Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Northern Territory Payments

The Two Systems Paying NT Kinship Carers

When a grandchild lands on your doorstep in Darwin, Alice Springs, or Katherine, money questions hit fast. The Northern Territory runs a dual-government payment system, and the entitlements available to you depend almost entirely on one distinction: whether the child is in the formal child protection system or living with you informally.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) — the territory agency formerly known as Territory Families — pays a weekly NT Carer Allowance to assessed and authorised kinship carers looking after children under formal protection orders or temporary placement arrangements. If you're caring for a grandchild informally without either arrangement (what many Aboriginal families call "family way" care), DCF's statutory payments don't apply to you.

Services Australia (Centrelink) fills the gap for informal carers through federal payments like Family Tax Benefit, Parenting Payment Single, and the Additional Child Care Subsidy. The critical point: Centrelink recognises factual care — actual day-to-day responsibility for the child — without requiring a court order or DCF involvement.

Centrelink Payments for Informal Grandparent Carers

Most grandparents raising grandchildren in the NT will rely on these Commonwealth payments:

Family Tax Benefit Part A pays up to $235.48 per fortnight for a child aged 0–12, or $306.46 for ages 13–15 and ages 16–19 if in full-time secondary study. The income test doesn't reduce payments until your adjusted taxable income passes $69,131 per year. An end-of-year supplement of up to $970.90 per child is available for families with adjusted taxable income at or below $80,000.

Family Tax Benefit Part B adds up to $200.34 per fortnight when the youngest child is under 5, or $139.86 for ages 5–18. Single grandparent carers receive the maximum rate on income up to $124,327. Grandparent carers get a specific legislative exemption: partnered grandparents can keep receiving FTB Part B until the calendar year the youngest grandchild turns 18, provided children aged 16–18 are in full-time secondary education, bypassing the age-13 cutoff that applies to most partnered parents.

Parenting Payment Single provides $1,087.20 per fortnight if you're a single carer with a child under 14. This is a taxable income support payment with an income-free area of $232.60 per fortnight (plus $24.60 per additional child).

Commonwealth Rent Assistance adds up to $219.40 per fortnight for carers paying private rent, and it stacks on top of FTB or income support.

NT Carer Allowance for Authorised Carers

If the grandchild is under a formal DCF protection order or temporary placement arrangement and you've been assessed and approved as an authorised kinship carer, the territory pays a weekly NT Carer Allowance. From 1 July 2026, Level 1 (standard urban) rates range from $299.07 per week for a child aged 0–5 up to $466.60 per week for ages 14–17. Remote communities get a 10% loading on top. Higher-needs children attract Level 2 through Level 4 rates, reaching $1,360.14 per week at Level 4 Remote for older teenagers.

These payments are tax-free and completely exempt from Centrelink income testing — they don't reduce your Age Pension, FTB, or any other Commonwealth payment.

New placements also receive a $1,000 establishment payment for immediate set-up costs like bedding, clothing, and safety equipment.

How to Start Claiming

Call the Centrelink Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser Line on 1800 245 965. This dedicated line connects you to specialist staff who can process change-of-carer claims, apply activity test exemptions, and skip the general queue. You'll need to lodge a Mod C (Change of Care Details) form and provide proof of care — school enrolment letters, GP letters confirming you bring the child to appointments, or statutory declarations explaining why the parents can't care for the child.

FTB claims can be backdated to the start of the current financial year. If the biological parent was wrongly receiving FTB after the child moved to you, Centrelink raises a debt against the parent, not you.

For a complete walkthrough of every payment, the evidence you need, and printable tracking worksheets, the NT Kinship Carer Support Guide covers the full process from your first phone call through to your first payment.

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