Help towards childcare costs?

[famanda33]

Hi, I've just come across this forum, and am so pleased as we are just about to start our long-talked about journey to Adelaide. You can look forward to lots of questions from me!!

This is my first....

I have 3 children - a teenager, a 3 year old and a 4 month old. We have not officially started the process yet, we are currently choosing which immigration company we want to use to assist us. So we don't know if our youngest son will be of school age when we actually make the move.

In the UK, we currently get Tax Credits towards the cost of childcare while I go to work 3 days a week. Without this government assistance, I could not afford to go to work as the cost of sending 2 children to nursery is more than I earn.

I'm obviously not looking for handouts from the SA Government, and don't expect to be able to get money straight away. But, if we do make the move before the youngest is of school age, is there an equivilent to Tax Credits? And if so, would we be entitled to it? I just need the information so we can see whether its worth our while waiting until he is of school age.

Thanks in advance.

[amaslam]

There are benefits given for raising children. These are normally administered by Centrelink. So do a search on the Centrelink website and search for items like daycare rebate and Family Tax Benefit A and B

Note that there is some restriction on the first (2) yrs for Centrelink benefits so I would call them by phone and explain you will be a new migrant and is there a restriction on these family benefits for the first (2) yrs?

Originally Posted by famanda33

Hi, I've just come across this forum, and am so pleased as we are just about to start our long-talked about journey to Adelaide. You can look forward to lots of questions from me!!

This is my first....

I have 3 children - a teenager, a 3 year old and a 4 month old. We have not officially started the process yet, we are currently choosing which immigration company we want to use to assist us. So we don't know if our youngest son will be of school age when we actually make the move.

In the UK, we currently get Tax Credits towards the cost of childcare while I go to work 3 days a week. Without this government assistance, I could not afford to go to work as the cost of sending 2 children to nursery is more than I earn.

I'm obviously not looking for handouts from the SA Government, and don't expect to be able to get money straight away. But, if we do make the move before the youngest is of school age, is there an equivilent to Tax Credits? And if so, would we be entitled to it? I just need the information so we can see whether its worth our while waiting until he is of school age.

Thanks in advance.

[famanda33]

Many thanks for your quick response Amaslam.

I'll check it out now.

[famanda33]

I've now looked in depth at the Centrelink website and we will not need to wait the 2 years for the Family Tax, so looks like we can start our move sooner rather than later!

Thanks again for the pointer.

[lighthouse369]

In terms of cost of actual day care for the 2 little ones, the Family Assistance Office will pay a percentage of the costs depending on your income. If you are still looking for a migration agent, I can recommend Diane Haylock - she is based in Australia and is fantastic. Her website is: Haylock Migration - Personalised Migration Solutions. If you do use her, please tell her I referred you (Linda Lombard). Good luck!!

[famanda33]

Originally Posted by lighthouse369

In terms of cost of actual day care for the 2 little ones, the Family Assistance Office will pay a percentage of the costs depending on your income. If you are still looking for a migration agent, I can recommend Diane Haylock - she is based in Australia and is fantastic. Her website is: Haylock Migration - Personalised Migration Solutions. If you do use her, please tell her I referred you (Linda Lombard). Good luck!!

Thanks Linda, thats great. We've now decided not to use a migration agent, but thanks for the name anyway.