Advance payments of Family Tax Benefit (FTB) 103-05040040
Expand allScenarios - Calculating FTB Part A advance payments
Table 1: This table describes how FTB Part A advances are calculated in various situations. Note: these scenarios are based on FTB Part A rates for the 2021-22 or 2022-23 financial year depending on the dates used in the example.
These amounts may not be current. They are examples only. For current payments, see Rates and thresholds.
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Item |
Description |
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1 |
FTB advance payment amount Karl and Jackie have two children aged 6 and 4. Based on their income estimate they receive base rate FTB Part A ($1,657.10) for each child. Maximum advance amount The greater of:
Minimum advance amount 3.75% of the annual maximum FTB Part A rate for one child aged under 13 years ($5,161.10):
Karl and Jackie are entitled to an FTB advance payment amount between $193.54 and $387.08. |
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2 |
FTB advance payment repayment amount Lynn receives an FTB advance payment of $400 with an advance period of 26 weeks (182 days). The FTB advance payment repayment amount is based on the number of days in the advance payment period. Lynn's daily repayment amount would be:
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3 |
Financial hardship Geoff applies for a one-off FTB advance payment of $500. Geoff states that after paying for living expenses, groceries, and bills there is $30 left over each fortnight. The repayment rate of a $500 FTB advance would be:
As $38.50 is greater than $30.00 it is determined that an FTB advance payment of $500 would place Geoff into financial hardship and the claim is rejected. Geoff is advised of this and invited to request a lower advance payment amount. |
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4 |
FTB advance payments for blended families Each of the members of a blended family couple may be paid an FTB advance payment if they are eligible. They must each be receiving FTB by instalments and the family must be entitled to a rate of FTB Part A at least equivalent to the full base rate of FTB Part A payable for one child under 18. For the base rate of FTB Part A, see Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A - rates (pf). The minimum and maximum advance amounts are calculated for the family and each member of the blended family couple may apply for a share of the family's allowable advance amount based on the individual customer's blend percentage. Each individual is required to apply independently; it is not necessary for both members of a blended family to apply before an advance payment can to be paid to one of the couple. Scenario: Elizabeth and Steve are paid FTB as a blended family with percentages of 60% and 40% respectively. Between them they get the maximum rate of FTB Part A for 2 children aged under 13 and do not receive Rent Assistance. Maximum advance amount 7.5% of the FTB A legislative rate (excluding supplement): $5,161.10 x 2 children = $10,322.20 $10,322.20 x 7.5% = $774.16
Minimum advance amount 3.75% of the maximum Part A child rate for one child under 13 ($5,161.10): $5,161.10 x 3.75% = $193.54
Elizabeth chooses to set up a regular advance of $116.12 every 26 weeks - leaving $348.38 in reserve to claim later as one-off advance/s (dependent upon Elizabeth meeting requirements to get the further advances on those future dates). Nine days later Steve applies for and is granted a one-off advance of $309.66, using up all of Steve's allowable maximum advance amount. |
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5 |
Shared care Customers who share the care of a child may qualify for FTB advances providing they have an ongoing FTB entitlement equivalent to at least the base rate of FTB Part A payable for one child under 18 years of age. Customers who have only a Regular Care Child in their care do not qualify for any FTB advance/s. |
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6 |
Change in circumstances during advance repayment period Amie is receiving the maximum rate of FTB Part A for their 3 year old child Frankie. On 13 July 2022 Amie applies for a maximum advance payment of FTB.
The advance period is 26 weeks (182 days). Amie's repayments are calculated as follows:
Amie's repayment schedule is $29.82 per fortnight for the first 12 fortnights and a final payment of $29.24 (to make up for the rounding). The repayments commence from the next available FTB instalment on 21 July 2022. On 5 September 2022 Frankie leaves Amie's care and the FTB is cancelled (NDE). Amie has made 4 repayments from the FTB instalment payments before the FTB was cancelled.
As Amie's ongoing FTB entitlement has ceased, an FTB advance payment debt of $267.80. |
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7 |
Change in FTB rate during advance repayment period If a customer's FTB rate decreases, but remains above their scheduled repayment rate, repayments will continue as scheduled; In this case, the customer's advance repayments will use up a greater proportion of their ongoing FTB instalments. Scenario: Based on the combined family estimate of income, Simon gets base rate FTB Part A for their 7 year old child Lucy. On 1 April 2022 Simon applies for and receives the maximum allowable FTB advance.
The advance period is 26 weeks (182 days). Simon's repayments are calculated as follows:
Simon's first repayment comes out of the next available FTB instalment on 7 April 2022. On 5 July 2022, after having made 7 repayments, Simon provides a new combined FTB estimate which is above the HIFA and reduces the ongoing FTB entitlement to $11.60 per fortnight under the higher income taper. Simon has paid 7 x $28.70 = $200.90 Simon still owes $373.94 - $200.90 = $173.04 At the rate of $11.60 per fortnight it will take Simon a further 15 fortnights to fully repay the advance, making the total repayment period 22 fortnights. |
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8 |
Change of FTB rate during advance repayment period (less than the scheduled repayment rate) If a customer's rate of FTB Part A falls below their scheduled repayment rate the recovery amount will reduce to the new FTB Part A rate and the advance repayment period will be extended. A debt will be raised for any advance amount that has not been recovered when the extended period is considered to be an unreasonable amount of time to repay the FTB advance. Note: if the repayment period increases to between one to two years, a number of factors must be considered before manually raising an advance debt. Scenario - advance repayment period 1-2 years: Jan and Thom have 5 children. Based on their combined income, Jan qualifies for and is paid an FTB advance payment of $1,000 on 20 June. Up to 31 July, Jan has repaid 3 payments of $77 per fortnight from the advance payment. On 1 August, Jan and Thom separate and 4 children live with Thom while Jan has shared care of 40% of one child. Jan's rate of FTB Part A further reduces due to income and receives FTB Part A of $20 per fortnight. Jan's advance balance at 1 August is $769:
This would extend Jan's advance repayment period to 532 days:
If an advance repayment period is increased to more than 1 year but less than 2 years (between 365 and 730 days), a debt of the outstanding advance balance ($769) may be raised at the discretion of the Service Officer. If a debt is not raised, recovery can continue at the reduced rate of FTB Part A ($20) each fortnight. Scenario - advance repayment period greater than 2 years: Jan and Thom have 5 children. Based on their combined income, Jan qualifies for and is paid an FTB advance payment of $1,000 on 20 June. Up to 31 July, Jan has repaid 3 payments of $77 per fortnight from the advance payment. On 1 August, Jan and Thom separate and 4 children live with Thom while Jan has shared care of 40% of one child. Jan's rate of FTB Part A further reduces due to income and receives FTB Part A of $14 per fortnight. Jan's advance balance at 1 August is $769:
This would extend Jan's advance repayment period to 756 days:
If an advance repayment period is increased to greater than 2 years (731 days or more) a debt of the outstanding advance balance ($769) will be automatically raised. |
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9 |
Known cancellation event If the customer will lose entitlement to FTB Part A within 26 weeks from the date of application the advance payment period will be reduced. Events that can result in the cancellation of FTB Part A include:
For more information, see Cancellation, rejection and Current Zero Rate codes for Family Tax Benefit (FTB). If the youngest child (eligible for FTB) is completing Year 12 in the calendar year then the customer may not be eligible to receive an FTB advance depending on the time they apply. For example, customers applying in October to December may not be eligible or may receive a reduced rate based on the cancellation date of their FTB Part A. Scenario: Based on their rate of payment, Belinda is eligible for a maximum FTB advance payment of $500 over a period of 26 weeks (182 days). Belinda has previously advised they will be permanently departing Australia in 100 days. This has been recorded and the FTB is due to cancel in 100 days.
Due to the shortened period, Belinda is entitled to receive an FTB advance payment of $274.72 which will be repaid over 100 days. If Belinda was only entitled to a maximum advance payment of $250 over the shortened period of 100 days:
As this is lower than the minimum FTB advance payment amount of $178.75, Belinda would not be entitled to receive an advance payment of FTB. |
Scenarios - Child age, bereavement, multiple advances, payment reconciliation and debts
Table 2: This table describes examples of the effect of child age, bereavement, multiple advances, payment reconciliation and debts on FTB advances. Note: these scenarios are based on FTB Part A rates for the 2020-21 financial year.
These amounts may not be current. They are examples only. For current payments, see Rates and thresholds.
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Item |
Description |
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1 |
Child age effect on FTB advance payment If a customer's only FTB child will turn 16 or 19 during the advance payment period, a full advance payment will be issued as it cannot be assumed that entitlement to FTB will cease on the child's birthday. If entitlement to FTB ceases once the child turns 16 or 19, a debt will be automatically calculated for any advance payment balance outstanding. See Study requirements for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) children aged 16 years or over for more information. Scenario: Mandy and John receive FTB for their only child, Jarrod who will turn 19 on 30 August 2020. On 1 August, Mandy requests an FTB advance payment. Mandy will receive a full advance payment because FTB will continue until the end of the calendar year in which Jarrod turns 19 as long as Jarrod continues to meet the study requirements for an FTB child. |
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2 |
Customer or child bereavement If a customer is recorded as deceased, a debt will be automatically calculated for any FTB advance payment balance outstanding. If a customer's only FTB child is recorded as deceased, a provisional debt will be automatically calculated for the period from the end of the bereavement period to the end of the advance payment period. The advance payment will continue to be recovered from the bereavement payments following the death of a child. If a child dies and the customer has another FTB child, recovery of the advance payment will continue from ongoing FTB payments. For more information, see Bereavement payment of Family Tax Benefit (FTB). |
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3 |
Reconciliation and FTB advance payments An FTB advance payment debt may be raised or advance repayment recommence as a result of the FTB reconciliation process. Reconciliation of FTB can result in an advance payment of FTB being unrecovered if it is retrospectively determined for a previous financial year that the customer was not entitled to receive FTB Part A at a sufficient rate so as to recover the advance payment. If the customer has an on-going entitlement to FTB Part A instalments when this occurs, the unrecovered advance payment amount will be recovered by a reduction of their on-going payments. If the current advance payment of FTB was granted:
If the customer has no on-going entitlement to FTB Part A, the unrecovered amount will be raised as an FTB advance payment debt. See Raising debts of advanced payments. |
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4 |
Multiple FTB advance payments Louise is claiming FTB Part A for 4 children aged under 4 years. Louise has an income estimate of $50,000 and estimated Maintenance Income of $1,200. At 1 May 2022 Louise's annual FTB rates are:
In May 2022 Louise receives a one-off advance of $335.79 which is to be repaid from the next 13 FTB instalments, commencing on Louise's next available pay-day 19 May 2022. On 1 June 2022, Louise requests a one-off FTB advance payment of $455. Louise meets all eligibility checks and their circumstances have not changed. Louise's maximum advance entitlement is the FTB advance payment ceiling ($1,161.71) less the unpaid one-off advance payment:
The FTB advance payment of $455 is granted because in total the amount advanced is below the maximum advance amount available and Louise has demonstrated an ability to afford the amount to be deducted from the FTB. The daily repayment rates for both of the current advances are added together and multiplied by 14. This is the new fortnightly repayment rate which will apply from Louise's next FTB instalment payday. Louise requests a regular FTB advance payment on 25 June 2022. Louise meets all eligibility requirements and circumstances have not changed. Louise's maximum advance entitlement is the FTB advance payment ceiling ($1,161.71) minus the total amount of all FTB advances that have not yet been fully recovered:
The regular advance payment of FTB is set at 3.75% of the annual maximum FTB Part A rate for one child aged under 13 years ($186.97), so Louise has room under the maximum allowable advance limit to also get the regular advance (if able to afford the repayments without getting into hardship). It is decided Louise can afford the repayments so the advance is granted. Louise now has 3 advances of different amounts being recovered over different 26 week repayment periods. While the advance repayment periods overlap, the daily repayment rates of all three advances are added together and multiplied by 14 to calculate the fortnightly repayment amount. The total amount of all FTB advances that have not yet been fully recovered is:
Louise nominally has another $183.95 available to be advanced to her. However, as each advance must be at least equal to the minimum advance amount ($186.97), Louise will not be able to get any further advances until one of the outstanding advances has been fully repaid. |
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5 |
Outstanding debts less than $0.05 When a customer pays the outstanding balance of a debt but there is still a rounding amount of less than $0.05 outstanding, any FTB advance payment application processed will automatically reject. The rejection reason can be over-ridden, and the advance processed as normal. The rounding amount will not clear until the customer's next pay day. After the amount has cleared, the FTB advance payment can be processed following normal procedures. Example: Customer has a debt to the Commonwealth for $234.67, they attend a Post Office or service centre to pay $234.67 but due to rounding only pay $234.65. The $0.02 cents outstanding will not clear until the customer's next pay. |
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6 |
Question: Can a customer repay an outstanding debt in cash to qualify for an advance payment? Answer: Yes, Customers can repay their debts in cash at Australia Post. Where the repayment is made via Centrelink online account or Express Plus mobile app using their debit or credit card, the repayment will be recognised immediately as 'paid' and the customer may apply for a new advance. Customers may also use Australia Post BillPay, Direct Debit and BPAY® to repay their debt. The customer will not be able to apply for a new advance until payments made by these methods have been received by Services Australia. Payments made via cash or card in person at Australia Post using Post Billpay will be recognised as 'paid' within 10 minutes. Other payment methods may take from 3 - 7 days to be received. |
A customer cannot repay their outstanding debt in cash at a service centre, however they can repay debts at any time via Centrelink online account or the Express Plus mobile app.Affordability question set
Table 3: details of what regular expenses to consider when working out affordability for an advance.
Advance payment rejection reasons
Table 4: This table lists the main rejection codes for pension advance payments
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REJ Code |
Literal |
Reason |
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CCA |
Current regular advance present |
Can only have 1 regular advance every 26 weeks |
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CEA |
Cease regular advance request |
Regular advance request has been stopped at customer request |
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FAP |
Lump sum advance already paid |
Has already received a FTB advance for this period |
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FAR |
Not eligible for FTB(A) on the day the advance was requested |
Not receiving FTB(A) on day requested advance |
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FCS |
Customer has outstanding Child Support Agency debt |
Customer has outstanding Child Support Agency debt |
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FNE |
Ineligible FTB Part A at start of period |
Not in receipt of FTB(A) at the start of the advance period |
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FNF |
FTB Part A not twice advance rate |
Not receiving enough FTB(A) to be paid an advance payment |
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FNP |
Not current on FTB Part A on request date |
Not receiving FTB(A) as a fortnightly payment |
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FSP |
Customer has an outstanding debt |
FTB advances cannot be paid while money is owed to the Commonwealth |
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GMA |
Requested advance amount greater than max advance amount |
Advance amount requested cannot be more than maximum advance amount. |
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HAR |
Cannot afford repayments |
The funds the customer has remaining will not meet the repayments |
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LBR |
FTB Part A lower than basic rate for one child under 18 |
FTB(A) rate was below the minimum required rate to be paid an advance. |
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LMA |
Less than minimum amount |
The available advance amount is less than the minimum amount that can be issued |
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NRA |
Not in Australia on date of claim |
Customer must be in Australia to claim an advance payment |
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OTH |
Other |
Other |
FAQ
See the Resources page of Advances for the following:
- FAQs - applying for an advance
- Tax status, payment options and eligibility questions
- Debts and repayments of advance payments - FAQs
- FAQs regarding repayment of advance payments