2011 Australian Baby Bonus News Site.
Are you better receiving the Australian Baby Bonus or do you get a better financial result with the Paid Parental Scheme. It can be complicated, see below for details.
How is the Baby Bonus paid?
The baby bonus will be cut from $5400 to $5000 from September 2012, and frozen at that level for a further three years, until then the
Baby Bonus is paid per eligible child in 13 fortnightly instalments. From 1 July 2011, customers eligible to receive Baby Bonus will get a higher first instalment of $879.77 and 12 fortnightly instalments of approximately $379.77. The higher first instalment of Baby Bonus will assist with the upfront costs of having a new child.
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26-11-2008, 12:00 PM
have supplied some general information that I hope will answer your enquiry.
Baby Bonus (BBY) is a lump sum payment of $5000 (as from 01 July 2008). This is paid for all babies born or adopted on or after 01 July 2004. A family will qualify for this payment if the child satisfies the dependent child requirements for Family Tax Benefit within 13 weeks of the child's birth or of the child being entrusted into the claimant's care. There is no income or asset test for this payment. To receive this payment if eligible, a claim must be lodged within 26 weeks of the child's birth, or, in the case of adoption, within 26 weeks of the child coming into your care. From 01 July 2005 new legislation will extend the age of an adopted child attracting Baby Bonus (BBY) from 26 weeks to under two years of age.
To be eligible for Baby Bonus (BBY), a person,generally, must reside in Australia (i.e. Australia is their permanent home as demonstrated by intentions, family/property ties, travel patterns etc). There may be some instances where a person can claim FTB when temporarily absent overseas, if it is shown that Australia is considered to be the person's permanent home and they have a clear intention to return to live in Australia. It is therefore recommended that a person lodge a claim for payment, in order to test their eligibility.
The person must also:
Please note that a temporary absence for the above purpose begins when a customer leaves Australia, regardless of when the child is born. If an eligible customer returns to Australia within 13 weeks of the child's birth and claims within 26 weeks, the temporary absence provisions do not apply. Please note that all eligibility provisions must be satisfied before payments can be made, so this information should be considered as a guide only. For more information on eligibility for Family Tax Benefit, please click on the following direct link to the Centrelink website:
http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/individuals/pg_index.htm
To claim Baby Bonus a claim for Family Tax Benefit must be completed and lodged with the Family Assistance Office. Additional information for a claim may be provided at the time of initial contact with the Family Assistance Office or at a subsequent phone or face to face interview. The additional information must be provided within 14 days of claim lodgement. To download a claim form please click on the following link:
http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/forms/forms_list_pg.htm
I hope the above is of assistance to you. If you would like to discuss this further, and are overseas, please call Centrelink International Services on 61 3 6222 3455 between 8.30am and 5.00pm. Thank you for using Centrelink's Internet Services.
23-01-2009, 07:45 PM
I spoke with Centrelink on 20 January 2009. They informed me that so long as the baby and I are "living" in Australia within 13 weeks of the birth I can lodge the baby bonus application.
She also told me that the payments are now made fortnightly for 6 months instead of being paid out as one lump sum.
Hope this is helpful 
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