Transferring Family Tax Benefit to a Kinship Carer in the ACT

Why FTB Doesn't Automatically Follow the Child

Family Tax Benefit keeps paying whoever last claimed it until Services Australia is told otherwise. When a grandparent or relative takes over daily care in the ACT, the biological parent may keep receiving FTB for weeks or months — while the carer is buying the groceries, school shoes and medicine out of pocket.

Redirecting FTB requires you to lodge your own claim and, if the parent disputes it, go through a formal care determination. The process is not instant, but it is well-defined.

Step 1: Lodge Your Own FTB Claim

You can claim FTB online through myGov or by calling the Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser Line (1800 245 965). You do not need a court order. Centrelink assesses non-parent carers based on actual care — at least 35% of the care pattern is the threshold for a proportion of FTB. The amount depends on your care percentage and other eligibility rules.

Non-parent carers who live in the same home as the child's birth parent are generally excluded from FTB for that child unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Lodge the claim as soon as care begins. FTB can only be backdated to the start of the current financial year if claimed before 30 June, with limited 13-week backdating in special circumstances like hospitalisation or trauma.

Step 2: Prove Primary Care

Because you are claiming without a court order, Centrelink will ask for evidence that you have actual primary care. What works:

• Non-Parent Carer Statutory Declaration (Form CS4647) — your formal declaration of care, signed before an authorised witness
• Professional support letters on letterhead from a GP, school principal, community nurse or social worker confirming you routinely present with and care for the child
• Financial evidence — receipts for school fees, clothing, medical appointments and childcare showing you are paying the child's expenses
• Administrative records — the child's ACT school enrolment listing you as primary contact, immunisation records, sport membership forms

Step 3: What Happens If the Parent Disputes

If the biological parent tells Centrelink they still have care of the child, Services Australia initiates a formal care determination. Both parties submit evidence, and Centrelink decides who holds actual care based on the documentation.

The process can take time. The determination considers evidence from both parties; ask Services Australia how your payments will be handled while it is underway. Prepare by collecting your evidence early — professional letters and receipts support your account of the care arrangement.

If the care determination goes against you, you can request an internal review by an Authorised Review Officer (ARO) within 13 weeks, and then an external appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) at no cost.

The Maintenance Action Test

FTB Part A recipients who are relative carers are required to take reasonable action to obtain child support from both biological parents — this is the Maintenance Action Test (MAT). You apply through Services Australia (Child Support) using Form CS065.

If pursuing child support would expose you or the child to family violence, or if the parents are untraceable, you can apply for a MAT Exemption. Without the exemption, your FTB Part A may be reduced.

Child support received above the basic threshold reduces FTB Part A by 50 cents per dollar.

Reporting Obligations

Once FTB is transferred to you, report any change in care arrangements, household income or address within 14 days. If the parent reclaims the child and Centrelink is not notified, any FTB paid after the care cessation date becomes a recoverable debt.

The ACT Kinship Carer Support guide includes a claim progress log and evidence checklist for managing the full FTB transfer process.

See more Australian Capital Territory guides →