Need some help about eventual benefits eligibility

[FriarMylo]

Hi everybody ! ( Hi Doctor Nick !)

 

Please help me resolve some doubts that I have.

 

My wife and I have been granted 189 visa in mid May. A week later she gave birth to our first child and now I have to start a whole new child visa 101 for him and hope that DIBP will promptly process his application in the stated 3 months period so we can all together move to Adelaide in October. Assuming that it 101 visa will be granted (there is no reason why it shouldn't) ...we have some questions .

 

We found some accommodation in Modbury and I will follow the emigrating post arrival check list mentioned in

 

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/content/16-emigrating-checklist-post-arrival.html

 

But ...although I have a some "rainy day funds" is there an allowance I can apply for with the government or local council...to help with some basic needs with the baby stuff or things like that. I hope that I will find a suitable work as soon as possible (IT Network and Sys admin) ..but just to have some sort of a plan B to lean on . Any inputs ?

 

Thanks guys.

[NicF]

As a permenant resident you will be able to apply for family tax benefit. This is means tested so the amount you get will depend on how much you are earning. There are two types of family tax benefit and to get one of them your child has to be fully up to date with the immunisations that they should have had for their age as per the Australian schedule and they have to be recorded on the national records. You can organise this via a GP when you arrive. You can also get childcare benefit (means tested) and childcare rebate (not means tested) if you need to use childcare once you are working. I believe there are no other benefits you can claim until you have lived here 2 years.

[snifter]

Nothing from the council to buy baby stuff.

 

You might want to try gumtree and buy and sell sites for that sort of thing. Mostly second hand/pre loved but can get lots for very little that way.

[scooterdan]

Love how some people expect handouts when they get off the plane..... That's the problem with the U.K.!

 

 

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[Blossom]

If you are renting then when you claim family tax benefits you can also claim rental assistance. Possibly parenting payment too. However, there have been people who have had problems claiming anything as they went off their previous years UK income which was too high.

[Sallyh]

I am crafting the art of living very cheaply with lots of kids. Income has never been this low and we are living better than ever before in many ways. And treading pretty lightly on the earth.

 

My tips for babies costing next to nothing, are:

Washable nappies (line drying takes a fraction of the time here most of the year)

Breastfeeding (100% free) and best parenting tool ever, will also save on medicine costs

Baby led weaning (get the book second hand), never buy baby food or cook puree, just eat healthy food and baby helps them self off your plate

Buying clothes in bundles second hand off gumtree (Adelaide gumtree is amazing) and negotiating down

Keeping grocery budgets down in general by cooking from scratch and using the entertainment book for everything possible

 

 

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[Diane]

Baby led weaning (get the book second hand), never buy baby food or cook puree, just eat healthy food and baby helps them self off your plate

 

God, I would really struggle with that - I hate sharing my food with anyone! Really hate it in a restaurant when you order a dish and someone else says "yes, that sounds nice, I'll share yours" and have to fight against growling at them "if you want some, order your own!"

 

But back to the OP's question - there is a Medicare/Centrelink office in Modbury, so I would make that one of your first points of call when you arrive and ask then what you can claim. Be advised the claim forms require a PhD in form filling to complete though....

[Sallyh]

You know what I mean. Cook a meal and serve some of the same stuff and put it in a separate bowl for a child. Easier than an entire blender of bland slop and generally tastier. most people end up eating the same food as their children at some point.

 

 

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[Tarek]

I think you are starting off on the wrong foot, looking for benefits before even landing that is. Job market is tough here in Adelaide, if I were in your shoes, I'd plan for the worst and hope for the best.

 

Good luck!

[Blossom]

I think considering what help you can get before hand is planning for the worst. It isn't always as easy to find work as people imagine.

 

And baby led weaning rocks! :-D

[Sallyh]

I was looking at Australian spending statistics the other day, and found some interesting info. I'd love to see side by side comparisons of costs here and the U.K. We have been here 8 years now and I'm sure so much has changed over there. I used to think food here was much more expensive but a few random prices my mum gave me a while ago looked similar. My American friends seem to spend far less on food.

 

 

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[Blossom]

I've been here 8.5 years too and prices have definitely come down from when we first got here. :-)

[Sallyh]

Really? I guess Coles smart buy has appeared and expanded, and of course Aldi and Costco are challenging customer loyalty. I am not loyal at all when it comes to my grocery shopping.

 

 

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[Lazy Cow]

I also think it seems rude to come to a country and immediately expect to be given benefits you've not yet contributed towards, but I guess realistically, that's what happens.

 

The benefits are there to help any Australian, new or old, reach a minimum standard of living (I don't think they necessarily do though), so if you come here as part of our society, then you are as eligible as anyone else.

 

Factoring in those benefits is simply being realistic.

 

We didn't claim them when we arrived, but when we completed our first financial year Centrelink credited our account with family benefit. Did we refuse it? Nope! We were very grateful to receive it.

 

Whether you know in advance or not, I doubt many - if any! - would take the higher ground as migrants and not take the money, so let's not be so quick to criticise the question.

 

LC

[Sallyh]

Yes I was looking at the OP from the point of view of family budgeting. Working out what the income might be and what the cost of living might require. We are now down to Centrelink only income as dh has given up his one day a week work to make room for his full time study. We are in year 4 of a 5 year course for him. Centrelink only is a challenge and our spending is nothing like the MoneySmart averages. And I don't think it would be even if he were still working. I tried to look ahead at one point and find out from Centrelink what our income would be after he went down in days from full time to 2 days a week. Couldn't find out even if he would be eligible for Austudy, you basically had to have the income first and apply and then find out blind about your entitlement. He's Australian by birth and for his first degree didn't use Austudy years ago so we got it this time around.

 

We receive generosity from a few sponsoring churches but save that for fees instead of family finances. So on Centrelink only income we are paying for health insurance, 2 x braces, and living on next to nothing for everything else. I think that it's possible to live on Centrelink but it's a challenge and requires having low spending and no debt in our case.

 

 

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Edited June 13, 2016 by Sallyh

[FriarMylo]

Don't get me wrong...I am taking a big leap into the unknown here. This will be the third time I'm starting all over...and this time it's with my own new family. First two times I was a kid and I couldn't help it because I was unlucky that I was born in a part of the world that is conflict prone to say the least,back then I didn't choose to migrate...I was forced to...had a good life...or start of it.... but lost everything,my childhood,teenage carefree fun years,early adulthood and college experiences...only had a glimpse of those . Now...I have m own family and I made the choice to migrate and the responsibility is huge,but the main motivation is hope for a better life...a life worth living not just surviving...in every sense of that word. The last thing on my mind is to live on government handouts...I just feel more at ease knowing that there is a system that takes care of you if you unfortunately get in that position and helps you get back on your feet. I consider myself smart enough,capable enough,willing enough and experienced enough to immediately become a working member of society but it isn't all up to me....and also I understand the fact that as a newly arriving migrant things may not go so smooth for me (us) in the beginning .

[kelbert]

I find it difficult to comprehend how braces take priority over clothing and other family necessities. I know some people genuinely need them for corrective purposes but here all kids have them which would appear mostly for cosmetic purposes.

[Lazy Cow]

I find it difficult to comprehend how braces take priority over clothing and other family necessities. I know some people genuinely need them for corrective purposes but here all kids have them which would appear mostly for cosmetic purposes.

 

I'm not sure if you are directing your comment at Sallyh, because I think she said her family's health - insurance, braces - took priority and they simply live within their means with what's left. If my kids had needed braces, I would have totally done the same.

 

I do agree that it appears that braces are the 'must-have' accessory, but it seems they use braces to correct a fair amount of potential and actual problems, not just cosmetic. I'm basing that on what kids tell me when we talk about it (I work in a high school).

 

I don't know. I'm just grateful my kids didn't need them!

 

LC

[Sallyh]

Yes thanks LC. We do all our necessities and braces are one of those. They take priority over leisure and wasting money on things we can live without... And if I wanted to I could apply to the college hardship fund for those but have simply chosen to save monthly to pay the bill at the beginning of each year. Sadly all our kids appear to have impacted teeth at a really early age and I feel privileged to be able to do for them what should have been done for me. It affects your teeth later in life if they are crowded. so yes we are in the 'need them for corrective purposes' bracket. ( bracket, get it??!) Can think of better ways to spend money to look good... And I don't think our family ever does anything just to fit in... we took a third opinion before we went ahead and are extremely happy with the care we are getting.

 

Couldn't quite get the dental nurse going on about was my kid excited the day they put them on, he thought she must be crazy. So yep no fitting in here.

 

We act towards our values, everyone does. So my values will be different from yours Kelbert, and I can imagine our reasons for moving to Adelaide would be totally different too. I don't prioritise clothes over braces and dental health. We have enough to wear (too much probably?) and it doesn't have to come from expensive shopping trips, a lot of handmedowns we have been given by friends or bought second hand are working their way down our family too with plenty of wear left in them. We scrub up pretty well.

 

 

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[Sallyh]

Don't get me wrong...I am taking a big leap into the unknown here. This will be the third time I'm starting all over...and this time it's with my own new family. First two times I was a kid and I couldn't help it because I was unlucky that I was born in a part of the world that is conflict prone to say the least,back then I didn't choose to migrate...I was forced to...had a good life...or start of it.... but lost everything,my childhood,teenage carefree fun years,early adulthood and college experiences...only had a glimpse of those . Now...I have m own family and I made the choice to migrate and the responsibility is huge,but the main motivation is hope for a better life...a life worth living not just surviving...in every sense of that word. The last thing on my mind is to live on government handouts...I just feel more at ease knowing that there is a system that takes care of you if you unfortunately get in that position and helps you get back on your feet. I consider myself smart enough,capable enough,willing enough and experienced enough to immediately become a working member of society but it isn't all up to me....and also I understand the fact that as a newly arriving migrant things may not go so smooth for me (us) in the beginning .

Sounds like you are doing a great job, wishing you all the best. There's nothing wrong with gathering information and planning ahead.

 

 

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[kelbert]

Fair enough Sally. I just find it irritating that the kids here are obsessed with having that perfect american style smile. My daughter included. Since we moved here she's forever going on about having braces and underbites and overbites. They must have integrated dental lessons into her school day to be such an expert!! Yet not once has the dentist said she needs them so far!

No offence aimed at you.

[Sallyh]

No offence taken. I do think that there's much more intervention here medically and I am discovering that a lot of it is because we (Australians in general) 'can'. Maybe not the best idea to make assumptions about others priorities of spending though. I wouldn't be much of a parent if I was following braces fashion and half starving my poorly clothed kids!!!!!!

 

I remain ever grateful for the amazing health care we have here, what we can do with health insurance, and what we can do without it. I haven't come across that sort of peer pressure but like I said I don't think we do anything to fit in. Else my dh wouldn't be training for ministry and we wouldn't be homeschoolers!

 

 

 

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