Aunt Raising a Niece in NSW — Payments and Support

Financial Help for Aunts Raising a Niece or Nephew in NSW

When your sibling cannot parent their child — because of addiction, mental illness, imprisonment, domestic violence, or death — you take the child. No planning, no preparation, just a child who needs somewhere safe. As an aunt (or uncle) in New South Wales, your eligibility depends on the care arrangement and the rules for each payment. Some programs, including the ACCS Grandparent category, have criteria tied to the carer's relationship to the child.

Scenario 1: DCJ Placed the Child With You

If the Department of Communities and Justice assessed your sibling's child as being at risk and placed the child with you, you enter the formal kinship care system. After completing the authorised carer assessment, you receive:

• Fortnightly DCJ care allowance — $714 to $1,081 depending on the child's age (rates effective 1 July 2026), with Care +1 and Care +2 loadings available for children with complex medical, behavioural, or developmental needs.
• Establishment payment — up to $1,400 for a long-term placement, covering initial setup costs (furniture, clothing, car seats, bedding).
• Contingency funding — discretionary reimbursements for extraordinary expenses (specialist dental, therapy, tutoring, interstate family contact travel). Requires prior written caseworker approval.
• Respite — funded short-term care from an approved respite carer when you need a break.

These allowances are non-taxable and non-means-tested. They do not reduce any Centrelink payment you receive. You can claim them on top of the Age Pension, Carer Payment, JobSeeker, or any other income support.

Scenario 2: You Have a Family Court Order

If you applied to the Federal Circuit and Family Court for a parenting order and received one — but DCJ was never involved — you will not receive DCJ allowances. A standard private parenting order does not unlock state care payments.

You can still claim from Centrelink:

• Family Tax Benefit Part A and B — if you have at least 35 percent actual care of the child; the court order can help prove the care arrangement.
• Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) — the ACCS Grandparent category is for eligible grandparents who receive income support and meet the principal-carer criteria. As an aunt, ask Services Australia whether another childcare subsidy category applies to your circumstances.
• Foster Child Health Care Card — issued in the child's name for PBS concession medicines and bulk-billed services.

If a Family Court order followed formal DCJ protective intervention and assessment, ask DCJ whether the arrangement qualifies for the Supported Care Allowance. DCJ's participation in proceedings or a notice of risk alone does not establish eligibility.

Scenario 3: Informal Arrangement (No Court Order, No DCJ)

If you are raising your niece or nephew through a private family agreement — no court order, no DCJ involvement — you are an informal kinship carer. This is the most common arrangement, and it is the one with the least financial support.

You cannot access DCJ allowances. Your entitlements come from Centrelink:

• Family Tax Benefit Part A and B — requires at least 35 percent actual care of the child. You prove care through a statutory declaration, school enrolment records listing you as primary contact, and medical records.
• Foster Child Health Care Card — non-means-tested for the carer.
• Double Orphan Pension — if both parents have died, or one has died and the other is in prison for at least 10 years, in custody facing a possible 10-year sentence, in a psychiatric institution or nursing home indefinitely, or their whereabouts are unknown. Other eligibility rules apply.

Call the Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser Line on 1800 245 965 on day one. FTB cannot be backdated before the date you first contact Services Australia, so early contact protects your finances.

Getting a Section 79 Guardianship Order

If you have been caring for the child long-term and want formal legal authority without ongoing DCJ oversight, a Section 79 Guardianship Order transfers parental responsibility to you under a long-term arrangement. The Guardianship Allowance is benchmarked to the statutory care rate — same dollar amounts as the regular DCJ allowance — and continues until the child turns 18 (with leaving-care payments extending to 24).

This option is only available if DCJ was previously involved. A guardianship order cannot be made under Section 79 without a prior Children's Court care order.

School and Medical Access

As an aunt raising a niece or nephew, you can:

• Enrol the child in school without a court order. Bring a statutory declaration or Carer Authorisation Declaration to the school principal. Enrolment cannot be refused solely because you lack a formal order.
• Transfer the child onto your Medicare card using Services Australia Form MS011 — no parental consent needed if you provide proof of care.
• Consent to routine medical treatment — doctors generally accept a statutory declaration from a relative carer for non-emergency care. At age 14–15, the child may consent to simple treatment if assessed as mature enough. At 16, they hold full statutory consent authority.

One Practical Scenario

Sarah, 34, takes in her 8-year-old niece when her brother enters a residential rehabilitation program. No DCJ involvement. On day one, Sarah calls 1800 245 965 and asks how to start an FTB claim. She signs a statutory declaration before an authorised witness, enrols her niece at the nearest public school, and submits Form MS011 to Medicare. Services Australia assesses FTB eligibility and the effective claim date using the care evidence and date of first contact; Sarah confirms the expected processing time with the adviser.

The NSW Kinship Carer Support guide walks through every payment pathway for relatives — aunts, uncles, grandparents, older siblings — with preparation checklists, a proof-of-care document tracker, and a decision matrix for choosing between informal care, Family Court orders, and DCJ involvement.

See more New South Wales guides →