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Who needs to have a health check
Your child may need to have a health check if both of these apply:
- your child is turning 4
- you or your partner get FTB Part A and an income support payment.
If your child doesn’t have a health check, your Family Tax Benefit (FTB) Part A payment rate may reduce.
If they need a health check, we’ll send you a letter through your myGov inbox or by mail.
We’ll let you know what you need to do before it affects your payments.
What a health check is
A health check is an assessment of your child’s physical health. It includes their height, weight, hearing, sight and general wellbeing. It ensures your child is healthy, fit and ready to learn when they start school.
Your child can have a health check from when they turn 3. A General Practitioner (GP) or community health clinic can do a health check. Some other providers can do a health check, depending on the situation. Requirements are different in each state and territory. You can check which requirements apply to your child in the following table.
| State or territory | Health checks that meet the FTB Part A requirements |
|---|---|
| ACT | A health check on a child who’s 3 to 3 and a half. You can find details in the Personal Health Record, sometimes called the Blue Book. A general health check on your child after they turn 3 provided by your GP or community health clinic. |
| NSW | A health check on a child who’s 3 to 4. You can find details in the Personal Health Record called My First Health Record. A general health check on your child after they turn 3 provided by your local GP or community health clinic. |
| NT | A health check on a child who’s 3 to 4 under the Healthy Under 5 Kids Program. A general health check on your child after they turn 3, provided by your local GP or community health clinic. A compulsory health check done under the NT emergency response. |
| Qld | A health check on a child who’s 3 to 3 and a half, or 4 to 5. You can find details in the Personal Health Record, sometimes called the Red Book. A general health check on your child after they turn 3, provided by your local GP or community health clinic. |
| SA | A health check on a child who’s 3 or a pre-school check on a child who’s 4. You can find details in Child Health Record, sometimes called the Blue Book. A general health check on your child after they turn 3, provided by your local GP or community health clinic. |
| Tas | A health check on a child who’s 3 and a half, completed by Tasmanian family and child health nurses. A general health check on your child after they turn 3, provided by your local GP or community health clinic. |
| Vic | A health check on a child who’s 3 and a half, completed by Victorian maternal and child health nurses. A general health check on your child after they turn 3, provided by your local GP or community health clinic. |
| WA |
A general health check on your child after they turn 3, completed by either:
A general health check on your child after they turn 3, provided by your local GP or community health clinic. A school entry health assessment on a child who’s 3 and a half. |
What you need to do
Arrange a health check for your child
This is an age appropriate health check as outlined in the Health check table.
To arrange a health check, talk to your GP, health professional or staff at your community health clinic.
Tell us your child has had a health check
You’ll need to do this before your child’s fifth birthday.
You can do this with the Healthy Start for School review online. We’ll send a notification to your online account that you need to complete an update.
If your Centrelink online account is linked to myGov you can sign in now to complete it.
If you can’t complete the Healthy Start for School review for your child online, call us on the Families line as soon as possible.
When you call us, you may be offered to update the health check information through our Smart IVR (Interactive Voice Response). If you can’t use the Smart IVR, wait to speak to a service officer and let them know your child has had a health check.
We’ll only record the date your child had the health check. We don’t record the details of the check.
How it affects your payments
You have until your child’s fifth birthday to tell us that they have had a health check. If you don’t, we may reduce your FTB Part A payments for your child.
Your FTB Part A payments may reduce by up to $33.04 per fortnight. This reduction amount is subject to an annual Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase.
The reduction will start on their fifth birthday and continue for up to 26 fortnights.
Example
Nat’s child turned 4 on 1 November 2021. She got both an income support payment and FTB Part A for 3 months during the 2021-22 financial year.
Nat took her child to the local community health clinic to have a health check when her child turned 3. This meets the requirements but Nat still needs to tell us the health check has been done.
Nat has until 31 October 2022 to tell us. This is the day before her child’s 5th birthday.
If Nat doesn’t tell us, we’ll reduce her FTB Part A payments for that child. This reduction will start from 1 November 2022 and continue for 3 months. It lasts for 3 months because that’s how long Nat got these payments in the financial year Nat’s child turned 4.