Initial contact after a stillbirth 099-01010020

Families may be eligible for the following payments for a stillborn child:

• Parental Leave Pay (PPL)
• Stillborn Baby Payment (SBP) if the customer is not eligible for PPL for the child

Family Tax Benefit (FTB) is not payable for a stillborn child.

Stillborn children delivered on or after 1 January 2021

From 1 January 2021, there is a single rate of SBP. The single rate is paid for each stillborn child delivered on or after 1 January 2021. If a customer has a multiple birth and one of the children is stillborn, the customer may receive:

• SBP for the stillborn child, and
• PPL for the other child(ren)

If there is any doubt with identification, or insufficient details are provided by the customer or a third party, no action should be taken until further confirmation of death for a child can be obtained.

Customers are not required to register the child's birth with the relevant State/Territory department for PPL and SBP.

Either PPL or SBP can be paid for a stillborn child. If the customer is not eligible for PPL or withdraws their PPL claim, a claim for SBP can be assessed.

Customers who have had an early claim for FTB and/or PPL assessed, can provide information about their stillborn child by using the:

• ‘Add newborn child’ service in their Centrelink online account, or
• ‘Add child’ service in the Express Plus Centrelink mobile app

Customers completing the Add newborn service may be asked to supply a 6 month income estimate from the date of delivery for the Stillborn Baby Payment where:

• they have competed an early claim including PPL, and
• indicate within the Add Newborn that they no longer intend to claim Parental Leave Pay

Customers should be encouraged to claim online, but they can claim PPL or SBP by lodging the Claim for Bereavement Payment (FA008) issued to parents by the hospital. This contains a doctor/midwife declaration which is used as confirmation of the stillbirth.

Customers who have lost or were not issued the FA008 by the hospital may lodge the Claim for Bereavement Payment (FA008m) which can be downloaded from the website or issued by a Service Officer. Note: the FA008m does not contain a doctor/midwife declaration so other suitable confirmation of the stillbirth will need to be provided.

PPL is treated as ordinary income for calculating the rate of payment for income support payments (ISP). Customers who receive an ISP should be made aware that claiming PPL may cause their ISP to reduce in rate or even cancel.

For the customer's claim to be finalised, confirmation needs to be provided via:

• the completed doctor/midwife declaration on the FA008
• other suitable confirmation such as a letter (on hospital letterhead) from the doctor/midwife who attended the birth, or another appropriate hospital representative, or a report from a qualified medical practitioner familiar with the case. The letter must:
• confirm the doctor or midwife's name and qualification, and
• has a signature (this may be the appropriate hospital representative, doctor or midwife), and
• provide the details of the parent and child, and the date and place of birth