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If you aren’t eligible for one person, you may be eligible for Carer Payment if you care for multiple people who each have a lower care need. We consider the combined needs of the people you care for.
We need to know about the type of care you give to each person.
The multiple people you care for could be either:
- 2 or more children with disability or medical conditions
- an adult and one or more children with disability or medical conditions.
You can also care for an adult with disability who has a dependent child. This is if either:
- the dependent child is younger than 6 years
- the dependent child is 6 – 16 years and the adult is eligible for Carer Allowance.
When you start your claim we may ask you to have the treating doctor for each person you care for complete a medical form. This will tell us about the people you care for and their needs. If we already have this information you may not have to provide this again.
You may also be eligible for Carer Allowance for the people you care for.
Exchanged care
Exchanged care is where all of the following apply:
- you have 2 or more children with a severe disability who need a lot of care
- the other parent isn’t your partner
- you exchange the care of the children with the other parent.
Both parents give constant care to 1 child every day and you have a current parenting plan or parenting order stating your caring arrangements.
An example of caring for multiple people
Kate is caring for 3 children with varied needs. Oliver 12, Emma 10 and Henry 5, are on the Autism spectrum and need different amounts and types of care.
Kate has to physically help Henry get dressed and ready daily. She doesn’t have to do this for Oliver and Emma. However, she does supervise their daily behaviours to make sure they take their medication and attend therapy and counselling appointments.
Individually, each child’s care needs take up a small part of her day. However, together their combined care needs take up a large part of her day, stopping her from working full time. Kate’s situation could mean she’s eligible for Carer Payment. When she starts her claim, we’ll ask her questions about herself and the care she gives.