Eligibility for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for a child in foster care 007-07040040

Customer claims FTB for a foster care child who has entered their care.

If the foster care arrangement is:

• formal - carer is mediated by a state or territory welfare authority, go to Step 3
• informal - a relative or friend assumes care of a child in a private arrangement, go to Step 2

A natural or adoptive parent of the child cannot be considered a foster carer.

Care should be taken to identify cases where the young person may be living with someone who is not a relative and may be at risk of harm. To help identify potential cases at risk, it is necessary to establish the person's relationship to the child/ren, per the claim form.

Is the validity of the relationship between the person and the child in doubt?

• Yes, the case must be referred to a social worker immediately
• if social worker recommends grant, go to Step 4
• if social worker recommends rejection, see Step 3 in Table 2
• No, advise the claimant that Services Australia needs to verify that the child is in their care. Go to Step 3

Ask the customer to provide evidence to substantiate the change of care. Examples of evidence include:

• court orders
• documentation from state welfare authorities
• documentation from recognised foster care agencies

Documentation to the agency may include:

• an original letter on the letterhead of the state child welfare authority, providing details of the child's placement with the carer and the relevant approved dates of placement
• the relevant court orders, if available. Note: a state or territory children's court order may not name the foster carer, and in this case a separate letter from the child welfare authority linking the carer with the child may still be needed, or
• information on a dated letterhead from recognised foster care agencies that includes the:
• child's full name and date of birth (DOB)
• carer's name and address
• type of order
• date placement/care commenced

Where the child is not known to the agency, that is, does not have a child record, then additional proof of birth documents are also required as outlined in Helping customers provide proof of a child's birth for family assistance, Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Paid Parental Leave scheme claims.

If the informal carer is providing a co-signed Details of your child's care arrangements (FA012), evidence must be provided before a claim can be assessed. The Service Officer needs to be satisfied the evidence provided is sufficient to make a determination before granting FTB. See the Resources page for examples.

Note: if additional evidence is not provided for informal care arrangements, the claim should be rejected.

Has evidence of a formal change of care been provided by the claimant, and sighted and recorded by the Service Officer as suitable?

• Yes, go to Step 6
• No, go to Step 4

If the customer has not advised details of the previous carer, make enquiries to establish the details. Ask the customer at the interview. The child's record may be checked to obtain details of the previous carer.

For FTB claims, if there is no record for the child, the biological parents are not known, and a letter from the foster care association has been provided, contact the case worker named in the letter to obtain enough detail about the birth mother to allow a Display on Access DOC to be put on the birth mother's record if they have one. Additional proof of birth documents may also be required as outlined in Helping customers provide proof of a child's birth for family assistance, Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Paid Parental Leave scheme claims.

Was the previous carer of the child receiving FTB?

• Yes, and the previous carer:
• has already notified the agency that the child has left their care, see Step 2 in Table 2
• has not notified, go to Step 5
• No, and the care is
• informal, go to Step 5
• formal, see Step 2 in Table 2

Attempt to contact the previous carer to verify the change in care. It is mandatory to attempt to contact the losing carer by phone initially, in most cases. The exception to this is:

• if a change of care has occurred as a result of a child being removed from their parents care by a state welfare authority, there may be sensitivities involved and staff should use their judgement on a case by case basis to determine whether it is appropriate to make contact
• evidence supplied by the gaining carer or state welfare authority can be used to confirm the change of care. However, the delegate must be satisfied based on the available evidence that a change of care has occurred. The Resources page has an example

If the care is informal, and the non-parent carer is providing a co-signed Details of your child's care arrangements (FA012) or the losing carer advised verbally, evidence must be provided before a claim can be assessed. The Service Officer needs to be satisfied the evidence provided is sufficient to make a determination before granting FTB. See the Resources page for examples.

Note: if additional evidence is not provided for informal care arrangements, the claim should be rejected.

Consider the involvement of a social worker where appropriate. If staff require any advice on complex cases they should escalate the case to the Families and Childcare Level 2 Policy Helpdesk. The Resources page has a link.

If the exception above applies and the gaining carer subsequently provides evidence of the care change, go to Step 8.

Do not attempt to verify care arrangements with the child or any other third party person or organisation. The exception to this is:

• in some cases, it may be necessary to contact state welfare authority or foster care agency to obtain additional information about the child
• see Helping customers provide proof of a child's birth for family assistance, Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Paid Parental Leave scheme claims for further details

In all other cases, attempt to contact the losing carer by phone.

Go to Step 7.

It is mandatory to attempt to contact the losing carer by phone initially, in most cases. The exception to this is:

• if a change of care has occurred as a result of a child being removed from their parents care by a state welfare authority there may be sensitivities involved and staff should use their judgement on a case by case basis to determine whether it is appropriate to make contact
• evidence supplied by the gaining carer can be used to confirm the change of care. However, the delegate must be satisfied based on the available evidence that a change of care has occurred. The Resources page has an example

What constitutes sufficient or appropriate evidence depends on the circumstances of the case and the assessment of the Service Officer. Each case should be determined on its merit. If there is any doubt about the evidence provided or the care change, further evidence can be requested. Consider the involvement of a social worker where appropriate. The Resources page also contains examples of evidence that can be provided for informal changes of care.

Note: if the customer has provided a Details of your child's care arrangements (FA012) signed by a parent, or the losing carer advised verbally of an informal change in care, additional evidence must be provided to support the change in care.

If staff need any advice on complex cases they should escalate the case to the Families and Childcare Level 2 Policy Helpdesk. The Resources page has a link.

Do not attempt to verify care arrangements with the child or any other third party person or organisation. The exception to this is:

• in some cases, it may be necessary to contact state welfare authority or foster care agency to obtain additional information about the child
  See Helping customers provide proof of a child's birth for family assistance, Child Care Subsidy (CCS) and Paid Parental Leave scheme claims for further details

Is it appropriate to contact the losing carer?

• Yes, go to Step 7
• No, go to Step 8

Was the losing carer contacted successfully?

• Yes, and the losing carer:
• confirms care arrangements (including the date the change occurred), see Step 2 in Table 2
• contests the arrangements, go to Step 10
• No, go to Step 9

If it is not appropriate to contact the losing care and the Service Officer is satisfied based on the evidence provided by the gaining carer that a change of care has occurred see Step 1 in Table 2.

Examples of evidence include:

• court orders
• documentation from state welfare authorities
• documentation from recognised foster care agencies

Documentation to Services Australia may include:

• an original letter on the letterhead of the state child welfare authority, providing details of the child's placement with the carer and the relevant approved dates of placement, or
• the relevant court orders, if available. Note: a state or territory children's court order may not name the foster carer, and in this case a separate letter from the child welfare authority linking the carer with the child may still be needed

See Step 1 in Table 2.

If using Process Direct:

Select > Request Documents to request care information for the gaining carer. Do this for the losing carer/s too. See Information requests for FTB and PPL claims, and Add Newborn and PPL change of circumstances activities. Note: there is no requirement to issue a FA012 form when sending a request for information (RFI) in Process Direct. Customers should follow the instructions contained in the RFI to access the form online

If using Customer First:

• In Customer Record run the Child Change in Care Arrangements script to issue the gaining carer with a Q810 for change in shared care
• If the losing carer is:
• FTB current, run the Child - Change in Care Arrangements script and issue Q810 - Shared Care Dispute - Request for information requesting evidence of care arrangements and a Details of your child's care arrangements (FA012) form
  Ensure If customer does not respond by due date FTB will be cancelled is selected within the script. Close the request documentation DOC on the record
• Not FTB current and has an existing Centrelink record, issue Q999 letter with a Details of your child's care arrangements (FA012) from their record. See the Resources page of Change of care for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for letter text
• Not FTB current and does not have an existing Centrelink record, send Q999 with a Details of your child's care arrangements (FA012) from the gaining carers record as a third party letter. See the Resources page of Change of care for Family Tax Benefits (FTB) for letter text
• Record details on a DOC
• Resubmit for 22 days to ensure the customer is given 14 days to reply (allow 29 days for remote area and overseas customers). See new postage timeframes

Note: due to the unsuccessful contact with the losing carer, letters are sent to both the losing and gaining carer now as this gives both carers equal opportunity to provide evidence without unnecessary delays to process the FTB payment.

• Do not issue multiple FA012 forms if 1 has been completed and returned

Note: if the customer has provided a co-signed Details of your child's care arrangements (FA012) for an informal change in care, additional evidence must be provided to support the change in care.

Customer in hardship:

While the change in care must still be confirmed, if the customer is in hardship, FTB may be granted without delay in certain circumstances. See Change of care for Family Tax Benefit (FTB).

Go to Step 11.

Is there a contest between the foster carer and the parent or previous carer as to who has care of the child?

• Yes,
• Integrated Care skilled staff, go to Step 12
• All other staff, go to Step 11
• No, see Step 2 in Table 2

All disagreed care assessments and updates are completed by appropriately skilled Child Support smart centre staff.

Put work item on hold and hand-off to Integrated Care

• In Process Direct:
• Where there is an existing claim being actioned handover the claim to Customer First. See Process Direct navigation, common screens and functions for help with the Handover function. Once handed over, place the work item on hold for 14 days, allowing extra time for mail delivery and add the keywords DISAGREE and COCARE
• In Customer First:
• Where there is an existing work item (such as claim activity) place the work item on hold for 14 days, allowing extra time for mail delivery and add the keywords DISAGREE and COCARE
• Where there is no started activity, re-index/create a new activity with the appropriate service reason, source and type (for example, 'NCL' or 'Add Child') and add keywords DISAGREE and COCARE
• Where actioning a FA012, complete the scanned document work item, see Viewing Centrelink customers' digital images
• Ensure all details including the due date are provided within Fast Note - Auto Text > FAMILIES > ENQUIRY > Change of Care Evidence DUE DATE on all parties' records
• Create a Display on Access (DOA) DOC using the Fast Note - Auto Text > FAMILIES>ENQUIRY>Disagreed Care in Progress on all parties' records, with an expiry date of 28 days
• Once evidence is returned or the activity/claim becomes 'DUE', this will be allocated to an Integrated Care trained Service Officer

Note: the work item does not need to be re-categorised, by adding the keyword, as it will automatically flow to Integrated Care skilled staff.

For customers experiencing financial hardship or who are a family in crisis and request urgent finalisation of the care arrangements:

A request for urgent activity finalisation for Disagreement of care arrangements cannot be made before the due date for the request for evidence.

• Use Fast Note - Auto Text > Families > Enquiry > Disagree Care Urgent Esc.
  Note: the 'Disagree Care Urgent Esc' auto text automatically adds the keywords URGENT and DISAGREE. These do not need to be added

Procedure ends here for Centrelink staff.

For Integrated Care (INC) staff only.

Determine who qualifies for FTB. In reaching a decision, consider all the circumstances of the case, especially:

• legal responsibility for the child
• care of the child and the duration of care
• shared care
• contrived arrangements
• child at risk of harm

If the child is away from the care of the person who normally has legal responsibility for less than 4 weeks, a change of care may not have occurred and the previous carer may continue to be eligible for FTB.

If the child has been placed in foster care for a short term, but it is clear that they will not be returning to the person who normally has legal responsibility, the foster carer can be eligible for FTB.

For more help, see Child leaves customer's care/custody.

See Step 1 in Table 2.

For Families and Child Care Smart Centre claims Processing staff only

Is the decision a favourable decision for the foster carer and is the customer eligible for FTB?

• Yes, go to Step 2
• No, go to Step 3

Establish the date of effect of the change of care and date that the child/ren became an FTB child of the foster carer.

• code the children off the record of the previous carer if this has not already been done
• for help processing the FTB claim, see Assessing family assistance and Paid Parental Leave scheme claims
• link the foster child to the customer's record
• if the child is considered a foster child of the customer, code details on the Child Miscellaneous Circumstances (CHM) screen for FTB and Health Care Card (HCC) purposes:
• in Event Date: field, code the date the child became a foster child of the customer
• in Foster Child FAO: field, code 'Yes'
• continue processing the claim and finalise once satisfied with outcome
• Record decision on a DOC

If customer is not entitled to an automatic HCC via maximum FTB rate, follow up possible eligibility to HCC for foster parents.

Procedure ends here.

Process the FTB claim and ensure claim auto rejects. Otherwise, reject FTB in Customer First on the Benefit Action (BA) screen. For example, reason 'FRC' (Failed to reply to correspondence).

If the child is not considered to be in the care of the customer, do not link child to customer. If child is currently linked to customer, record 'NCC' (Not in Customer Care) on the In Customer Care (CHC) screen to reject FTB.

Record decision on a DOC.

If the customer is not entitled to an automatic HCC via maximum FTB rate, follow up possible eligibility to Health Care Card (HCC) for foster parents.