How to claim Family Tax Benefit
FTB is claimed through Services Australia, normally online through myGov with a linked Centrelink account. There is no separate claim for Part B on top of Part A: families receiving Part A are assessed for Part B as part of the same claim, and the same applies to Newborn Supplement where the conditions are met. The claim asks for the facts the tests need — care, residence, the children's details, and an income estimate — so having those ready before starting makes the claim faster and less error-prone.
Timing: two windows that matter
Families can submit a claim up to 3 months before the expected birth of the child or when the child is expected to enter their care. That early window exists so that payment is not delayed by paperwork in the first weeks of a child's life or a new care arrangement. For families claiming after the end of a financial year, the claimant must submit the claim within 12 months after the end of that year, and the claimant and their partner must lodge an income tax return, or notify Services Australia of their income if they are not required to lodge, within 12 months after the end of that year. Miss the 12-month window and the lump-sum claim for that year is gone. Families can choose to have payments made fortnightly or as a lump sum after the end of the financial year; families with outstanding tax returns or related debts may not be able to receive their payments fortnightly.
What to have ready
Have ready: each child's full name and date of birth, the care arrangement and its percentage where care is shared, residence and visa details where relevant, immunisation details, and an income estimate for the financial year for the claimant and their partner, including adjusted taxable income components such as reportable fringe benefits and reportable superannuation contributions where they apply. Bank account details for payment, and, for separated parents, the child support assessment or exemption details from the maintenance page. Where a child is aged 16 to 19, evidence of full-time secondary study or an exemption will be needed.
Newborn Supplement and Newborn Upfront Payment
Newborn Supplement provides a temporary fortnightly increase to Part A to help with the costs of a newborn or adopted child, and Newborn Upfront Payment provides an initial lump sum for immediate costs. Families receiving Part A are automatically assessed if they are not accessing Parental Leave Pay for the child. The amounts, over 13 weeks, are $2,125.76 plus $708, a total of $2,833.76, for a first child (and each child in a multiple birth), and $709.80 plus $708, a total of $1,417.80, for subsequent children. Newborn Supplement is paid fortnightly with Part A for up to 13 weeks, or as part of a lump-sum claim after the end of the financial year; if paid fortnightly, the first instalment includes the Newborn Upfront Payment. Families cannot receive both Newborn Supplement and Parental Leave Pay for the same child, and for multiple births Parental Leave Pay may be paid for one child and Newborn Supplement for the others.
After the claim
After claiming, the work is maintenance, not celebration: keep the income estimate current, report changes (see the changes page), and remember the 12-month tax-return obligation. For families receiving fortnightly instalments, the recipient and their partner must lodge an income tax return, or notify Services Australia of their income if they are not required to lodge, within 12 months after the end of the financial year; if they do not, they must repay any amounts they have received. That repayment rule is the sharpest deadline in FTB, and it applies even where the family did everything else right.