Initial contact by customers claiming payments for families 007-01010000

A person making contact about a payment should be invited to make a claim for payment, even if their eligibility for that payment is in doubt.

The following payments and benefits are available to eligible parents, grandparents or guardians:

• Family Tax Benefit (FTB) fortnightly instalments or a lump sum for the previous financial year
• Parental Leave Pay (PPL)
• Stillborn Baby Payment (SBP)
• Child Care Subsidy (CCS)
• Single Income Family Supplement (SIFS) payable at the end of the financial year. Note: SIFS is not payable to new claimants from 1 July 2017, however existing recipients may be eligible if they meet the grandfathering provisions
• Double Orphan Pension (DOP) for a DOP child
• Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) scheme payments (for an eligible student)
• Carer Payment (CP) and/or Carer Allowance (CA)
• Parenting Payment (PP)
• JobSeeker Payment (JSP)

Online claims: these payments can be claimed online except AIC and DOP.

Links to information on specific payments are listed below.

A combined claim can be lodged for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Parental Leave Pay (PPL).

A single online claim can be submitted to claim any combination of FTB, PPL and Child Care Subsidy (CCS). When claiming FTB for the current year, FTB can also be claimed for the previous financial year.

An early claim can be lodged for PPL or FTB before a child's expected date of birth or entrustment to care.

Claim choice for a newborn or adopted child: customers who are not eligible for PPL but are eligible for FTB Part A will be automatically assessed for the Newborn Supplement (NBS) and Newborn Upfront Payment (NBU) for a newborn or adopted child. There is no separate claim required for NBS/NBU.

Offer the customer the option of claiming online. Note: to claim online, the customer must have an active Centrelink online account.

An Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) can be completed with the customer and a verbal signature declaration accepted in the following situations:

• families in crisis who are experiencing difficulty in understanding or complying with claim requirements, or who need a speedy outcome to meet immediate financial needs
• remote Indigenous customers who have language or literacy barriers affecting their capacity to use forms or online claims (transfer the customer to Indigenous Services)
• the customer is deemed unable or unsuitable to complete an online claim, or
• a correspondence nominee is applying on behalf of their principal

Claimants who indicate they require an interpreter should not be referred to claim online. Check Office Locator for preferred appointment type and book an appointment with an interpreter at the customer's local service centre. If unable to book due to language barriers, contact an on demand telephone interpreter (Interpreter Connect) for assistance.

Record the conversation and booking of the appointment on the customer's record. See Online or Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) for family assistance and Parental Leave Pay (PPL)

For future contacts, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) customers can use the Multilingual Phone Service (MPS) to conduct their business with the agency.