Eligibility for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for individuals 007-07040010

An individual is eligible for FTB if they:

• satisfy Australian residence requirements
• have an FTB child in their care. If care of a child is shared between 2 or more individuals, the child must be in the individual's actual care for at least 35% of the time. Individuals with a Regular Care Child in their care can claim FTB to receive ancillary benefits for the child
• are entitled to a rate of FTB greater than nil

Individuals can use the online estimators to estimate their potential FTB entitlement.

Only 1 member of a couple may be eligible for FTB, except for members of a blended family and separated persons claiming for a past period when they were a couple.

Separate eligibility criteria must be met for a person to receive the following FTB components. Eligibility is assessed automatically based on the family's circumstances:

• FTB Part A is paid for each FTB child up to the end of the calendar year in which they turn 19 (study requirements must be met if aged 16-19). Part A can also include:
• Large Family Supplement (LFS) (not payable from 1 July 2016)
• Multiple Birth Allowance (MBA)
• Newborn Supplement (NBS), and
• Rent Assistance (RA)
• FTB Part B is paid per family based on the age of the youngest FTB child. From 1 July 2016, FTB Part B is not payable to a member of a couple who has a youngest child aged 13 years or over, unless the person is a grandparent carer. For single customers and grandparent carers, FTB Part B can continue to be paid up to the end of the calendar year in which the youngest child turns 18 (child must be in full-time secondary school if aged 16-18).
  For children born or entering care:
• on or after 1 July 2023, customers cannot receive FTB Part B for the days they receive Parental Leave Pay (PPL)
• before 1 July 2023, customers cannot receive FTB Part B for the period they receive Parental Leave Pay (PPL)
• Single Income Family Supplement (SIFS). Note: from the 2017-18 financial year, SIFS is not payable to new claimants. Grandfathering provisions for SIFS will apply

Separate income tests apply for Part A, Part B and SIFS.

To be eligible for FTB, individuals need to make an effective claim by:

• submitting an online claim or lodging a paper claim by the end of the lodgement year
• providing all information and documentation required to assess their claim including:
• their (and their partner's) tax file number
• child's proof of birth if this has not previously been provided for the child

Note: from the 2012-13 financial year onwards, a person prevented from lodging their lump sum claim by the end of the lodgement year due to special circumstances may be granted a lodgement extension.

A person is considered to have care of a child if they are responsible for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the child. This includes:

• physical care (health, transport, accommodation etc.)
• making daily decisions about their schooling and religion etc.
• financial costs, and
• mental, moral and emotional support

See the References page for a more detailed definition.

The employee would not be eligible for FTB for a child they are caring for in the group home. This is because the employee is not legally responsible for the child. The body responsible for the group home is responsible for the day-to-day care, welfare and development of the child.

If the body responsible for the group home is an Approved Care Organisation, they may be eligible to receive FTB for the child.

An individual may be eligible for:

• FTB Part A until the end of the calendar year in which the young person turns 19 years old
• FTB Part B until the end of the calendar year in which the young person turns 18 years old if the individual is either single or a grandparent carer

if study requirements are met, but a check should be made to see if the child should claim a payment in their own right such as Youth Allowance (YA) as this may be more beneficial.

If a dependent full-time secondary student living at home aged less than 18 years is not benefiting from the FTB payment made to their parents on their behalf, a social worker may determine that the young person can apply for YA.