Taxation Determination
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"Non-assessable payments to volunteer foster carers" Draft TD released 06/2006) states that certain payments to a volunteer foster carer to provide foster care are not assessable income. The Tax Office view is that payments to volunteer foster carers covered by the Draft TD that are made in order to help meet the expenses associated with caring for foster children are not assessable.
Family Tax Benefit (Purpose)
The Australian Government recognises that families today have a diversity of parenting arrangements and responsibilities and wishes to support individual families as far as possible through the Family Tax Benefit program. This program consists of two parts, Part A and Part B.
Part A is designed to help families with the costs of children. Payment to a family is assessed on the combined income of the family, and is paid in respect of each child. Part B provides extra help for those families with one main income. The payment is assessed on the age of the youngest child, and is assessed on the income of a family’s lower income earner.
Confusion caused by some agencies being registered to apply for family tax benefit not to be means tested and other agencies not being registered and some carers knowing about this and some not! Organisations that care for children can register as an Approved Care Organisation.
More information is available through the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs website:
www.facsia.gov.au. On this website you can search for "ACO" to find out more.
Information on how to apply for FCA status is at:
www.facsia.gov.au
Information is also available on the Family Assistance website at:
www.familyassist.gov.au
Information can also be found on the Centrelink's website:
www.centrelink.gov.au
Specifically, a publication entitled "A guide to Australian Government payments" which lists current rates and eligibility criteria and can be found at www.centrelink.gov.au
