Carer Payment (CP) (child) when caring for a disabled adult and 1 or 2 children with a disability or medical condition (multiple care) 009-04070040

CP (child) may apply when a person provides care to a disabled adult, and 1 or 2 children under 16 years of age each with a disability or a medical condition ('multiple care').

In these cases:

• Each child must have achieved a qualifying Treating Health Professional (THP) score of greater than zero
• The qualifying Care Needs Assessment (CNA) rating for the child or children assessed under the Disability Care Load Assessment Determination (DCLAD) tool must be at least 45
• If assessing 2 children, each child must have achieved a CNA rating of at least 20
• The disabled adult must have been assessed and rated under the Adult Disability Assessment Tool (ADAT) and given a score under that assessment tool of at least 20, with a THP score of at least 8. This will be deemed to be the equivalent of a CNA rating of 40
• The combination of adult and child CNA ratings must meet or exceed a qualifying threshold rating of 85 (for example, 40 (adult) + 45 (child) = 85) which is the qualifying rating of 'intense', as assessed under the DCLAD for CP (child)

Note:

• A carer of disabled adult and 1 or 2 children who qualify the carer for CP (child) may also be covered by exchanged care arrangements
• A care receiver granted under mainstream care rules (for one care receiver only) cannot also be part of these provisions
• In addition to the above, to be eligible for CP (child) under these provisions, the carer must personally provide constant care to the care receivers:
• the care provided to the care receivers attains a qualifying rating of intense
• the provision of the care by the person must severely restrict the person's capacity to undertake paid employment
• the carer must complete the usual carer assessment process
• the child/children must be assessed with the DCLAD tool, and achieve a qualifying score on each medical report

• Customers can submit an online claim or complete relevant forms issued via the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow. See Claiming Carer Payment (CP) and/or Carer Allowance (CA)
• If the adult care receiver has not yet been assessed and rated under the ADAT, the carer claiming CP child for multiple care will also be required to complete lodge a claim, medical report and ADAT Claimant Questionnaire to test their eligibility under multiple care
• A payment reclaim can be made if the customer claims within 24 months of the current CNA and Medical Report. Medical conditions and/or disabilities listed from the previous health professional care load assessment or medical certificate will need to be checked whenever a subsequent re-claim is granted
• Carers will also be asked if they require referral to support services
• Carers may lodge an early claim to test their eligibility for CP (child) up to 13 weeks before the start of the period of care

Note: care receivers can include a disabled adult and 1 or 2 children assessed under the short term care or episodic care provisions. In this case the claim would be limited episodic care CP (child).

CA (auto) will automatically be paid to customers receiving CP (child) under the multiple care provisions (for an adult care receiver and 1 or 2 children with a disability or medical condition) for the same period, but only if the carer or another person is not already receiving CA (child) for that care receiver, or CA is not payable for another reason, e.g. cancelled due to respite bank exceeded.

• Carers will remain eligible for CP (child) and CA (child and auto) for as long as the child care receiver is hospitalised if the carer continues to meet all other eligibility requirements for CP (child) and/or CA (child)
• Any CA (auto) child care receivers will be eligible for a Health Care Card (HCC) in their name in addition to any Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) or HCC held by the carer. Normal concession card hierarchy rules apply

Note: CA (auto) is not paid for the adult under these provisions. The carer will only be eligible for CA (auto) for the child care receivers.

See Temporary cessation of care (respite) and hospitalisation.

If carer who qualifies under multiple care provisions has a child who turns 16, they will remain qualified for 3 months after the child's 16th birthday, or until they are granted or rejected for another income support payment (including other CP types), whichever is sooner.

• On the 3 month anniversary of the child's 16th birthday, if the carer is still in receipt of CP (child) for that child, payment will cancel
• These provisions only apply to CP (child). Therefore, when a qualifying child turns 16, the carer will need to test their eligibility for another income support payment, including CP (adult)

Specific Treating Health Professional and carer care load cancellation, suspension and rejection reasons will apply.

See Cancellation, suspension and rejection codes for Carer Payment (CP).

• Customers can submit an online claim or complete relevant forms issued via the First Contact Service Offer (FCSO) workflow. See Claiming Carer Payment (CP) and/or Carer Allowance (CA)
• If the adult care receiver has not yet been assessed and rated under the ADAT, the carer claiming CP (child) will also be required to lodge a CP and/or CA (adult) claim and medical report (the claim includes the ADAT carer questionnaire) to test their eligibility under CP (child) multiple care
• A care receiver will be given a score based on the questionnaire they fill out (the CNA) and a score based on the report completed by a Treating Health Professional (THP). They will have to receive a certain score on each of these questionnaires to obtain a qualifying rating for CP (child) multiple care
• If 2 children meet the qualifying rating for care of one child they will be deemed to have a qualifying rating of 'intense
• For CP (child) re-claims and transfers from other income support payments, customers can submit an online claim or complete relevant forms issued via FCSO. See Transfers to Carer Payment (CP)

The carer will receive a letter with information about the new grant.

• Carers will receive a Pensioner Concession Card (PCC)
• All CA (auto) child care receivers are eligible for a Health Care Card (HCC) in their name in addition to any PCC that the Carer is issued. Normal concession card hierarchy applies

CP (child) carers will be eligible for all other standard pension entitlements including advance payment.

If a carer is caring for a disabled adult and 1 or 2 children with a disability or medical condition (multiple care), this information will display in Customer First, on the Carers Summary page.

Carers will be offered voluntary referrals to provide support for carers who choose to increase their social and economic participation and support carers who are seeking assistance with their caring role.

The service offer to carers will ensure carers are aware of the referral options offered by Services Australia and assist in connecting carers to their chosen options in a seamless manner.

The two referral pathways are:

• Referral to employment service providers
• Referral to government and non-government organisations who can provide support services to carers with various aspects of their caring role. Options may include referral to child care services, respite services and organisations that provide support to carers