Checking and recording child support details for Family Tax Benefit (FTB) for a past period 277-51070020

When claiming FTB for a previous year, details of the action taken to obtain child support must be provided at the time of claim. There are special rules for FTB mixed delivery customers. An FTB mixed delivery customer is a customer who was getting FTB via instalments for part of the financial year and claimed as a lump sum for the remainder of the same financial year.

If a customer provides child support details on their Family Tax Benefit (FTB) lump sum claim for a previous financial year, the details are recorded on separate screens to those used for FTB claims for the current year. Child support details are used to calculate a customer's rate of FTB Part A for children for whom child support action is required.

From the 2011-12 financial year onwards, all details relating to child support will be transferred electronically via the Child Support Data Exchange process.

For FTB claims for 2008-09 through to 2010-11, customers could choose to self-assess child support details, or to give permission to Centrelink to obtain child support details directly from Child Support electronically.

Information recorded on the lump sum claim screens does not affect instalment payments in the current year. If the customer is claiming instalment payments for the current year as well as a lump sum for a previous year, then both sets of child support screens need to be recorded.

If there is existing child support data for the previous financial year because the customer has received instalment payments for part of the year and then lodges a lump sum claim for another period of that same year, the lump sum claim child support details will be used to reconcile the instalment period. The information recorded on these screens is not to be used to assess ongoing FTB entitlement as it is a self-assessment by the customer.

Information on these screens may be updated if the customer provides extra information after lodging the claim. Any change will result in a reassessment of the claim if it has already been finalised.

Child support details provided by the customer for their FTB lump sum claim are recorded by selecting the Maintenance Details Selection (FMPYS) screen.

• For the financial years 2008-09 through until 2010-11, child support details were recorded via the Maint LSC Group Summary (MLGS) screen after adding the payer group and linking children to the group
• For earlier years, child support income details are recorded on the Maintenance Recipient Details (FMPYD) screen and child support action on the Child Maintenance Previous Year (CHMPY) screen

From 1 July 2008, if parents share the care of a child or if each has one or more children in care, Child Support registers only one child support case instead of two. The system will only establish an electronic link with one Centrelink customer (generally the child support payee) at the time the link is established. This means that information will not be received electronically from Child Support to show that the other party (generally the payer) has met the Maintenance Action Test (MAT).

In these cases, additional coding is required to make sure that the customer is recognised as meeting the MAT and the customer must self-assess rather than match with Child Support.

For FTB lump sum claims for 2010-11 onwards, the claim will remain pending if adequate care details are not available for customers who advise they (or their partner) had a child support assessment during the relevant year for a child they are claiming FTB for. Care assessment data from Child Support is used for any child support assessment period.

Where the customer is required to satisfy the MAT for a past period, the customer must have sought child support or be granted an exemption from seeking child support for that period, to be paid more than the base rate of FTB Part A.

From 2011-12 onwards, all claims are assessed using information provided by Child Support. Customers can no longer self-assess their child support. If the customer indicates on the claim they have not taken action for their child/ren, and they have not supplied a reason which may indicate an exemption may be applicable, for example, other parent overseas, family and domestic violence, parentage unknown etc., the customer fails the MAT for the relevant child/ren for the relevant financial year.

Before 1 July 2012, if a customer elected to privately collect their child support, Centrelink assumed the customer received their full child support entitlement. If a customer privately collected less than their full child support entitlement, they would fail the MAT and their FTB Part A would be restricted to the base rate for the child/ren, unless the customer was granted an exemption or changed to Child Support collection.

If the customer advised they had privately collected more than the full child support entitlement, the amount actually received in the financial year would be applied in the Maintenance Income Test.

From 1 July 2012, unless they are eligible for an exemption, private collect customers will be deemed to receive their full child support entitlement for Maintenance Income Test purposes, regardless of the amount actually received. Customers who collect less than the full amount as assessed by Child Support will no longer be restricted to the base rate of FTB Part A due to failing the MAT. They will continue to be deemed as receiving their full child support entitlement.

Exemptions from seeking child support may be backdated where the circumstances existed during the past period. For example, fear of family and domestic violence, identity of parent unknown, cultural reasons.

If the customer has not taken action to obtain child support, the Service Officer will need to tell them of the appropriate action to take when they claim FTB so they can be paid more than the base rate of FTB Part A from that date.

Child support details provided on an FTB lump sum claim lodged with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) before 1 July 2009 are recorded on separate ATO claim screens.