Family Tax Benefit (FTB) child of a person 007-07040050

An individual may be an FTB child of a person if they are:

• Aged 0-15 years
• Aged from 16-19 years and satisfy study requirements. FTB can be paid up until the end of the calendar year in which they turn 19 years of age. Note: apprentices, other than school based apprentices, do not meet the study requirements for FTB

To qualify as an FTB child they must also be:

• an Australian resident, a special category visa holder residing in Australia, or living with the person who is an Australian resident
• in the person's care (at least 35% of the time if shared care)
• not receiving a disqualifying payment
• not the person's partner

From 1 January 2020, children aged 16-19 years receiving a means tested ABSTUDY payment (such as Living Allowance and School Fees Allowance (Group 2)) can still be considered an FTB child if they are:

• a full-time secondary student
• approved to live away from home to study, and
• boarding to attend school

Unless already provided for the child, proof of the child's birth is required.

If the above criteria are met, the person may be eligible for FTB for the child.

A child under 18 years of age can be an FTB child of a person if:

• the person has legal responsibility for the child's day-to-day care, welfare and development, for example parents have legal responsibility if there is no court order in place removing that responsibility
• the person has a family law order or parenting plan that states the child is to live with or have contact with the person, or
• the child is not in the care of anyone else with legal responsibility (such as the child's natural parent) and the child is not in a care situation such as child care (formal or informal) or staying with family or friends (overnight or holidays)

FTB can be paid for a child living away from home, as care may continue to be provided. See the References page for a definition of care, especially for older children.

A child aged 18-19 living away from home, for example to study, can still be considered to be in the care of an adult, even though at that age they are considered to have legal responsibility for themselves.

Consider the financial support provided to the child by their parent/s or legal guardian/s, such as provision of substantial financial support by a person to a child which may include daily costs such as food, accommodation and transport, dental and health care, clothing, school fees and other costs.

If limited financial support is provided, consider other factors that suggest the person's involvement with the child could still be considered as providing care for the child. This may include evidence that the individual is actively involved in major decisions relating to the child's health, schooling and relationships and/or career development.

If the customer is a grandparent or non-parent carer of the child, a determination should be made whether the care is a change in care (either formal or informal) or not. If a decision cannot be made based on just the information supplied by the customer, evidence may be required to make the determination, see Evidence to support the actual care arrangements.

Grandparents and non-parent carers will not generally be eligible for family assistance if the parent of the child also lives in the same household. This is unless the grandparent or non-parent carer:

• has legal responsibility of the child, either through:
• a court order, or
• a formal foster care arrangement
• where the child is placed into the care of the grandparent

For more information, see Eligibility for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for grandparent carers.

For examples of eligible grandparent carers, see Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (grandparent) eligibility and applications.

The FTB child income limit no longer applies from 1 May 2014.

Before 1 May 2014, a child was not an FTB child if the child income limit applied to the child and the child's income for the financial year exceeded the limit.

It is important to note differences between the definition of an FTB child under family assistance law and a dependent child under social security law. There will be cases where a child is considered a dependent of a person for FTB but not for their Social Security payment (for example, Parenting Payment) and vice versa. The References page contains details of these differences which relate to child age and study requirements, child income limits, receipt of Prescribed Education Scheme payments, and shared care.

For a young person aged 16-19 years, a customer may be eligible for FTB but a check should be made to see if the child should claim a payment in their own right such as Youth Allowance (YA) as this may be more beneficial. A dependent child aged 16-17 years in full-time secondary study living at home will generally not be eligible for YA. However, if they are not benefiting from the FTB payment made to their parents on their behalf, a social worker may determine that the young person can apply for YA.

Customers may be eligible to also receive Double Orphan Pension (DOP) for a child who has been assessed as an FTB child of the customer and is orphaned or one parent is deceased and the surviving parent is unable to care for the child due to circumstances such as long term imprisonment, parent is unknown or uncontactable, they are undergoing indefinite care/treatment in a psychiatric hospital or nursing home.