In Australia, the Department of Human Services (DHS), with its Centrelink branch, is in charge of payments to support families.
One of those payments is the family tax benefit.
It's actually part of the taxation system, but most families choose to have the benefits paid to them fortnightly, in advance.
DHS general manager Hank Jongen explains that the first thing to know about the family tax benefit is that it's based on income.
"It is subject to an income test. And the amount of income that affects payments really depends of the nature of the family. How many children, the age of those children, etc."
Hank Jongen says the easiest way to figure out your eligibility is to visit the DHS website at humanservices.gov.au.
Once you're there you can lodge your application online.
All the mechanisms are also in place in hospitals to help new parents lodge a claim.
Social workers can answer questions and help you get the documentation you need for your claim, like a birth certificate.
Since family benefit payments are based on projected income, it's very important to keep your information up-to-date.
On top of the fortnightly payments, some families receive a supplement at the end of the financial year.
But the government recently restricted these supplements.
Starting July 1st, no new family will get the single income family supplement, which can be up to three hundred dollars.
The families already receiving this supplement will keep it, as long as they remain eligible.
They may lose the payments if they leave Australia for more than six weeks or have too high an income.
To keep up with those changes, Hank Jongen says that you have to read all the letters you get from the DHS and Centrelink.
If it all seems a bit complicated, especially in a language that's not your first, the DHS provide translation services in over two hundred languages.
To get more information on the family tax benefit, to lodge a claim and to keep up-to-date with the latest changes, visit the Department of Human Services' website at humanservices.gov.au.
