The Family Assistance and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 was passed by the House of Reps late on Wed 29.5.2013 with 8 Government amendments. Those amendments seek to implement the 2013-14 Budget announcement that the Government would replace the Baby Bonus from 1 March 2014 with the following arrangements:
- It will increase Family Tax Benefit Part A (FTB Part A) payments by $2,000, to be paid in the year following the birth or adoption of a first child or each child in multiple births, and id=”mce_marker”,000 for second or subsequent children. The additional FTB Part A would be paid as an initial payment of $500, with the remainder to be paid in seven fortnightly instalments.
- Parents who take up Paid Parental Leave (PPL) will not be eligible for the additional FTB Part A component, but will benefit from improved access to PPL as their family expands. As part of this package, parents will be able to count time on Government PPL where it occurs in the work test period for a subsequent child, just like employer funded parental leave can be counted now.
Indexation of the Baby Bonus was to have resumed on 1 July 2015, but that will not now happen.
The Bill as introduced contained changes re the Baby Bonus, FTB, etc. The Bill seeks to reduce from $5,000 to $3,000 the amount of Baby Bonus for second and subsequent children who come into a family from 1 July 2013.
[LTN 103, 30/5/13]