Before the birth of your baby

Check if you’re eligible for payments

Most people can submit a pre-birth claim up to 3 months before their baby is due. Check if you can get payments.

Parental Leave Pay helps eligible working parents to take time off to care for a newborn or recently adopted child.

Family Tax Benefit (FTB) is a 2-part payment to help with the cost of raising children.

If you claim FTB we’ll also check you can get any of the following:

• a one-off lump sum of Newborn Upfront Payment
• Newborn Supplement, which is an increase to your FTB for 13 weeks
• Multiple Birth Allowance if you have triplets, quadruplets or more.

You don’t need to submit a separate claim for these. We’ll check your eligibility when you claim FTB. If you’re eligible, we’ll let you know by sending you a letter to your myGov inbox.

If you’re not eligible for Parental Leave Pay, you may still be able to get both Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement.

Register for self service

If you’re a new Centrelink customer, you’ll need a Customer Reference Number (CRN) before you can claim online.

You can prove your identity online and get a CRN from myGov. From there you can link your CRN to Centrelink and make a claim through your Centrelink online account. You can save time and manage your information through our self service options:

• our Express Plus mobile apps
• online accounts through myGov
• phone self service.

Submit your pre-birth claim for payments

Most people can submit a claim for some payments as early as 3 months before their baby’s due date.

If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov you can claim online for:

• Family Tax Benefit, which includes Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement and Multiple Birth Allowance
• Parental Leave Pay.

To do this:

1. Sign in to myGov.
2. Select Make a claim or view claim status.
3. Under Families select Get started.
4. Select Apply for Family Assistance (including Paid Parental Leave) then follow the prompts to complete your claim.

Sign in to myGov

Make sure you include any supporting documents we ask you for at the end of the claim. You can submit your documents online. We can’t process your claim until we have all the required documents.

You may be eligible for Parenting Payment if you’re the main carer for your child. Remember, you can only submit a claim for Parenting Payment after the birth of your baby.

Get organised with Medicare

There are some things to think about before the birth of your baby.

You may also want to copy or transfer to another card, such as your partner’s card. You can then ask us to copy your child onto that card after their enrolment.

You don’t have to be on the same card as your partner.

Medicare Safety Nets can help to lower your out-of-pocket costs. If you have a partner, think about registering as a Medicare Safety Net family.

To register as a Medicare Safety Net family, either:

• download a Medicare Safety Net couples and families registration and amendment form
• call the Medicare general enquiries line.

When your baby is born, you can also add them to your Medicare Safety Net family. You can do this when you enrol your baby in Medicare. You do this after the birth of your baby.

Talk to your employer about leave

You should discuss your plans for taking leave with your employer before your baby is born. You should give them written notice at least 10 weeks before you plan to start your leave.

If you plan to get Parental Leave Pay, you should tell your employer. They may need to provide the Parental Leave Pay funds to you.

Read about your rights and how to take leave from work on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Use the Supporting Working Parents website to find out about your rights in the workplace in all the following situations:

• during pregnancy
• during parental leave
• returning to the workplace.

Find out about child care options

If you’ll return to work or study after the birth of your baby, think about your child care options. There may be a waiting list for child care services.

Remember to tell us if you’re returning to work. If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov, you can do this online.

Sign in to myGov

We offer help with the cost of child care through Child Care Subsidy and Additional Child Care Subsidy. You can only submit a claim for these after the birth of your baby.

Learn more about other support available

Before your baby is due, read about finding a health service on the healthdirect website. This will help you work out which hospital is closest to you.

Having a baby involves many changes. Read more about pregnancy and birth on the Raising Children Network website to help you know what to expect.

Read more about how to budget for the cost of having a baby on the Moneysmart website.