Reconciliation of family assistance payments 007-11000000

This document outlines reconciliation for customers who receive Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Subsidy (CCS). Reconciliation of these payments occurs once the customer (and their partner) lodges their Income Tax Return with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), if required. Positive or negative adjustments occur when a customer receives a payment that is greater than or less than they were entitled to receive.

Government intent

Services Australia has a legal obligation to recover an overpaid amount under Social Security Law and Family Assistance Law. The ATO calculates the customer's actual adjusted taxable income received for the relevant financial year and sends this to Services Australia to work out the amount of FTB and/or CCS the customer should have received compared to what they did receive based on their estimated income. Services Australia takes action to recover overpayments in most cases. The ATO may also recover overpayments during reconciliation and lump sum claim processing.

Lodgement of tax return

For customers and partners required to lodge an income tax return, annual FTB and CCS entitlements are calculated using:

income details received from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), and
any other actual adjusted taxable income (ATI) recorded

Not required to lodge a tax return advised to Services Australia

A completed and accepted non-lodgement advice provides the:

non-lodgement exemption reason, and
income details to be used to reconcile FTB and CCS

Customers and their partners can also lodge a return not needed (RNN) with the Australian Taxation Office.

Note: CCS customers who lodge an RNN will still be required to confirm their income a ‘Not required to lodge’ advice.

Maintenance income (FTB only)

Services Australia also reconciles maintenance income a customer received in the relevant financial year with the amount of FTB they should have received based on this maintenance income. Any negative adjustment may be raised as an overpayment.

Debt offsetting

Debt offsetting may automatically apply during reconciliation or FTB lump sum claim processing if the customer has an outstanding debt.

Notification of change in circumstances

Customers have a responsibility to notify any changes in their circumstances that may affect their entitlements or reduce their rate within a specified period. Claim forms, notices and advices issued, clearly state the events a person is obliged to tell Services Australia about. There are also provisions for penalties or imprisonment if a person misrepresents their circumstances or makes false or misleading statements.