Parenting Payment compared with Family Tax Benefit, Parental Leave Pay and JobSeeker Payment
Four payments are constantly confused, because they all relate to families and children, and because a family can receive more than one of them at the same time. The confusion causes real harm: people claim the wrong payment, miss a payment they were entitled to, or assume one claim covers all four. This page keeps them apart by purpose, not by name.
Purpose first
| Payment | Purpose | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Parenting Payment | Income support for the principal carer of a young child | One principal carer, single under 14 or partnered under 6 |
| Family Tax Benefit | Family assistance towards the cost of raising children | Families with dependent children, under family assistance rules |
| Parental Leave Pay | Support around the birth or adoption of a child, linked to work before the birth or adoption | An eligible parent or carer who meets the work test |
| JobSeeker Payment | Income support for a person looking for work or unable to work full time | A job seeker who meets the work and means tests |
Services Australia states the key point plainly: Parenting Payment is a separate payment from Family Tax Benefit and Parental Leave Pay. Separate means separate claims, separate tests and separate decisions. Receiving Family Tax Benefit does not mean you have claimed Parenting Payment, and receiving Parenting Payment does not mean you have claimed Family Tax Benefit, even though many families receive both.
Family Tax Benefit: help with the cost of children
Family Tax Benefit is family assistance, not income support for a carer. It is paid for dependent children, it has two parts, Part A and Part B, with different rules, and it is reconciled against annual family income, which is why an overpayment or a top-up can arise after the end of the financial year when actual income is known. Parenting Payment, by contrast, is tested fortnight by fortnight. A family can therefore be receiving both at once, with Parenting Payment supporting the carer's own living costs and Family Tax Benefit helping with the children's costs. The two tests interact in the sense that income affects both, but neither payment is a substitute for the other, and losing one does not automatically mean losing the other.
Parental Leave Pay: support around a birth or adoption
Parental Leave Pay is tied to a birth or adoption and to work before that event. It has a work test, it is paid for a defined period around the birth or adoption, and it is claimed separately from Parenting Payment. A parent cannot claim Parenting Payment before the birth of a child, and the period around a birth is therefore typically a Parental Leave Pay period, a Family Tax Benefit period, or both, rather than a Parenting Payment period. Once the Parental Leave Pay period ends, a principal carer who meets the Parenting Payment tests may claim Parenting Payment, provided the child-age and means tests are met. The order matters: claiming in the wrong order, or assuming one payment flows into the next without a claim, can leave a gap.
Can you receive more than one at once
Yes, in the combinations the rules allow. Parenting Payment plus Family Tax Benefit is the most common combination. Parenting Payment plus Rent Assistance is assessed together, as explained on the rates page. Parenting Payment plus a partner's income support payment is possible, subject to each person's own tests, although two people cannot both receive Parenting Payment for the same child. What you cannot do is receive two income support payments for yourself for the same purpose at the same time, and you cannot receive Parenting Payment and Parental Leave Pay as if they were interchangeable. If you are unsure which combination applies to you, claim each payment you think you may be entitled to and let Services Australia decide each claim on its own facts, rather than claiming only the one you have heard of.