Do you receive Family Assistance payments?
Are you entitled to family assistance payments during the 2017 financial year?
Even if you receive your payments fortnightly or annually, this effects you. You need to ensure your 2017 tax returns are lodged by June 30th, 2018 or your payments will cease.
Fortnightly payments:
To ensure you continue to receive your fortnightly payments, make sure you, and if applicable, your partner, lodge your 2017 tax returns before June 30th, 2018. If your returns are not lodged by then, you will stop receiving your family assistance payments.
Annual payments:
If you are entitled to family assistance but didn’t receive any payments during the last financial year, you will need to lodge a lump sum claim with the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) by June 30th, 2018.
Even if you are to required to lodged a tax return, you will need to notify our office or the ATO directly, if lodgement is not required.
If you do not lodge your return or advise the ATO you do not need to lodge in time, you could miss out on a top-up or supplement payment. You may even have to pay back family assistance amounts you have received during the last financial year.
If you or your partner has been granted a lodgment deferral by the ATO to lodge your 2017 tax return after 30 June 2018, you should contact Centrelink to discuss your circumstances.
If you need more information about family assistance, you can go to the Department of Human Services.
Please Note: Many of the comments in this publication are general in nature and anyone intending to apply the information to practical circumstances should seek professional advise to independently verify their interpretation and the information's applicability to their particular circumstances.
