Foster Child Health Care Card (FST) 101-06020010

The FST entitles the foster child to Commonwealth health concessions such as cheaper pharmaceuticals. The FST is mailed to the foster carer, however, only the foster child is named on and covered by the card. The FST is issued to an individual foster child and cannot be transferred or used for another child.

To qualify for the FST, the foster child must:

• be in foster care (either informal or formal)
• be living in Australia with an Australian resident or a special category visa holder, and
• meet the Family Tax Benefit (FTB) child age related requirements or the Regular Care Child requirements

The foster carer must be responsible for the day to day care of the child. The child may live away from the foster carer to study, for example at a boarding school.

Informal care arrangements

Customers do not need to be formal foster carers, for example caring for a ward of the state. They can be any person caring for a child who is not their natural or adopted child and may include a child placed in the permanent care of the carer by a Court Order.

Formal care arrangements

A formal foster care arrangement is defined as care managed by a state or territory child protection or welfare authority and should be confirmed by a letter from the State Welfare Authority or court order. Shared care does not affect eligibility.

While an Approved Care Organisations (ACO) cannot qualify for a HCC in respect of a child, children in the care of an ACO may qualify for a Low Income Health Care Card (LIC).

A child who is a foster child, ward of the state, refugee or orphan and is in the care of an Approved Care Organisations (ACO), is not considered to be dependant on an individual who is an Australian resident.

Children in the care of an ACO are able to qualify for a LIC in their own right as long as no individual is being paid FTB for the care of the child.

The child should test their entitlement for a LIC, rather than the FST when:

• they do not meet the FTB child age related requirements for the FST. For example:
• the adult does not have legal responsibility for the day-to-day care, development and welfare of the child and
• there is not a family law order or parenting plan in place and
• the child is not in the care of anyone else who has legal responsibility for them
• the child is in the care of an ACO and is not considered dependent on an individual. That is, FTB is not being received by an individual in respect of the child

If the foster carer is also a customer and receives instalments of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A at the maximum rate for the foster child (or would except for a reduction due to maintenance action or maintenance income), then they will be issued a FTB HCC automatically that will also cover the foster child.

If the FTB HCC, including the coverage for a foster child, is cancelled (for example when FTB is CAN-INC), to ensure continuity of coverage for the foster child, the customer should be advised to:

• claim online
• complete a customised Claim for Foster Child Health Care Card (SS489) issued when the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow has been run, or
• complete a Claim for a Health Care Card (SS050) for a Foster Child

Customers who already have a concession card of their own and take on the care of a foster child may choose to suppress:

• display of the child's address details on the Foster Child Health Care Card (FST HCC), or
• delivery of the FST HCC

These options are available as preferences for concession cards.

Invite foster carers to apply for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for the foster child. See Claiming Family Tax Benefit (FTB).

Foster carers may claim the FST in addition to being automatically qualified for an FTB Health Care Card for a foster child in their care.

Online claims

Customers must be registered with myGov and have a linked Centrelink online account.

See Claim lodgement of Centrelink claims for more information.

If a customer emails or calls for help with their online claim, the Service Officer can use the Customer Online View to see what the customer sees when they use their Centrelink online account.

Assisted Customer Claims

If the customer or their correspondence nominee declines the online claim offer, Service Officers can use (ACC) to collect the required claim information. This can be done over the phone or in person.

If both members of a couple wish to claim and require an ACC, this will need to be completed on both records.

To submit a claim, they must:

• answer all mandatory questions
• provide all required documents
• verify their identity through the Identify Confirmation Dashboard in Process Direct recorded
• accept a verbal declaration

Exceptions may apply for vulnerable customers.

If a customer/nominee declines to make a verbal declaration, tell them:

• to log on to their online services, accept the declaration and submit their claim, and
• if they fail to submit their claim, the claim will expire after 13 weeks.

See Viewing and processing online and Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) for more ACC processing details.

Paper claim - SS489 or SS050

If the customer is unable or unsuitable to complete an online claim and an Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) is not available issue:

• a customised Claim for Foster Child Health Care Card (SS489 using First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) or
• a Claim for a Health Care Card (SS050)

SS489 or SS050 lodged at service centres must be checked to ensure each question has been answered, the claim form has been signed, and that all required documents have been provided. If all documents are not provided, the claim must still be accepted and uploaded to the record.

SS489 or SS050 claims may also be lodged via Upload documents service, post and fax.

Nominees who have active online claim access, plus a current link to a principal (who also has active online claim access) may lodge a claim on behalf of the principal for FST.

A foster child will generally have an existing Centrelink record on a former carer's record. Examining these circumstances is enough to verify date of birth details for the child.

A foster child may not have an existing record, for example, change of name, previous carer/s never claimed or placement in foster care immediately following birth. A letter from the relevant State or Territory agency will suffice in these cases. It must clearly state the child's name and date of birth. This information may be in or separate to a letter of identification for Identity Confirmation purposes.

Foster child does not have identification/record

If unable to provide identification, a letter of introduction or identity confirmation from a relevant State or Territory agency is acceptable in meeting the requirements for alternative Identity for children in foster care requesting the FST.

To cover medical, pharmaceutical or other related expenses already incurred, the start date of the FST may be backdated to a particular date of medical service or treatment given to the foster child.

The customer must provide evidence of the medical service or treatment to support the request for backdating the start date with the new claim.

Customers will need to keep records of expenses to claim reimbursement from Medicare after the FST is granted. The customer can take the receipt/s and concession card to Medicare to request a refund of medical expenses.

Claims may only be backdated for a period in which eligibility is satisfied. As the card is for the child, the claim may cover a period during which the child lived with 2 or more carers.

The Resources page contains more information on saving money on medicine, and how to request a refund.

Social Security law does not require that a concession card be signed. A signature is only one method of determining that the person using the concession card is the person entitled to use it. If the child:

• is old enough to write their name on the card and can sign again the same upon request, it may be appropriate for the child to sign the card
• cannot sign the card, any person with legal guardianship can sign the card on the child's behalf. The guardian should indicate in the signature block that they are signing on another person's behalf

Centrelink only provides the concession cards, not the concessions. The concession provider decides whether or not to accept a concession card that is not signed by the person named on it.

Many benefits can be cancelled:

• automatically. For example, when a reassessment results in no continuing entitlement as the foster child leaves:
• the foster carer’s care, or
• Australia permanently
• manually. For example, when a customer requests cancellation of the card

When making an unfavourable decision, speak to the customer:

• explain the decision
• give them a chance to provide more information, and
• advise their review and appeal rights

See Advising verbally of an unfavourable decision.

Customers can access their digital wallet in the myGov app or Express Plus Centrelink app to present their concession card using their smart device. Accepting the digital card is at the discretion of the concession provider, so it is important that customers have their physical card with them.