I'm trying to do my PPL claim online (sooooo stressful as I don't want to make a mistake!) and I'm confused (because that's hard to do - not!). It wants to know my anticpated income... do i include the PPL? Or is it my income BEFORE I get the PPL?

[Amy_jellybean]

Also interested in the answer to Mother Goose's question, im about to do mine online as well and was wondering the same thing.

[briggsy's girl]

if it's asking for your anticipated income for the financial year, it has to include the PPL as it is taxable income

[Peace]

I have called the FAO a couple of times and spoken to different people and can't get a straight answer do maybe you guys might know?
Part of my 10 months work will probably be workers compensation. Not all of it, but some.
Will I still be eligible for PPL? FAO are unsure which isn't really a good enough answer for me lol

[briggsy's girl]

if it is paid compensation in lieue of work, it would probably count, however, it is all a case by case basis. if there is more than 8 weeks between paid work days within that 13 months before EDD, you'd have to show proof of what work you had done. with compensation, there is a very small team that investigate this, as they have additional policy training relating direct to compensation payments and the impact these have on payments. you won't get a definite yes or no answer from anyone in FAO as they simply aren't trained. all you can do is apply for the payment 3 months before your EDD, and have it assessed. if it is declined you can switch to baby bonus.

compensation is messy based on what you're being compensated for, which is why no one will give you a yes or no over the phone - for instance, replacing your income right now because you're not capable of working due to a workplace injury would be classified differently as receiving payment/s for an injury 12 months ago that you've had to wait on kwim?

[Peace]

Wow thankyou!
I have been googling and haven't been able to get any info on this. How do you know all of this?
You have helped so much.