Economic Security Strategy (ESS) Payment for Families 007-10020000

Answer: The payment is $1000 for each eligible child.

Answer: For most families the full payment was made in December 2008.

Payment were made directly into bank accounts for families whose children attract fortnightly instalments of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A, Youth Allowance (YA) and ABSTUDY.

For families who received their FTB as a lump sum at the end of the financial year, the ESS payment was made with their lump sum FTB payment.

Note: recipients paid under the ESS Administrative Scheme must have lodged a claim by 29 January 2010.

Answer: No debts will be raised where a person has received an ESS payment and it was subsequently found that the person and/or the child should not have attracted the payment, unless the person knowingly made a false or misleading statement, or knowingly provided false information.

Answer: The normal rules that apply to the sharing of FTB apply to this payment, that is, where there is shared care, and a parent has more than 35 per cent of care, the payment will be shared according to the usual rules.

Answer: No. In these cases, FTB Part A is paid to the parent who is the primary carer. The payment will go to this parent.

Answer: Yes. The ESS payment for families was made in the same way as the allowance payment was made.

Answer: Yes. Where a person's government payments are income managed, the ESS payment will be income managed.

Answer: No. The ESS payment for families was a one off payment.

Answer: No. The ESS payment is not taxable income and it is not considered income for Social Security or Family Assistance purposes.

Answer: The payment assisted:

• families who were entitled to FTB Part A on 14 October 2008
• families with dependent children who on 14 October 2008 attracted Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY or a Veterans' Children's Education Scheme (VCES) payment
• recipient entitled to payment under the ESS Administrative Scheme

Answer: No. The payment was for dependent children in receipt of Youth Allowance (YA) and ABSTUDY, where there is an expectation of parental support and the Parental Income Test (PIT) may apply. It may have been paid for students living away from home provided they were dependent.

Answer: Yes. FTB recipients with a legislative Part A rate greater than $0 received ESS regardless of their payment choice. FTB Part A recipients do not need to change their payment choice to receive the ESS payment for families.

Payments for these recipients were made in December 2008.

Answer: Yes. If the recipient was paid FTB Part A for the past period which included 14 October 2008, they would have received the payment during the period 8-19 December 2008.

Answer: Yes. If the recipient was entitled to FTB Part A for the new baby born 14 October 2008, they would have received the ESS payment for families during the period 8-19 December 2008.

Answer: Yes, if the recipient was entitled to FTB Part A for a period within the 2008-09 financial year, which includes 14 October 2008, they were paid the ESS payment for families following the determination of their FTB claim, if the claim was lodged with Centrelink by 30 June 2011, and tax returns were lodged by 30 June 2011.

For recipients paid ESS under Administrative Scheme as a result of reconciliation or lump sum claim, any tax returns (for recipient or partner) required to be lodged with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for 2008-09 must have been lodged by 30 June 2011. Returns lodged after this date will mean the recipient is a late lodged and the ESS payment cannot be paid.

Answer: No, from 1 July 2009, the option of claiming and receiving FTB through the ATO was removed.

FTB lump sum claims were available to be made through Services Australia.

Answer: Yes. The ESS payment for families is paid where FTB Part A eligibility would include the deceased child if 14 October 2008 falls within the 14 week bereavement period for FTB.

For example, if a FTB Part A child died on 9 July 2008, the last day of the 14 week bereavement period would be 14 October 2008. As the recipient's FTB Part A eligibility includes 14 October 2008, the recipient would have been paid during the period 8 - 19 December 2008.

Answer: Yes. The both were payable to the same recipient.

Answer: The Administrative Scheme was established to assist foster and non-parent/kinship carers who gained care of a child shortly after the announcement of stimulus payments to families under the ESS, who were not eligible on the announcement date of 14 October 2008 to receive a payment under the ESS (paid in December 2008).

The Administrative Scheme allowed some people who temporarily lost care of a child due to special circumstances to receive a payment.

A person would have been entitled to an ESS payment for families under the Administrative Scheme if the person was entitled to FTB Part A for an FTB child aged under 16 who entered the person's ongoing care during the period 15 October - 31 December 2008, and one of the following applies:

• an FTB Part A child, and
• the child had entered (or re-entered) the recipient's ongoing care during this period and one of the following applies:
• the person was entitled to FTB Part A for the child at some time during the period 1 July - 13 October 2008, and there were special circumstances relating to why the person was not entitled to FTB Part A for the child for 14 October 2008, or
• the person had the ongoing care of the child under a formal foster care arrangement, or
• the person was not a parent of the child (for example grandparent) and had the ongoing care of the child due to an inability or failure of the child's parents to provide care of the child

Note: a person had 'ongoing care' of a child if the person had, or expected to have, care of the child for 26 weeks or more.

Answer: No, the Administrative Scheme was intended to provide payment to certain recipients who were not entitled to an ESS payment on 14 October 2008.