Shared care for income support payments and principal carer determination 007-02050010

A principal carer is a person with the primary care of a dependent child under the age of 16 years. A step parent may qualify as a principal carer if they live as a member of a couple with the parent of the child.

In shared care situations, Service Officers:

• complete a shared care assessment to determine a care percentage and therefore which carer is the principal carer of the child
• tell each person in writing which carer is the principal carer of the child, even if:
• one carer has not claimed income support, or
• each member of a couple is claiming or receiving a social security payment based on, or affected by them being a principal carer of a child

In most cases, the person with the greater degree of care and control of the child is the principal carer of that child. A person may remain as the principal carer of a child during a temporary absence from caring for the child.

In shared care situations, it may be necessary for a shared care assessment to be undertaken to determine a percentage of care. A shared care arrangement is where a pattern of care exists over a certain period. For example, the child stays with separated parents on alternate weeks, or with the non-custodial parent on weekends or during school holidays.

A shared care assessment may be used to determine eligibility and payability for both FAO and income support purposes. It may also be required for Carer Allowance.

In most circumstances the care percentage applied to the record will be the same for FAO and income support. From 2 March 2024 the SSC screen/shared care table care percentage and PC indicator will determine principal carer status of a child for income support purposes.

In a shared carer situation generally the person with the greater degree of care and control of the child is considered the principal carer:

• 55% or more will be the principal carer
• 46%-54% (equal care) a principal carer determination will be required
• 45% or less is not the principal carer

Note: in very rare instances there may be two or more carers in a care arrangement and the person with majority care is not considered the principal carer, therefore the rules above may not apply.

Where the difference in the level of care provided by 2 carers is less than 10%, so between 46% and 54% inclusive, this is considered equal care. Only one person can be the principal carer of a child, therefore a principal carer determination may be required if both parties are claiming or receiving an income support payment.

If shared care arrangements for more than one child are considered equal, it is not appropriate to 'allocate' a child to each carer so they both qualify as a principal carer. Care arrangements for each child should be assessed separately. If care arrangements are considered equal for 2 children, one carer would be the principal carer of both children. See Resources page for examples.

The carer determined to be in the most need of a favourable determination will be deemed to be the principal carer. When completing a principal carer assessment, a number of factors will be taken into account. The Process page has more information.

A new care assessment may be required if a customer contacts regarding the care arrangements recorded for a child.

The customer may advise:

• a child has left care
• a child has entered care, or
• the shared care percentage has changed

Once the care assessment has been completed and a level of care determined, a principal carer decision will be made. A customer may be required to claim an alternative income support payment if the change in care results in them no longer being a principal carer.

A customer who is not considered the principal carer of the child may still benefit by receiving a higher rate of benefit or an additional income free area if they are caring for a child. See Assessment of dependent children, additional income free area and child income under social security law.

A child may still qualify the customer for PP or as a principal carer during a child's temporary absence from the customer if there is no change to the shared care arrangement. .

There are two types of foster care, formal foster care and informal foster care.

Formal foster care is care mediated by a state or territory welfare authority whereas informal foster care occurs where a relative or friend assumes care of a child in a private arrangement.

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. In determining who is the principal carer of the child it should be first established who has legal responsibility for the child. Other factors also need to be considered, such as:

• the duration of time the child is expected to be in care
• who provides and pays for the child’s daily care, and
• who makes the major decisions regarding the child

It may be possible for a customer to have the majority care of a child but not be considered the principal carer.

For further information see:

1.1.P.415 Principal carer - foster care | Social Security Guide (link on the References page), and

the Resources page for an example

To minimise the possibility of a debt occurring for the period a decision is pending, care should be taken when making a shared care determination:

• which will result in a change of principal carer,
• where a person is already receiving income support as a principal carer

Particularly where:

• the current recipient has not made a false statement and has complied with the notification requirements relating to shared care, and
• the other carer is not reliant on a favourable determination to be the principal carer for the period before the date of determination

See the References page for a link to Principal carer - shared care legislation.

A new care assessment can be made by Centrelink or Child Support. If Child Support make a new care determination this information will be transferred to Centrelink.

If the percentage of care has reduced to below 55% or risen above 45%, a Manual Follow-up (MFU) will be created on the customer's record for a separate principal carer determination. A principal carer determination will be undertaken and the principal carer indicator on the SSC screen/shared care table updated accordingly. See Transfer of information between Centrelink and Child Support.