Your Choice Your Future briefing notes

Our team recently sat in the Your Choice Your Future briefing. Below are a few keys points we pulled from the chat.

Of significance:

• At the moment, both allowances are taxable, so need to be declared to the ATO and Centrelink. For YP on Youth Allowance, these payments may push their income above the tax free threshold. DCJ are in conversations with the commonwealth about this.
• The DOH are not including the allowances as income (so won’t impact eligibility/rent rates).
• Carers do not have to remain authorised to receive the SOA.
• Kin Carers are entitled to the SOA.
• YP in rent Choice are entitled to the ILA.
• They said that if we have the Carer Details, especially their bank account details in ChildStory Partner, it speeds up the process.
• Anyone who applies in February will be back paid to 1st February. Anyone who applies after this will be back paid 30 days only.

YP on Rent Choice youth program qualify. More information is going to be released soon regarding housing arrangements and eligibility to ILA.  Possibly entitled if in a DOH House.

At this stage, both allowances are taxable. DCJ is trying to work through this. May have implications for Centrelink payments becoming taxable/going over the tax free threshold. The Staying On Allowance to the Carers is more complicated.  The allowances are not considered income for Carers or YP with the DOH.

Online application forms take about 1 minute.

• Medicare Card
• ID/Reference Number on Centrelink Form
• Drivers License/Proof of Age Care

SP need to update the Carer Details in Childstory, especially bank details, to speed the process up.

Other details

Mel is asking Cal for a print out of YP who have exited care under the age of 21 from AIMS so we can work out a plan of contacting them. 

It was suggested that agencies could be promoting this on Social Media, to further raise awareness and encourage utilisation of the scheme. 

Foster Carers, relatives and kinship carers who were caring for a young person in statutory care at the time they turned 18 are eligible.

There's no need to reapply after 12 months, but there will be a review process.

Hopefully the process will be 'light touch'. It's likely the Carers will receive a letter to confirm (similar to guardianship) and YP will receive a PC to confirm details and support needs.

For more information:

permanency.support@facs.nsw.gov.au

Information for young people leaving care

www.dcjnsw.info/ILA

www.dcjnsw.info/SOA