Completing the Claim for an annual lump sum payment of Family Tax Benefit for the 2023-2024 financial year (FA048) 007-07020030

A customer does not need to complete a paper claim form if they wish to claim online. See Online or Assisted Customer Claim (ACC) for family assistance and Parental Leave Pay (PPL).

The online claim for the relevant year will be available for a period of 12 months following the end of the entitlement year.

The claim must be lodged before 30 June of the lodgement year.

Claims can be lodged via the Services Australia Website. The Resources page contains a link to the website.

Note: a customer unable to lodge their claim by the end of the lodgement year can only have a special circumstances extension assessed after they have lodged a lump sum claim for the relevant financial year.

Who should complete the claim?

• The person responsible for the day to day care of a dependent child for the period covered by the claim
• Only 1 member of a couple may claim except for blended families and separated customers who are claiming FTB for a past period when they were a couple
• Customers who shared the care of a child with another person must have had a level of shared care of at least 10%
• Customers claiming on behalf of a deceased person need to complete the claim form giving details of the deceased person. They will need to attach a separate statement giving their name and address and stating that they are claiming as the executor of the deceased person's estate

The customer (or their partner) may need an interpreter. The customer may wish to nominate a person or organisation to enquire or act on their behalf. They may give permission for their partner to discuss their payments.

Your partner means the partner of the customer on 30 June 2024. If the customer was partnered during that financial year but separated before 30 June, that partner's details should be given in the 'previous partner' section. If the customer's current partner was not their partner on 30 June, their details are not required for this claim.

Tax File Number (TFN)

TFNs are needed to allow Mutual Customer Identification with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) so that actual income details can be transferred electronically from the ATO to Services Australia. See Provision of Tax File Number (TFN) for family assistance and Paid Parental Leave scheme payments.

Self service

Customers can ask to receive information from Services Australia via email or SMS. Service Officers can register customers for self service so that they can also do business via Online Services.

Relationship status

Customers need to indicate their current relationship status and the date they became or ceased to be a member of a couple.

To be eligible for FTB, customers must have legal residence status and also be living in Australia on a permanent basis. See Residence assessment for customers claiming Family Tax Benefit (FTB), Parental Leave Pay (PPL) and Dad and Partner Pay (DAP).

An absence from Australia may affect family assistance payments. Temporary visa holders may not be eligible for family assistance during any absence from Australia.

Bank account details must be supplied before payment can be made. Customers can be given 28 days from date of claim to provide these details.

The account nominated must be an account held in the customer's name or jointly with another person. It cannot be in the child's name unless the customer is the signatory or trustee. See Payment destination.

Members of a blended family may choose to each claim FTB separately and nominate the percentage of the family’s FTB entitlement each is to be paid.

For more information, see Blended families and Family Tax Benefit (FTB).

If the customer is eligible to receive ongoing FTB as fortnightly payments (they have an FTB child in their care), they must claim FTB for the current financial year to receive to receive Rent Assistance (RA).

If the customer changed accommodation several times during the relevant financial year, they need to attach a separate sheet with details.

If the customer pays private rent, board or lodgings, they may be eligible for RA. A customer may be eligible for RA if they own their home but are not living in it and they are currently paying rent, board or lodgings for accommodation.

The customer will need to provide verification by way of lease agreement or a Rent Certificate (SU523) issued by the agency and completed by the landlord.

The customer should list all dependent children in their care during the relevant financial year. There is room on the claim form to list 4 children. A separate sheet should be attached to give details for other children. Note: this also includes children aged 16-18 who are in full-time secondary schooling.

Child residence requirements

Any overseas absences must be recorded.

Change of care

Details of the previous carer of the child, date the child entered the customer's care, and the period the child lived with the customer in the relevant financial year are needed. If the customer has legal or other documents to support the change of care, these should be provided. If they do not have supporting documents, they should list the names of the child's natural (or adoptive) parents.

Child income details

A child income limit applied to some children until 30 April 2014.

If the child receives a payment in their own right, they may not be an FTB child.

Family circumstances (care arrangements)

If the child has spent time in the care of another person, the customer needs to advise the name and address of that person, provide a parenting plan or court order or state the percentage of time in the customer's care during the financial year, and list any short periods the child left the customer's care.

Children from a previous relationship

For each child in care during the financial year, the customer needs to indicate if the child is from a previous relationship and, if yes, whether they (or their partner) took action to obtain child support. If no action was taken, they need to state the reason.

From 2011-2012 onwards, lump sum claims will be assessed using information from Child Support. Customers can no longer self-assess their child support.

If the customer has taken action to obtain child support during the financial year, the details of this will be obtained directly from Child Support.

If the customer has indicated that they did not take any action to obtain child support for their child/ren, assess the reason. If the customer has indicated a reason, for example other parent overseas, family and domestic violence or parentage unknown, an exemption should be explored, see Exemptions from seeking child support for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) customers.

If the child has a disability, the customer may wish to claim Carer Payment (CP) and/or Carer Allowance (CA).

If the child is an orphan, issue a Claim for Double Orphan Pension (SC003).

Taxable income

Has the customer (or their partner on 30 June 2024) lodged a tax return for the 2023-2024 financial year and received their Notice of Assessment (NOA)?

• Yes, they should state the taxable income amount as advised on the NOA.
  Note: if the customer accessed superannuation funds under the First Home Super Saver (FHSS) Scheme these withdrawals will contain some portion that the ATO will determine as taxable income and include within the customer’s taxable income value on their NOA. However, for Services Australia purposes, FHSS Scheme withdrawals are not counted towards taxable income. If referring to a customer’s NOA who has accessed superannuation under this scheme, you will need to exclude any taxable income attributed to the FHSS Scheme. Advice from the individual on the value to be excluded should be obtained. This is expected to be information the individual has access to from their FHSS Scheme submission and approval paperwork. This consideration is only applicable to NOA’s.
• No, they need to estimate the amount of taxable income (see Taxable income for family assistance and Paid Parental Leave Scheme payments) they will receive for the financial year from the following sources (if they did not receive any income they should write '$0' in the box):
• salary and wages
• lump sum payments
• business or self-employment
• investments
• real estate
• government pensions and benefits
• other taxable income

Other adjusted taxable income (ATI) components

All customers need to estimate the amount they (and their partner on 30 June) received for the financial year from each ATI component.

See Helping families provide a reasonable annual income estimate for family assistance payments.

If the customer (or their partner on 30 June) is required to lodge a tax return for the relevant financial year, the customer's annual FTB entitlement will be calculated once all required actual income details are transferred electronically from the ATO.

If the customer (or their partner) is required to lodge a tax return, it must be lodged with the ATO by the end of the lodgement year.

Time limits apply to the lodgement of tax returns for assessing FTB entitlement. If a customer or their partner is required to lodge tax returns with the ATO and fail to do so by the end of the lodgement year, the FTB lump sum claim will be rejected.

If the customer (or their partner) is not required to lodge a tax return, a ‘not required to lodge’ advice must be provided to and accepted by the agency before the end of the lodgement year, that is within 12 months of the end of the relevant financial year.

For members of a couple, if the customer or their partner has returned to work in 2023-2024 for the first time after having a baby or after a period out of the workforce to care for a child, FTB Part B may be paid free of the income test for a period before their return to work.

FTB Part B for single customers is not income tested and so they do not need to apply for this assistance.

See:

• Recording return to work details and explaining eligibility for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part B quarantine
• Part B income test

If the primary earner's adjusted taxable income is above the primary earner income limit, the family will not be eligible to receive FTB Part B, except for income support periods.

If the customer or their partner have returned to work they need to provide details of:

• The date they ceased work
• Whether or not they have worked an average of at least 10 hours per week over a period of 4 consecutive weeks, and the date returned to work. If they have worked less than 10 hours per week, they may nominate this as a return to work and advise the date they first returned to work
• Employer details or self-employment details
• Details of any paid leave, work related insurance or compensation received in the financial year or income from self-employment income received since ceasing active self-employment. Each type of payment and the start and end dates need to be provided, not the amounts received

Customers need to include details for all persons they were partnered to during the relevant financial year except the person who was their partner on 30 June 2024 (that partner's details must be included in the previous sections).

Information about a previous partner is needed to work out the customer's correct rate of FTB only for the period they were partnered to that person.

Customers need to list the full name, date of birth, country of birth and present address if known. They need to list all the periods they were partnered to the person during the relevant financial year.

If the customer had more than 2 previous partners, they should attach details on a separate sheet.

Customers must estimate the previous partner's income as best they can. For help, see Helping families provide a reasonable annual income estimate for family assistance payments.

Customers must give details of all maintenance income received by the previous partner during the relevant financial year.

Tax File Number (TFN). Customers may either:

• Tick that they have previously given the previous partner's TFN, or
• Provide the previous partner's TFN, or
• Tick that they do not have or know the previous partner's TFN. This will not affect their payment and no action is needed

The customer may need to provide:

• Proof of Australian residence if they were not born in Australia - a passport showing the residence visa or other documents to prove they were an Australian resident
• Proof of birth of child if not previously provided to Centrelink - birth certificate or extract, adoption papers or other government document
• Evidence of care arrangements such as a parenting plan or court order or legal documents to support a change of care. The customer does not need to provide evidence if an informal arrangement existed

The claim form must be signed and dated by the customer.

Lodgement

Customers have until 30 June 2024 to claim FTB for the 2023-2024 financial year. Claims may be lodged by mail or in person.

If actual income details needed, the claim will not be assessed until these are transferred from the ATO.

FTB entitlement is paid as a lump sum to the customer's nominated account. The customer will be sent a letter advising the result.

Upon receipt of FA048 or documentation for the claim, see Receipt of claims, forms and documentation for family assistance.