Initial contact by customers claiming Single Income Family Supplement (SIFS) 007-10010010

Families eligible for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) do not need to claim SIFS. Their SIFS entitlement will be automatically calculated:

• during the FTB reconciliation process, or
• when their FTB lump sum claim is assessed

They do not need to lodge a separate SIFS claim unless they wish to claim for a period they had a qualifying child for SIFS but were not eligible for FTB.

For eligibility for SIFS and the grandfathering provisions applying from 1 July 2017, see Single Income Supplement (SIFS).

The Resources page contains Ready Reckoners for staff use.

Non-FTB recipients will need to lodge a separate SIFS claim each year. SIFS is not payable to new recipients from 1 July 2017, however existing recipients may be eligible if they meet the grandfathering provisions.

Non-FTB recipients, or recipients who lodge via an FTB lump sum claim who are grandfathered, must still make a claim each year.

Customers have 12 months from the end of an entitlement year to lodge their SIFS claim. For example by 30 June 2021 for 2019-20 financial year.

Families prevented from lodging their claim by the end of the lodgement year may be granted a special circumstances extension to meet the requirement. A decision about a special circumstances extension cannot be made until the customer has lodged a SIFS claim for the relevant financial year.

Families will need to lodge a claim online. An online claim for an entitlement year will only be available during the lodgement year.

Families unable or unsuitable to complete an online claim, or where a grandfathered customer wishes to lodge a SIFS claim after the end of the lodgement year - will need to be completed using Assisted Customer Claims (ACC).

A special circumstances assessment cannot be undertaken until a claim for the relevant financial year has been lodged.

Required information/documents

Families claiming online are advised when they submit their claim of any documents they will need to provide to support their claim. This can include:

• proof of Australian residence status if the person is not an Australian citizen born in Australia
• proof of birth for the child (if not previously provided)

SIFS claims can only be assessed once adequate taxable income details are available for the customer and their partner/ex-partner for the relevant financial year.

A customer has 12 months from the end of an entitlement year to confirm income for themselves and their partner/ex-partner, by either:

• lodging tax returns with the ATO, or
• advising they are not required to lodge a tax return and providing a reasonable estimate of their income

Families prevented from confirming income by the end of the lodgement year may be granted a special circumstances extension to meet the requirements.

Note: SIFS entitlement is based on taxable income only, not adjusted taxable income (ATI).