danskitt Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Hi all, We have been in sydney now for two months. My wife is Australian and I am British on a PR visa. We have started filling in the forms to register for centrelink so that we can claim child benefit as we are not working yet but find some of the questions a little strange. We own a property in the UK because we couldn't sell before we came here. The rental income that we get from it is quite high but the outgoings including mortgage payments, insurances and tax etc mean that we don't actually make any money from it. On the centrelink form there is a question about foreign earnings but they only want to know what the income figure is before any deductions and not what the deductions are. I am worried that the high income (rent) figure is going to look like we earn a decent living from it so they will calculate any child benefit from this. Has anyone else been through this process or have you used any professional to help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 My understanding of the word 'income' is that it is the amount one receives before tax. I haven't ever applied for Centrelink benefits of any sort, so don't know the system at all; however, from my experience renting out property in the UK for a year while over here the 'income' figure I had to supply for gross income purposes was the gross rent, minus agents' fees, expenses (which for the mortgage meant interest on the loan, and not the capital portion of the repayment & also included wear and tear and/or maintenance of my furnished property). I'd suggest you make sure you have the explanatory notes and if you still can't work out what they mean contact Centrelink (I think they have offices that you could go to to speak to a person about how to fill in the necessary/relevant forms). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I wonder how many migrants are in this sort of situation, having just arrived in Australia and straight away claiming benefits from Centrelink. Hopefully not too many. I am in favour of supporting Australians who need help and have have been tax payers when employed. But I hate the thought of people coming over as migrants and straightaway with their hand out. (although I do note you wife is Australian). Don't take my comments personally but upsets me as a taxpayer if this happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Hi all, We have been in sydney now for two months. My wife is Australian and I am British on a PR visa. We have started filling in the forms to register for centrelink so that we can claim child benefit as we are not working yet but find some of the questions a little strange. We own a property in the UK because we couldn't sell before we came here. The rental income that we get from it is quite high but the outgoings including mortgage payments, insurances and tax etc mean that we don't actually make any money from it. On the centrelink form there is a question about foreign earnings but they only want to know what the income figure is before any deductions and not what the deductions are. I am worried that the high income (rent) figure is going to look like we earn a decent living from it so they will calculate any child benefit from this. Has anyone else been through this process or have you used any professional to help? You rent is your income. Your mortgage payment is paying off your debt, it is cash out of your current account but it doesn't change your overall worth. You just need to answer the questions that they ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsmb Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I wonder how many migrants are in this sort of situation, having just arrived in Australia and straight away claiming benefits from Centrelink. Hopefully not too many. I am in favour of supporting Australians who need help and have have been tax payers when employed. But I hate the thought of people coming over as migrants and straightaway with their hand out. (although I do note you wife is Australian). Don't take my comments personally but upsets me as a taxpayer if this happens. When we arrived many years ago there was entitlement to claim Centrelink straight away -we did for 3 days then got jobs You comment says dont take things personally how can the perosn not when its in answer to a direct statement from them ? The gut also says he is claiming child benefit not Centrelink benefits and while you may hate the thought if this couple is entitled to a payment why not ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danskitt Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 We have contacted centrelink to get an understanding and they told us that it is the gross amount they are interested in not the net. Rupert just so you know income can be either gross or net (gross being income and net being what is left over after all expenses) I don't want to just answer the question until I have understood the question correctly. The reason that I have asked for advice is because in the UK they would base any calculations on the net value of income so I want to make sure that I haven't misunderstood the question as it doesn't seem like a fair way to do calculations. Also just for the record my wife has paid tax in Australia for twenty years without claiming anything from the state. We have moved here to be close to her sick father as it doesn't look like there will be much time left which has meant that we have not been able to organise work before we got here. I think that based on that, we are completely entitled to claim child benefit to help with the school fees until we can get ourselves on our feet. Parleycross, I would suggest if you don't like something create your own thread about it and don't post your gripes against a genuine ask for help when you don't know the full storey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I wonder how many migrants are in this sort of situation, having just arrived in Australia and straight away claiming benefits from Centrelink. Hopefully not too many. I am in favour of supporting Australians who need help and have have been tax payers when employed. But I hate the thought of people coming over as migrants and straightaway with their hand out. (although I do note you wife is Australian). Don't take my comments personally but upsets me as a taxpayer if this happens. Do you understand they they are talking about Family Assistance (I think that's what they mean by child benefit). I never understand why people say this stuff. It's not like they are coming over and going straight onto unemployment without looking for a job (which I don't believe new migrants can anyway). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Do you understand they they are talking about Family Assistance (I think that's what they mean by child benefit). I never understand why people say this stuff. It's not like they are coming over and going straight onto unemployment without looking for a job (which I don't believe new migrants can anyway). I suppose people say this stuff because it seems wrong that people can afford the expense of migrating to Australia but then need financial assistance when they get here. In this case though as your wife is Australian and a previous taxpayer of long standing I withdraw my remarks and they don't apply to you. However as a taxpayer I don't agree with providing benefits immediately to new migrants. There should be a waiting period of at least a year. Migrants should be able to support themselves for a while or really shouldn't be coming over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 You should take your opinions up with the government then Parleycross. It's not a case of people "needing financial assistance" when they get here, but a case of being legally entitled to it to help provide for their children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 The income cut off before family assistance B stops is $150k - if you can claim, why wouldn't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Isn't family assistance for working people only? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Isn't family assistance for working people only? No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 The income cut off before family assistance B stops is $150k - if you can claim, why wouldn't you? I would as an Australian taxpayer and would feel some entitlement, although why the government provides welfare to people earning nearly $150K is beyond me. But I object to brand new arrivals getting these benefits straight away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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