What are Australian Government parenting payments?

Parenting payments are Australian Government financial supports that help families cover the costs of caring for their children. Many of these payments are organised through Services Australia, which is responsible for services like Centrelink, Medicare and Child Support.

Financial support is also available for non-parent carers like grandparents, legal guardians and kinship carers.

Income and assets tests for parenting payments

Parenting payments are often income tested, assets tested or both.

What does income tested mean?

It means that the amount you can get (if any) is based on what you and your partner earn before tax. This is called your gross income.

What does assets tested mean?

It means that the amount you can get (if any) is based on what you and your partner own in full or part. The things you own are called your assets. The family home isn’t usually included, but almost everything else is – for example, motor vehicles, caravans, home contents and so on. Note that the assets test rules are different for rural homes and farms.

Government parenting payments might change if your personal or financial circumstances change. They might also change if the payment rate changes or the Government passes new laws on payments. There’s a list of parenting payments below. Changes in payment can happen for all of them.

Types of parenting payments

Additional Child Care Subsidy
This payment provides extra financial help with child care costs. You can apply for the Additional Child Care Subsidy if any of the following apply to you:

• You’re a grandparent, great-grandparent, foster or kinship carer caring for a child 65% of the time or more and you also get an income support payment.
• You’re going back to work and your income is below a certain amount – you might be studying, training or doing volunteer work or in rehabilitation.
• You’re experiencing temporary financial hardship as the result of an event in the last 6 months – for example, family violence.
• You’re caring for a child who is vulnerable or at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.

This payment is income tested but not assets tested.

You must be eligible and have applied for the Child Care Subsidy to receive the Additional Child Care Subsidy.

Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme
This payment is for families of students under a certain age who can’t go to a local government school every day because of their location, disability or additional needs. If you meet the age, study and living requirements for this scheme, you can get government assistance.

Types of assistance are:

• Boarding Allowance (Basic and Additional)
• Second Home Allowance
• Distance Education Allowance
• Pensioner Education Supplement.

This payment isn’t income or assets tested, except for the Additional Boarding Allowance, which is income tested.

Carer Adjustment Payment
This is a one-off payment for full-time carers of a child under 7 years who has experienced a catastrophic event resulting in a severe illness, severe medical condition or major disability. The carer must be getting the Carer Allowance but no other income support. You can apply for this payment only within 2 years of your child’s first diagnosis.

This payment isn’t income or assets tested.

Carer Allowance
This payment is for people who care for someone with a disability or medical condition or for someone who is elderly and needs care and support. You can get this payment if the person you care for needs ongoing daily care for at least 12 months or has a serious medical condition that won’t get better.

This payment is income tested but not assets tested. Eligibility criteria apply to both the carer and the person being cared for.

Carer Payment
This payment is for people who provide constant care for someone with a disability or medical condition likely to last at least 6 months or for someone with a serious illness that won’t get better. You might be eligible for this payment if you care for a child under 16 years who needs a lot of short-term care or occasional care for 3-6 months.

This payment is income tested and assets tested. Eligibility criteria apply to both the carer and the person being cared for.

Carer Supplement
This is a yearly payment you get automatically if you care for someone and already get certain carer or Department of Veterans’ Affairs payments.

Child Care Subsidy
This payment is to help families with the cost of child care for children aged 13 years or under. If your child is at secondary school, you might still be eligible if they’re aged under 13 years or aged 14-18 years and have a disability and need supervision. The subsidy is paid directly to your approved child care service to reduce the fees you pay.

This payment is income tested but not assets tested.

Child Disability Assistance Payment
This is a yearly payment you get automatically if you get the Carer Allowance for caring for a child under 16 with a disability or medical condition.

Crisis Payment
This is a one-off payment for people who have experienced extreme circumstances and are in severe financial hardship, including people who have experienced family violence. You’ll need to contact Services Australia within 7 days of your crisis to be able to apply.

This payment isn’t income or assets tested.

Double Orphan Pension
This payment is for carers of children whose parents can’t care for them or have died. The carer must care for the child at least 35% of the time. This payment isn’t income or assets tested.

Family Tax Benefit (Part A)
This payment is for parents and carers who look after a child aged 0-15 years or a child aged 16-19 years who’s in full-time secondary school and doesn’t get a pension, payment or benefit like Youth Allowance. To get the Family Tax Benefit (Part A), you must care for the child at least 35% of the time.

This payment is income tested but not assets tested.

Family Tax Benefit (Part B)
This payment is for parents and carers in single-income families who care for a child at least 35% of the time.

This payment is income tested but not assets tested.

Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement
This payment is for parents and carers who have a baby or a child that’s recently come into their care and are eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part A. To get this payment, you can’t also be getting Parental Leave Pay for the same child. This payment is a one-off payment per child for up to 13 weeks.

This payment is income tested but not assets tested.

Parental Leave Pay
This payment is for eligible working parents of newborn or recently adopted children.

This payment is for up to:

• 20 weeks, if your new child was born or adopted on or after 1 July 2023
• 22 weeks, if your new child is born or adopted on or after 1 July 2024
• 24 weeks, if your new child is born or adopted on or after 1 July 2025
• 26 weeks, if your new child is born or adopted on or after 1 July 2026.

This payment is income tested (individual or family income) but not assets tested.

The payment is also work tested, which means that your eligibility is based on the amount of work that you’ve done. To get this payment, you must have worked for a minimum of 330 hours across 10 of the 13 months before the birth or adoption of your child. If something affected your ability to work during your work test period, you might still be eligible for this payment.

Parenting Payment
This payment is for primary carers of young children. You can get it if:

• you’re single and the primary carer of a child under 14
• you have a partner and are the primary carer of a child under 6.

This payment is income and assets tested.

Single Income Family Supplement
This is a yearly payment for single-income families who care for a child at least 35% of the time. To be eligible, you also usually need to get Family Tax Benefit for at least one child. If you already get Family Tax Benefit, you don’t need to submit a claim for the Single Income Family Supplement.

This payment is income tested but not assets tested.

Stillborn Baby Payment
This is a one-off payment for people who’ve recently had a stillborn baby. To get this payment, you can’t also be getting Parental Leave Pay for the same baby.

This payment is income tested but not assets tested.

Example of parenting payments

Here’s an example of how Australian Government parenting payments work.

A single parent with no income, no assets and dependent children might be eligible for:

• Child Care Subsidy, if using approved child care
• Family Tax Benefit (A and B)
• Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement
• Parenting Payment.

Depending on other circumstances, this parent might also be eligible for payments like Rent Assistance.

Services Australia’s Payment and Service Finder can help you work out what payments and services you can get. You’ll need to answer a series of questions and then you’ll see a list of payments and services relevant to your circumstances. If you can’t use this online tool, you can visit your nearest Centrelink office for more information.