Centrelink's warning for thousands over cash boost set to be delivered in weeks
Balancing happens after the financial year ends on 30 June. We compare your estimated income with your actual income. For many families, this check can mean a helpful top-up or supplement.
Others might see no change, or in some cases, a debt to repay.
It's important to know that Family Tax Benefit (FTB) and Child Care Subsidy (CCS) are balanced separately, and each one follows its own process.
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What families need to do
For most families, we need you to confirm your income before we can balance your payments. You can do this by either lodging a tax return with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) or by telling us you don't need to lodge one.
If you have a partner, they will need to lodge a tax return, or you will need to tell us they don't need to as well.
If you or your partner are not required to lodge a tax return, you can confirm your income using your Express Plus Centrelink mobile app, or Centrelink online account through myGov.
Just remember, if you get both payments, you'll still need to confirm your income to balance your CCS, even if you didn't need to do anything for your FTB balancing to happen.How long does it take?
We start balancing FTB from July and CCS from mid-August.
CCS balancing is later, as we need to get information from childcare providers before we can get started.
After you lodge your tax return, the ATO will confirm your income for the financial year with us.
This might not happen straight away. It can take up to 28 days for the ATO to give us this information.
Don't ring to check on how it's going, you can track the progress of your balancing in your Express Plus Centrelink mobile app.
You can also track your CCS balancing using your online account through myGov.
What happens if I've separated from my partner?
If you separated during the year, we can balance your FTB after you confirm your income.
We'll use the income estimate provided for your ex-partner if they haven't lodged a tax return yet. You don't have to contact them.
If you get CCS, we still need to confirm your ex-partner's income.
You don't need to contact your ex-partner for these details. Call us on 136 150 to confirm this.
'Uh oh, I think I'm going to get a debt'
Don't panic! We know things can change over the year.
You'll get a letter explaining your balancing outcome either through your myGov inbox or in the mail. We'll let you know your options if you need to pay money back.
If you owe Services Australia or the ATO any money, as part of the balancing process, we can recover debts from any FTB top-ups and supplements to reduce what you owe. We can do this even if you have a repayment arrangement in place.
Please talk to us if you're experiencing financial hardship or worried about paying back a debt.
We can work with you to set up a repayment plan for your circumstances.
How to avoid a debt next year
There are things you can do throughout the year to help get the right payments and reduce your chance of getting a debt at tax time.
You should make sure your family income estimate and other details are always up to date, you can do this anytime things change during the year.
You can use your online account to select the right FTB payment choice for your situation. You may choose to get all, part or none of your payment fortnightly. We'll then pay any other FTB you're entitled to when we balance your payments.
Services Australia withholds 5% of your CCS to help reduce the likelihood of you getting an overpayment at the end of the financial year.
You can increase this percentage through your online account to an amount that suits you. By doing this, you can boost your chances of getting a top-up when we balance your payments next tax time.
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