Foster care and principal carers 007-07050010

For a PP, JSP, YA job seeker or SpB customer to be assessed as the principal carer of a foster child, the child must be their dependent child.

General qualification rules apply:

• The child is to be under 6 years of age for Parenting Payment Partnered (PPP), or under 14 years of age for Parenting Payment Single (PPS)
• For JSP, YA and SpB customers, the child is to be a dependent child under 16 years
• Only one person can be assessed as the principal carer of a child at any time

A foster carer is subject to the same qualification and payability requirements that apply to all customers claiming PP, JSP, YA and SpB.

Formal foster care arrangements are mediated by state or territory welfare authorities or approved agencies appointed by state/territory governments. For example, Barnados, Anglicare, Life Without Barriers.

Customers seeking to be recognised as a foster carer must provide evidence from the foster agency, or the state/territory appointed agency. The evidence needs to show the legality of the change of care, such as:

• court orders
• documentation from state welfare authorities stating the customer is a 'registered' foster carer
• documentation from recognised foster care agencies stating the customer is a 'registered' foster carer

Job seekers may be granted an exemption from mutual obligation requirements if they are registered or recognised as a foster carer. Only formally registered foster carers can be granted this exemption. The exemption can be granted for up to 12 months at a time. It can be extended for another 12 months if evidence is provided. Closely examine any documentation to make sure it states the customer is a 'formal', 'active' or 'registered' foster carer. Make sure there are enough details of the arrangements and they can be validated.

Foster Care Allowance is exempt from the income test under social security law, in the same way that family assistance payments are exempt. It is not exempt child income and it can reduce the customer's additional income free area if they are paid under the pension transitional rules.

This care is also known as kinship care and allows individuals who are not the parent of the child to be considered as a principal carer of the child as they provide care under a formal state/ territory protections case plan/care plan.

This type of care is different from formal registered and active foster care as the person caring for the child would otherwise not be a foster carer if the child were not a relative or community member.

The customer will need to provide verification of the plan from the state/territory authority and this will be considered evidence of the customer's kinship status (family or community).

An automatic exemption from their mutual obligation requirements should be applied to the principal carers who provide kinship care on income support. See Principal carer - family or community members caring for a child (reason CNC) in Exempting a job seeker from mutual obligation requirements due to special circumstances.

An exemption may be granted for up to 12 months, but this depends on the period the customer will be providing the care as indicated by the documentation from the state/territory authority. The kinship carer may ask for a review for a new period of exemption.

Principal carers who are exempt for this reason are not paid the higher rate of JSP, YA or SpB as this exemption type does not attract that rate.

Informal foster care arrangements refer to private care arrangements, including care in an extended family, care in inter-family units, care within or arranged by community groups and care outside family or community groups not arranged by a formal agency.

Customers seeking to be recognised as the carer for a child who is not their natural child must provide evidence to prove the legality of the change of care, such as confirmation from the child's natural/adoptive parent or the previous carer.

Customers providing informal foster care are not eligible for the formal foster carer exemptions from mutual obligation requirements. However, certain exemption types can be granted on a case by case basis for up to 16 weeks at a time where the customer is providing informal foster care. For the correct exemption coding for informal caring arrangements see Principal carer -relative caring for a child (reason CNP) in Exempting a job seeker from mutual obligation requirements due to special circumstances.

Care needs to be taken to identify cases where a young person may be living with someone who is not a relative, or is at risk of harm. Cases where the child is considered to be at risk are to be referred to a social worker immediately.

In most cases it is mandatory to attempt to contact the other carer.

Exceptions:

• If care arrangements have changed because of an order by a state welfare authority, there may be sensitivities involved and Service Officer's should exercise their judgement on a case by case basis to determine if it is appropriate to make contact
• Consider relevant privacy issues when sending a letter to the other carer. Service Offices must consider inhibiting the office name of the other carer and using the term 'other carer' instead of their name
• If there is a family and domestic violence situation and there is concern if the other carer is contacted the customer or child will be placed at risk, the Service Officer must be satisfied based on the available evidence a decision can be made without contact

Note: where family and domestic violence concerns are identified, the Family and Domestic Violence Support Model (FDVSM) must be followed. Consideration must be given to the involvement of a social worker where a child may be at risk of harm, or where a customer's circumstances indicate vulnerability or risk to the customer's safety. See Social work service referral.

Foster carers may also be entitled to family assistance including Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Customers not automatically entitled to a Health Care Card (HCC) through their FTB may claim a HCC for their foster child. HCC for foster children are not means tested.

State based foster carer allowance payments that are tax exempt are not assessable income for family assistance purposes. This means these payments do not need to be included in the family income estimate.