Eligibility for Newborn Supplement (NBS) and Newborn Upfront Payment (NBU) 007-07040020

NBS replaced Baby Bonus (BBY) from 1 March 2014 for families not eligible for Parental Leave Pay (PPL) for the child.

Customers have their eligibility for NBS and NBU assessed automatically when they claim FTB for a child born, or entrusted to care as part of an adoption process. NBS/NBU can be paid with an FTB instalment or lump sum claim.

If a customer is eligible for NBS, NBU will be automatically paid in most cases.

NBU is a separate payment to NBS and is not part of FTB Part A.

NBS is subject to reconciliation.

Customers must be eligible for FTB Part A at a rate greater than nil and not have received Parental Leave Pay (PPL) for the same child. Note: as NBS is included in a customer's maximum Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A rate, a higher income limit applies during the NBS payment period.

Extra criteria depend on the customer/child relationship:

• Parents of a child born on or after 1 March 2014:
• child is under 1 year of age (on the first day of FTB eligibility for the child)
• birth registration requirements are met
• Child born on or after 1 March 2014 and entrusted to care of non-parent, for example, foster care:
• child is under 1 year of age (on the first day of FTB eligibility for the child)
• child remains their Family Tax benefit (FTB) child for 13 continuous weeks from date they become eligible for NBS
• Child entrusted to care on or after 1 March 2014 as part of an adoption process:
• child (of any FTB child age) has been entrusted to care by an authorised party as part of an adoption process
• eligible for FTB Part A within 12 months of the date the child was entrusted to their care

An Approved Care Organisation (ACO) is not eligible for NBS or NBU.

NBS eligibility is calculated daily. It is payable for up to 13 weeks (91 days) from the first date of eligibility. It will only be paid for days in the 13 weeks that all eligibility requirements are met.

There are 2 NBS rates.

A higher rate is paid for:

• the customer's first newborn child
• the first child entrusted to their or their partner's care
• the first child entrusted to their or their partner's care as part of an adoption process, and
• each child of a multiple birth/entry into care

A lower rate is paid for a second or subsequent child. If a second or subsequent child dies on or after 1 January 2021 and before their first birthday, a top-up of NBS may be paid. The top-up is the difference between the lower and higher rate.

The NBS rate can be reduced if the customer's adjusted taxable income (ATI) is above the Part A higher income free area and is subject to the Method 2 income test.

For the current rate of NBS, see Rates and Thresholds.

If a customer is eligible for NBS, NBU is payable in relation to the first day of NBS eligibility.

A customer is not eligible for NBU if they or their partner have previously received NBU for the child.

However, NBU can be paid to more than one customer for the same child. For example, for shared care or change of care. The payment is a separate payment from NBS and is not a component of Family Tax Benefit (FTB).

NBS and NBU are subject to indexation on 1 July. For the current rate, see Rates and Thresholds.