centrelink question?

[Oorki Galoorki]

i know it says it still has to go through legistation..

Streamlining administration
Please note: This measure is pending legislation.

This measure removes payment and service delivery of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and ceases Family Assistance Office (FAO) operations in ATO shopfronts.

There are 2 key change dates for this measure.

From 1 July 2008:

customers will no longer be able to claim FTB as reduced Pay As You Go (PAYG) tax deductions in anticipation of their FTB entitlement.
From 1 July 2009:

you will no longer be able to receive a FTB reconciliation top-up with your Tax Refund
you will no longer be able to claim FTB as a lump sum via the ATO.
This measure affects new and existing customers who:

intended to claim FTB as a lump sum via the ATO from 1 July 2009
would have received their FTB reconciliation top up with their Tax Refund and,
would have reduced their PAYG tax deductions in anticipation of their FTB entitlement.
The last financial year that the ATO can process FTB payments is 2007-2008. You can only claim FTB payments for that, and any previous years, up until 30 June 2009. From 1 July 2009 claims through the ATO will not be accepted, regardless of the financial year they apply to.

so how do you claim the reconciliation payment? what about all the people that get paid casually so never know their true estimate?
does this mean at this tax time coming i wont be able to get my top ups?
this has me totally confused and panicy...

[briggsy's girl]

i know it says it still has to go through legistation..



so how do you claim the reconciliation payment? what about all the people that get paid casually so never know their true estimate?
does this mean at this tax time coming i wont be able to get my top ups?
this has me totally confused and panicy...

there have, over recent years, been HUGE debts raised when people ticked the box on their tax return to have their payment paid by ATO when they system of FAO and ATO didn't communicate in time - ATO was claiming for a payment that FAO had already processed so people were getting double the dollars

what this means is, you will no longer be able to ask MR Tax Man to claim your FAO money for you. if you don't claim it through the year, you'll need to do your tax returns, then fill in the form and claim your FAO entitlement direct from FAO. it won't stop you getting your payment, will just stop the system stuffing up peoples payment! it will put ALL processing of FAO payments back in the hands of FAO staff who actually understand it rather than letting it be handled by others with a limited understanding.

Hope that clears it up

BG

[Inertia]

Hmm, I never do my reconcillation through the ATO, but the FAO sends it to the ATO to pay it and it gets paid with any return. Will that be different now and it will be paid by the FAO separately? Hmmm.

I haven't been this confused since the FAO told me they owed me $18,000! LMAO. Thankfully they never paid that amount because I knew it wasn't true, but no one at the FAO could tell me why it was saying that.

[Inertia]

Hmm, I never do my reconcillation through the ATO, but the FAO sends it to the ATO to pay it and it gets paid with any return. Will that be different now and it will be paid by the FAO separately? Hmmm.

I haven't been this confused since the FAO told me they owed me $18,000! LMAO. Thankfully they never paid that amount because I knew it wasn't true, but no one at the FAO could tell me why it was saying that.

[briggsy's girl]

Hmm, I never do my reconcillation through the ATO, but the FAO sends it to the ATO to pay it and it gets paid with any return. Will that be different now and it will be paid by the FAO separately? Hmmm.

I haven't been this confused since the FAO told me they owed me $18,000! LMAO. Thankfully they never paid that amount because I knew it wasn't true, but no one at the FAO could tell me why it was saying that.

FAO will still send the payment to the ATO as it's Commonwealth payment and if you owe money to ATO, it will be paid from FAO moneys, and vice verse. the difference will be that your FAO money will ONLY be calculated by FAO, no more guesstimates on your tax return by ATO (if your accountant ticks a box that says you haven't claimed any FTB through the year, when you have, it will tell you your full annual entitlement - not just the top up you're due - hence the dramas with paying too much!)

[Visitor8]

Hmm, I never do my reconcillation through the ATO, but the FAO sends it to the ATO to pay it and it gets paid with any return. Will that be different now and it will be paid by the FAO separately? Hmmm.

I haven't been this confused since the FAO told me they owed me $18,000! LMAO. Thankfully they never paid that amount because I knew it wasn't true, but no one at the FAO could tell me why it was saying that.

sort of reminds me of the day that they sent my mum a letter saying she had been over paid 1.5 million dollars she said "umm well if you overpaid me that much I wouldn't still be here"... quite funny really. Apparenly it was the date "15041996" put in the wrong spot haha She still has the letter.

[Inertia]

sort of reminds me of the day that they sent my mum a letter saying she had been over paid 1.5 million dollars :rofl she said "umm well if you overpaid me that much I wouldn't still be here"... quite funny really. Apparenly it was the date "15041996" put in the wrong spot haha She still has the letter.

Oh Heavens, I got that once! I went in to tell them I was married and get my name changed, and the woman wiped out 6 years of defacto history. I went home and checked my online after I did that, and I had nil payment and bills up the wazoo. Called them straight away and some other poor woman spent 2 days manually re-entering ALL my data to fix it!

When they make a mistake - its always a doozy!