How to Find Every Centrelink Payment a Grandchild Is Entitled to in Australia

There are seven distinct child-related federal payments and entitlements that a grandparent or relative raising a child in Australia can potentially claim through Centrelink and Services Australia — and no single government page lists all of them together. Family Tax Benefit Parts A and B, Child Care Subsidy, the Additional Child Care Subsidy (Grandparent) stream, Double Orphan Pension, Carer Allowance (if the child has a disability), the Foster Child Health Care Card, and Medicare card transfers are administered across different sections of the Services Australia website, different parts of the myGov portal, and different legislation. Some carers may also qualify for primary income support, such as Parenting Payment, depending on principal-carer status, child age, relationship status, and income and assets tests.

Here is the complete map, the order to claim them, and where each one hides.

Seven Child-Related Federal Payments and Entitlements

1. Family Tax Benefit Parts A and B

What it pays: FTB Part A provides up to $235.48 per fortnight for children aged 0–12 and $306.46 for children aged 13–19 in full-time secondary study. FTB Part B adds up to $200.34 per fortnight (youngest child under 5) or $139.86 (youngest child 5–18). Grandparents and great-grandparents who meet the other eligibility rules can remain eligible for Part B until the end of the calendar year the child turns 18, if the child remains in full-time secondary study; parents typically lose eligibility when the youngest child turns 13.

Care threshold: 35% or more actual care of the child.

Where to find it: Services Australia family payments section. Claim via myGov under Family Tax Benefit.

What catches grandparents out: If the child's biological parent is still receiving FTB, Centrelink won't automatically transfer it. You need to lodge your own claim and, if the parent disputes it, request a care-change review. Non-parent carers are exempt from the Maintenance Action Test — you don't need to pursue child support from the parents to receive the full rate.

2. Child Care Subsidy (CCS)

What it pays: A percentage (up to 90%) of childcare fees at approved providers, based on household income and activity hours.

Care threshold: 14% or more actual care. CCS-eligible non-parent carers receive the minimum 72-hour-per-fortnight (3-day) guarantee regardless of the activity test.

Where to find it: Services Australia child care section, claimed through myGov or Centrelink Online.

What catches grandparents out: Many grandparents don't realise they're eligible because they're retired and assume the activity test disqualifies them. The 3-day guarantee for non-parent carers means activity hours don't matter for the first 36 hours per week.

3. Additional Child Care Subsidy — Grandparent Stream (ACCS)

What it pays: 100% of actual childcare fees up to 120% of the national CCS hourly rate cap, for up to 100 hours per fortnight.

Care threshold: 65% or more actual care, plus being assessed as the principal carer with day-to-day decision-making authority. The claimant must meet the grandparent or great-grandparent definition (including eligible partners), and the grandparent or their partner must receive a qualifying income support payment (Age Pension, Carer Payment, DSP, etc.).

Where to find it: Buried in the ACCS section of the Child Care Subsidy pages. Not prominently linked from the grandparent carer pages.

What catches grandparents out: This is the most commonly missed high-value payment. A grandparent on the Age Pension with a grandchild in childcare could be entitled to 100% fee coverage up to the hourly rate cap and not know it exists. Grandparents not on income support who meet the 65% principal-care threshold can still access standard CCS with 100 hours of activity-test-exempt subsidised care per fortnight, just at an income-based subsidy rate.

4. Double Orphan Pension (DOP)

What it pays: $81.60 per fortnight with no income or assets test.

Care threshold: 35% or more actual care of a child whose parents are both deceased, or where one parent is deceased and the surviving parent is in prison for at least 10 years, in a psychiatric facility or nursing home indefinitely, or whose whereabouts are unknown.

Where to find it: Listed separately from other family payments on the Services Australia website, often under "additional payments."

What catches grandparents out: The name is misleading. It's called "orphan pension" but it can apply when one parent is deceased and the surviving parent is imprisoned for at least 10 years, indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital or nursing home, or their whereabouts are unknown after reasonable tracing. There is no income or assets test, so even carers with substantial means qualify. You must have lodged an FTB claim (even if FTB is unpayable due to high income) before DOP can be assessed.

5. Carer Allowance (Child)

What it pays: $162.60 per fortnight, plus a $600 annual Carer Supplement. Paid on top of all other payments.

Care threshold: The child must have a disability, medical condition or high care needs. For a child under 16, the assessment uses Form SA431 completed by the treating health professional and Form SA394 completed by the carer; for a person aged 16 or over, Form SA332A applies.

Where to find it: Under the Carer Allowance section, separate from family payments.

What catches grandparents out: Carer Allowance sits outside the family assistance system. It's not reduced by other Centrelink payments, not reduced by state statutory care allowances, and the income threshold is relatively high ($250,000 combined ATI). Grandparents receiving it alongside FTB, Age Pension and other payments sometimes don't realise they can add this as well.

6. Foster Child Health Care Card (FCHCC)

What it pays: Not a cash payment — a concession card issued in the child's name. It provides PBS medicines at concessional rates and automatic qualification for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS), which provides over $1,050 in bulk-billed dental services over two calendar years. State-level concessions can include transport and school levies.

Care threshold: Caring for a child who is not your biological or adopted child. No income or assets test. Informal carers are eligible — you don't need a court order or formal foster arrangement.

Where to find it: Under concession cards on the Services Australia website. Often confused with the Health Care Card (which is income-tested).

What catches grandparents out: The name says "foster child" but it's available to any non-parent carer, including informal grandparent carers. Many grandparents skip it because they assume "foster" means a formal child protection placement.

7. Medicare Card Transfer

What it provides: Adding the grandchild to your Medicare card, enabling you to claim Medicare benefits and bulk-bill under your name.

Where to find it: On the Services Australia Medicare section, not linked from the Centrelink pages.

What catches grandparents out: Two things. First, you can claim Medicare rebates using receipts issued in your name even before the child is physically on your card — most people don't realise this. Second, to copy or transfer the child, use Form MS011 and provide supporting evidence of care. If parental consent cannot be obtained, evidence can include Form CS4647, a statutory declaration. The process is on a different part of the Services Australia website from the family payments, so carers may not discover it until after they've already paid out of pocket for medical appointments.

The Claiming Order That Matters

These seven payments interact. Claiming them in the wrong order can delay processing or cause you to miss triggering conditions:

1. Family Tax Benefit first — it establishes your care status on Centrelink's system and is a prerequisite for Double Orphan Pension
2. Child Care Subsidy — can be claimed as part of the FTB application process
3. ACCS Grandparent — applied for after CCS approval, if you meet the grandparent-specific criteria
4. Double Orphan Pension — requires an FTB claim to have been lodged (even if FTB is nil-rated)
5. Carer Allowance — independent of the family assistance system; can be claimed at any time if the child has qualifying care needs
6. Foster Child Health Care Card — can be applied for immediately, but some carers find it easier once their Centrelink record already shows them as a non-parent carer
7. Medicare card transfer — can be done in parallel with any of the above, but the statutory declaration is easier once you have other documents assembled

Who This Is For

• Grandparents or relatives who just took on a child and want a complete list of what they can claim, not just the first payment someone mentions
• Carers already receiving FTB who suspect there are other payments they're missing
• Family members researching the full picture on behalf of an older grandparent — someone who needs one document to print and work through
• Carers in regional or remote Australia who can't make multiple trips to a service centre and need to prepare all applications at once

Who This Is NOT For

• Grandparents under a formal state child protection placement — your state department has its own payment structure (statutory care allowances, training reimbursements) that supplements the federal payments differently
• Anyone looking for current payment rates as of a specific date — Services Australia's rate pages are the authoritative source; rates change over time
• Carers who need help with state-specific kinship support programs (not Centrelink) — contact your state's kinship peak body

Getting It All in One Place

The information above exists across a dozen government web pages, two separate portals, and multiple legislation references. If you want it assembled into a single step-by-step guide with evidence checklists for each payment, worked financial examples, and printable tracking worksheets, the Centrelink Payments for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren guide puts all seven child-related payments and entitlements into one claiming sequence designed for grandparents doing the navigation themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are there really seven separate payments a grandparent can claim?

Yes — Family Tax Benefit Parts A and B (counted as one claim but two payment streams), Child Care Subsidy, ACCS Grandparent, Double Orphan Pension, Carer Allowance (if the child has a qualifying disability), the Foster Child Health Care Card, and Medicare card transfer. Eligibility differs by payment, so not every grandparent will qualify for every item on the list.

What's the most commonly missed payment?

The Additional Child Care Subsidy (Grandparent) stream and the Double Orphan Pension are often overlooked. ACCS Grandparent because it's buried in the childcare subsidy system and requires a qualifying income support payment. DOP because the name implies both parents must be dead, when a single surviving parent may meet specific qualifying conditions: imprisonment for at least 10 years, indefinite residence in a psychiatric hospital or nursing home, or unknown whereabouts after reasonable tracing.

Can I claim all of these without a court order?

These seven child-related federal payments and entitlements turn on actual care and each program's own criteria, not legal custody alone. You prove care through third-party documents — school enrolment letters, GP statements, immunisation records, and statutory declarations. A court order simplifies the evidence but is not required for any of these claims.

Do state kinship payments reduce my Centrelink entitlements?

No. State statutory care allowances are classified as non-taxable and are completely exempt from Centrelink income testing. They do not reduce Parenting Payment, Age Pension, JobSeeker, Carer Payment, or Family Tax Benefit Parts A and B.

How long does it take to get all of these set up?

The suggested roadmap starts with stabilisation and evidence gathering in days 1 to 7, federal benefit claims in weeks 1 to 3, and healthcare and disability claims in weeks 3 to 6. These are planning stages, not processing-time guarantees; decision times depend on the claim and evidence.

Where can I find the current payment rates?

Services Australia publishes current rates on its payment rates pages. Rates change over time, so check the Services Australia website for the most current amounts. The rates in this article reflect September 2026 figures.

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