In Australia, the Department of Human Services (DHS), with its Centrelink branch, is in charge of payments to support families.
The federal government offers different types of payments to help families, including the family tax benefit.
It's actually part of the taxation system, but most families choose to have the benefits paid to them fortnightly, in advance.
DHS general manager Hank Jongen explains that the first thing to know about the family tax benefit is that it's based on income.
There are two types of family tax benefit, Part A and Part B.
Most families are eligible for a payment of Part A, but Part B is reserved for low income families.
"Family tax benefit part A is a payment that's aimed at helping specifically with the cost of raising children. In other words, it's payment per child and it's based on a family's income. Linked to that is family tax benefit B. It's primarily for single-parent families or two-parent families where one parent has a low income or is not in paid employment. In other words, that's the distinction between the two payments, and in many instances family will get both payments," DHS general manager Hank Jongen said.
The easiest way to figure out your eligibility is to visit the DHS website at humanservices.gov.au.
Once you're there you can lodge your application online.
Since family benefit payments are based on projected income, it's very important to keep your information up-to-date.
On top of the fortnightly payments, some families receive a supplement at the end of the financial year.
But the government recently restricted these supplements.
Starting July first, no new family will get the single income family supplement, which can be up to three hundred dollars.
The families already receiving this supplement will keep it, as long as they remain eligible.
They may lose the payments if they leave Australia for more than six weeks or have too high an income.
To keep up with those changes, Hank Jongen says that you have to read all the letters you get from the DHS and Centrelink.
If it all seems a bit complicated, especially in a language that's not your first, the DHS provides translation services in over two hundred languages.
The DHS also has multilingual staff all over the country that can help you in your language.
To get more information on the family tax benefit, to lodge a claim and to keep up-to-date with the latest changes, visit the Department of Human Services' website at humanservices.gov.au.
