Media Release by The Hon Brendan O’Connor MP

Millions of families to benefit from payment indexation

Joint Media Release with:

  • Bill Shorten MP, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
    Kate Ellis MP, Minister for Employment Participation, Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare
    Sharon Bird MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Higher Education and Skills

From 1 July more than 1.8 million families will receive a boost in their family payments to help make ends meet.

Due to indexation the maximum rates of Family Tax Benefit Part A will increase by:

  • $5.04 a fortnight, which is an extra $131.40 a year per child for families with a child aged under 13 year – in total families will get up to $5,150 a year per child in assistance; and
  • $6.58 a fortnight, which is an extra $171.55 a year per child for families with a child aged between 13 and 15 years – in total families will get up to $6,479 a year per child.

The rate of Family Tax Benefit Part B will also increase by:

  • $4.34 a fortnight, which is an extra $113.15 a year where the youngest child is aged under five years – bringing total support per family to $4,117 a year; and
  • $3.08 a fortnight, which is an extra $80.30 a year where the youngest child is aged between five and 18 years – bringing total support per family to $2,978.

About 780,000 Australian families will receive further assistance with the cost of their child care as a result of indexation, with the maximum full-time approved child care rate for one child increasing from $189 to $195 a week.

The Gillard Government understands the pressures on working families. That’s why we’ve cut taxes, increased family payments and child care assistance and delivered Australia’s first national Paid Parental Leave scheme.

We’re delivering even more to help families, including the new Schoolkids Bonus worth $410 a year for each child in primary school and $820 a year for each child in secondary schools, and Dad and Partner Pay.

Certain pension thresholds and income and assets test free areas and cut offs are adjusted in line with indexation.

This means more than 1.1 million part-pensioners will be able to earn more income or own more assets before their pension is reduced.

The income free area will increase by $2 to $152 a fortnight for singles, and by $4 to $268 a fortnight for couples combined.

More than 94,000 students who have part-time jobs will also benefit from increases in the student income bank limit (up by $4,000 to $10,000) and the income free area (up by $164 to $400 a fortnight). These changes will mean that many students with part-time jobs will get to keep more of their Youth Allowance or Austudy.

Full details of all rates and thresholds can be found at http://jennymacklin.fahcsia.gov.au/node/1929