Age qualifications for a Low Income Health Care Card (LIC), Foster Child Health Care Card (FST) or Ex-Carer Allowance (child) Health Care Card (EHC) 101-06040040

0-15 years - Children under 16 should be covered by their parent's Health Care Card (HCC) through entitlement to Family Tax Benefit (FTB) or an income support payment. The exceptions are foster children or children residing in an Approved Care Organisation (ACO). For further information, see Foster Child Health Care Card (FST).

Children under the age of 16 years and in receipt of an income support payment in their own right which does not include an automatic HCC are not FTB children and may qualify for LIC.

16-18 years - Secondary students under 19 may only qualify for a LIC if they are not a FTB child.

Note: it is not a requirement under the FTB child definition, for a person to receive FTB payments for a child. An adult who has responsibility for a child can request cancellation of the FTB payment, but this will not enable the child to become eligible for the grant of a LIC in their own right.

19-24 years - Full-time students and unemployed persons may qualify for a LIC in their own name, although their carers may continue to receive FTB for them.

25 years and over - Customers 25 years and over may qualify for a LIC.

Previous qualification as CA (child) - A full-time student between 16 and 25 may qualify for an Ex-Carer Allowance (child) Health Care Card (EHC) if the claimant has a disability or medical condition that previously qualified their carer for Carer Allowance (CA) (child) on the day before the claimant turned 16. There are no age requirements for LIC qualification for any children in one of the following categories:

• they are not an FTB child of an individual, that is they reside in an Approved Care Organisation (ACO)
• they are an Australian Apprentice (apprentice or trainee)
• they are a foster child

There is no age restriction for an Australian apprentice (apprentice or trainee) to qualify for the LIC.

An individual under 19 years of age who is undertaking a combination of secondary studies, and an apprenticeship is not eligible for a LIC because they are regarded as a secondary student for LIC purposes.

A child who is a foster child, ward of the state, refugee or orphan, and is in the care of an individual who is not their natural or adoptive parent, is considered to be an FTB child of that individual, and therefore cannot claim a LIC.

A child who is a foster child, ward of the state, refugee or orphan and is in the care of an institution such as an ACO, is not in the care of an individual who is an Australian resident. Therefore, the child is not a FTB child, as institutions are not natural persons and cannot be Australian residents. Regardless of what payment the institution may be receiving for the child's care, a HCC is not automatically issued to cover the child.

Children in the care of an institution are able to qualify for a LIC in their own right as long as no individual is being paid FTB for the care of the child. The Claim for a Health Care Card (SS050) must be completed in the name of the child and not in the name of the institution or a worker from that institute.

A child is considered to be in foster care where:

• the child is not the natural or adopted child of the carer, and
• the carer is responsible for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the child

Foster care refers to both:

• formal care arrangements, where care is mediated by a state or territory welfare authority, and
• informal care arrangements, where a relative such as a grandparent or friend assumes care of a child in a private agreement

A foster carer is not required to receive FTB for a foster child in order for the child to obtain a HCC. A Foster Child Health Care Card (FST) can be claimed regardless of whether a foster child appears as a dependant on any other concession card. See Foster Child Health Care Card (FST).

Where LIC or FST has been claimed on behalf of a child for whom legal responsibility rests with the State Government, it may be necessary to create a person (PER) record (as distinct from a child (CHI) record) for that child.

Some State Government organisations have requested nominee status for these children to ensure their entitlements are correctly received. A nominee can only be appointed to a customer with a PER record and cannot be attached to a CHI record.