Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Tasmania: Financial Help Available

The Financial Reality for Grandparent Carers in Tasmania

Tasmania has approximately 1,600 grandparents raising grandchildren, and most are doing it on a pension. Carers Tasmania data shows that nearly half of all Tasmanian carers live in households within the lowest two income quintiles, with a median gross weekly income of $520 — compared to $710 for non-carers.

The money exists. The problem is that it comes from at least three different sources — federal, state, and community — and no single agency explains the full picture.

Federal Payments Through Centrelink

These are the backbone of financial support for grandparent carers without formal DECYP placements:

Family Tax Benefit Part A pays a per-child amount based on household income and the child's age. You need at least 35% physical care to qualify. Part B adds extra support for single-income or single-carer households.

Parenting Payment Single applies to single carers raising a child under 14 on a low income. This is an income support payment — it counts as taxable income.

Additional Child Care Subsidy (Grandparent) is the big one for grandparents who need day care or after-school care. If you're receiving an eligible income support payment (Age Pension, Carer Payment, JobSeeker), provide at least 65% of the child's ongoing daily care, and have substantial autonomy over day-to-day decisions about the child's care, welfare, and development, ACCS covers up to 100% of childcare fees up to 120% of the standard hourly rate cap for 100 hours per fortnight. No activity test.

Foster Child Health Care Card is issued in the child's name regardless of your income. It provides access to cheaper PBS medicines and may help with bulk-billed care, depending on the doctor.

Double Orphan Pension applies when both parents are deceased, or one is deceased and the other is incarcerated for at least 10 years, confined to an institution, or whose whereabouts are unknown after reasonable inquiries. It's non-means-tested and paid alongside FTB Part A.

Start with the Grandparent, Foster and Kinship Carer Adviser Line on 1800 245 965 — dedicated specialists who understand non-parent claims.

Tasmanian State Concessions

These are separate from Centrelink and require separate applications:

Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) waives government school levies from Kindergarten through Year 12. You're eligible if you hold a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, the child is in out-of-home care, or you are a grandparent legally responsible for the child. Apply online at the DECYP STAS portal or get a paper form from the school.

Spectacles Assistance Scheme covers basic vision testing, standard frames, and lenses for children of concession card holders and grandparents legally responsible for grandchildren. Apply directly at participating optometrists.

Ticket to Play provides two $100 vouchers per eligible child per year towards approved sports club fees. Children aged 5–18 listed on a Centrelink HCC or PCC, or in out-of-home care, qualify.

Student Accommodation Allowance pays $1,472 per year for Year 11 and 12 students who live more than 40 km from the nearest government school and need alternative board. Non-means-tested.

Student Travel Assistance provides free or discounted bus passes and private vehicle travel allowances for students outside urban transit zones.

What Formal Carers Get That Informal Carers Don't

If DECYP has placed the child with you under a Care and Protection Order, you receive fortnightly state care allowances — recently uplifted by 15% in the 2025–26 Interim Budget, now permanent in the 2026–27 Budget. These allowances are tax-free and exempt from Centrelink means tests, so they don't reduce your Age Pension or FTB.

If you're an informal carer — no DECYP involvement, no court orders — you cannot access these state allowances. Your financial support comes through the Centrelink payments and state concessions listed above.

Stacking Payments Without Losing Benefits

The interaction between payments matters. State OOHC care allowances are not taxable and not counted as Centrelink income — they sit on top of everything else. Family Tax Benefit is also tax-free and exempt from means testing. Carer Allowance is non-means-tested. These can all be received simultaneously.

Taxable payments such as Parenting Payment, Age Pension, and JobSeeker are subject to their relevant eligibility and income tests. Tell Services Australia when care or income changes to reduce the risk of overpayments.

Getting Organised

The Support for Grandparents and Kinship Carers in Tasmania guide maps every payment in one place — federal, state, and community — with the application steps, evidence requirements, and a benefit-stacking calculator that shows which payments interact. It's built for grandparents on a pension who don't have time to chase three agencies separately.

See more Tasmania guides →