Child benefit

Child benefit (children's allowance) is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adults.

In the majority of countries child benefit is means-tested and the amount of child benefit paid is usually dependent on the number of children you have.

A number of conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America and Africa link payment to the receivers' actions, such as enrolling children into schools, and health check-ups and vaccinations. In the UK, in 2011 CentreForum proposed an additional child benefit dependent on parenting activities.

In Australia, Child benefit payments are currently called Family Tax Benefit. Family Tax Benefit is income tested and is linked to the Australian Income tax system. It can be claimed as fortnightly payments or as an annual lump sum. It may be payable for dependant children from birth up to the age of 24. Children 16 years or older may alternatively be eligible for Youth Allowance. Parents of dependant children under the age of 16 may also be eligible for Income Support Payments including Parenting Payment and Newstart Allowance for Primary Carers of Children.

On 1 July 2000 the Australian government introduced major changes to the tax system including the introduction of a broad-based Goods and Service Tax (a VAT), substantial income tax cuts, as well as major changes to assistance for families.

These changes to family assistance simplified payments, by amalgamating a number of different forms of assistance, and also provided higher levels of assistance, with reductions in income test withdrawal rates. The new structure combined twelve of the pre-existing types of assistance into three new programs of assistance. The two most important of these are Family Tax Benefit Part A, which assists with the general costs of raising children, and Family Tax Benefit Part B, which is directed to single income and sole parent families. The third programme is Child Care Benefit.

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