Supporting Carers Of Other People's Children - Australian Foster ...

MaternityPaymentMaternity Payment recognises the extra costsassociated with the birth or adoption of a baby.It is a non income tested lump sum payment.Maternity Payment is intended to benefit theprimary carer. A natural parent, or an adoptiveparent, or you as a long term foster, relative orkinship carer ― or in some cases more than oneof these ― could qualify for Maternity Paymentfor a baby.Maternity Payment is payable to:• a parent of the baby, or• families who have care of a newborn babywithin 13 weeks of the baby’s birth, and arelikely to continue to have care of the baby forno less than 13 weeks, or• families who have a child entrusted to theircare for adoption before the child is twoyears of age and, in the case of an overseasadoption, the child must enter Australia beforethe child’s second birthday.The claim must be made within 26 weeks of thebaby’s birth, or, in the case of a local adoption,within 26 weeks of the baby coming into thecare of the adoptive family. For an overseasadoption, the claim must be made within 26weeks of the child entering Australia.In deciding whether Maternity Payment shouldbe paid to an individual other than the parent,consideration is specifically given to:• who has legal responsibility• whether the child is being considered foradoption.When a child is being considered for adoption,the child can be placed in pre-adoptive fostercare. If you are a carer in this situation, youwould not normally be eligible for MaternityPayment. This type of care involves atemporary change of care while adoptionarrangements are established. MaternityPayment is actually intended for the primarycarer, whether this is the natural parent, or theadoptive parent, or a longer term foster, relativeor kinship carer, or in some cases more than oneof these.‘I had yet to experience so many of thethings that eight-year olds take for granted’MaternityImmunisationAllowanceMaternity Immunisation Allowance is a nonincome tested, one-off payment to encourageimmunisation in children. As a foster, relativeor kinship carer, you are eligible for MaternityImmunisation Allowance if:• the child has turned 18 months and is fullyimmunised• you make a claim for the child before the childin your care turns two years of age.Only one carer can qualify for MaternityImmunisation Allowance, except in sharedcare situations where the payment can be splitaccording to the percentage of care each personprovides.Multiple BirthAllowanceAs a foster, relative or kinship carer, you areeligible for Multiple Birth Allowance if you havethree or more children born during the samebirth who are aged under six. This is paid inaddition to any Family Tax Benefit Part A thatyou may be entitled to.For more information about any of thesupport schemes on this page, phone theFamily Assistance Officeon 13 6150 TTY 1800 810 586Multilingual Services 12 1202 or visit thewebsite atwww.familyassist.gov.auI first went in to care as a shy eight-year old,joining two other boys who were already incare. During those very early days it was hardfor me. I had never really been to school. I hadnever spent a night away from my mother,and had yet to experience so many of thethings that eight-year olds take for granted.Reflecting back now I see how C--- recognizedthe difficulties I was experiencing, providedas much support as I needed but was carefulnot to smother me, to maintain respect formy birth mother, and to guide me as I enteredinto an unknown and scary world of school,psychologists and social workers.J--- (27yrs)Eliza24