Household worked through · rates of 20 September 2026
A couple caring for a child with disability
Sam gives up work to care full time for their 8-year-old son, who has a severe disability. Kim earns $52,000. They rent for $560 a fortnight.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
A couple where one parent provides constant care at home to an 8-year-old with a severe disability, while the other earns $52,000, renting at $560 a fortnight, receives about $1,097 a fortnight from the household calculator: Carer Payment of about $532 for the carer, and both parts of Family Tax Benefit at their maximum rates, Rent Assistance included. On top, Carer Allowance of $162.60 a fortnight is paid for the child, because the family income is under $250,000; the calculator does not add it to its total, so the household's real figure is about $1,260. Carer Payment is paid at the pension rate and assessed with the pension income test on the couple's combined income, which is why Kim's wages reduce it. Because Carer Payment is an income support payment, Family Tax Benefit is paid without the family income test. The child's own care needs, and the parents' income and assets, are also assessed under the care receiver test, not modelled here.
More details: ages, assets, child care fees
What this household gets, per fortnight
$1,097
$30,022 a year, including $1,449 of FTB supplements paid after tax time
- Carer Payment (you)$532
Reduced by the income test
- Family Tax Benefit Part A$426
No income test (income support), Rent Assistance of $190 a fortnight included
- Family Tax Benefit Part B$140
No income test (income support)
An income support payment is paid, so Family Tax Benefit is worked out without the family income test. How this is worked out.
Carer Payment on the pension test
Carer Payment is a pension, assessed like the Age Pension (Social Security Guide 4.2.5). For a couple where only one partner receives it, the couple's combined income is compared with the couple free area of $396 a fortnight, and the carer's rate falls by 25 cents for each dollar above it. Kim's $2,000 a fortnight brings Sam's Carer Payment down from the couple maximum to about $532. A pay rise to $75,000 would lower the household's payments to about $876 a fortnight.
The son's Family Tax Benefit
Their son is 8, so Part A is the rate for a child under 13 and Part B the rate for a youngest child aged 5 to 12. Kim's salary would normally trim Part A, since a family income of $52,000 plus Sam's taxable Carer Payment sits close to the free area, but here it does not matter: Carer Payment is a pension, and a pension paid to either parent means the family receives Part A and Part B in full (Family Assistance Guide 3.1.4.40). The rent of $560 is well above the couple threshold, so the one-or-two-children maximum of Rent Assistance is folded into Part A as well. Remove Carer Payment in the calculator and the total falls to about $565.
Carer Allowance on top
Carer Allowance is a separate supplement of $162.60 a fortnight for daily care at home, with a family income limit of $250,000 and no taper (Social Security Guide 1.2.5.50). A carer who receives Carer Payment for a child may qualify for Carer Allowance automatically. It also brings a Health Care Card for the child. It is tax-free and does not count as income for Carer Payment or Family Tax Benefit.