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Effect of Children on Remote Area Allowance (RAA)

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Last amended: 1 July 2009

Additional RAA for children

    

VEA ?

A service pensioner or income support supplement recipient who resides in a remote area and has a Family Tax Benefit (FTB) child or regular care child may be paid an additional amount of remote area allowance (RAA).

Where the person's partner has an FTB child or regular care child but is neither receiving service pension, income support supplement, social security pension or social security benefit nor additional RAA, the person is eligible for additional remote area allowance in respect of that child.     

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Family Tax benefit (FTB) Child

Section 5F(1) of the VEA defines FTB child as having the meaning given by Subdivision A of Division 1 of Part 3 of the Family Assistance Act.  In most cases a child considered to be an FTB child under the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 will also be a dependent child under the Social Security Act 1991.  There are some cases where this will not be true.  A comparison between FTB child and a dependent child defined by the Social Security Act is available from the Guide.     

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Regular Care child

Section 5F(1) of the VEA defines regular care child as having the meaning given by subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act.  A regular care child of an individual is a child who:

  • is in the individual's care for at least 14%, but less than 35%, of the time, and
  • would be an FTB child of the individual but for the child being in the individual's care for less than 35% of the time.
RAA in respect of absent pensioner

    

VEA ?

A pensioner normally ceases to be eligible for RAA if absent from the remote area for more than 8 weeks. However, if that person's RAA includes an additional amount for an FTB child, the Commission can make a determination that while the person has an FTB child, they will be eligible for RAA.    

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RAA in respect of an absent child

    

VEA ?

Additional remote area allowance is paid irrespective of whether the FTB child is actually in the remote area, providing the child is physically present in Australia.  If the child is temporarily absent from Australia, additional remote area allowance is payable for the first 8 weeks of that absence.    

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A remote area is defined as one of the following:

  • Tax Zone A, including the following islands:

-Macquarie Island,

-Norfolk Island,

-The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands,

-The Australian Antarctic Territory,

-The Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands,

-The Territory of Christmas Island, and

-Lord Howe Island,

  • Locations within Tax Zone B that are 250 kilometres distant from the nearest urban centre with 2,500 people (known as Special Tax Zone B); and
  • Those places in Australia that the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 treats as being either in Tax Zone A or Special Tax Zone B.

 

 

FTB child has the same definition as given in section 22 and 22A of the Family Assistance Act (i.e. A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999).

 

For more information, see also 9.4.3/Effect of Children on Remote Area Allowance (RAA) CS Policy Library.

 

 

Regular care child has the meaning given by subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act. (i.e. A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999).

 

For more information, see also 9.4.3 Effect of Children on Remote Area Allowance (RAA).

 

 

Remote area allowance is a supplementary payment added to the rate of income support pension where the pensioner's usual place of residence is situated in a remote area, and where the pensioner is physically present in the remote area.

Remote area allowance is a supplementary payment added to the rate of income support pension where the pensioner's usual place of residence is situated in a remote area, and where the pensioner is physically present in the remote area.

A person's 'partner' is someone who is a member of a couple with that person.