My Mob Matters

Last year, the mob at Centrelink made some changes to the Family Tax Benefit Part A and how that’s connected to kids’ health checks. Those changes affect mob who have kids that turned 4 years old on or after the 1st of July 2018. Maybe that means one of your kids, maybe a niece or a nephew… or maybe it applies to someone else in your mob.

Whatever the case, we all know raising proper deadly kids can be tough. They need good tucker, clothes, toys… and after a while, it all adds up. And there are days when it seems there’s just not enough to go around. And that’s where things like the Family Tax Benefit come in – to help you cope with providing all that stuff and at the same time encouraging you to keep looking after your family.

And part of looking after your family – especially them young mob – is to make sure they have their health checks at the clinic before they turn 5. It’s as easy as having a yarn with your GP or a health professional at your nearest clinic to arrange it all. Once you’ve done that, just use your MyGov account to let Centrelink know everything’s sweet. If those two things don’t happen, you could be risking how much you get paid in your Family Tax Benefit Part A.

If you’ve got a kid who’ll be turning five soon and they haven’t had their health check yet, you’ll get a letter from Centrelink telling you what you need to do.

If you want more info, just go to this website: www.humanservices.gov.au/healthy start.

We all know how important immunisation is for our young mob, right? You know, when little ones go off to the doctor to get a little needle jab that protects them from getting sick.

And just like making sure kids are eating good tucker and getting plenty of exercise, making sure they’re up-to-date with their immunisation shots is also really important when it comes to raising proper deadly kids. But those shots are just as important for you too, especially if you get the Family Tax Benefit Part A.

See here’s the thing: the mob at Centrelink get sent information that tells them if your kids are up-to-date with their shots or not - they just wanna be sure you’re looking after your family proper way. So, if your kids are up-to-date and fully immunised, no worries. But if they’re not, not only could you be putting your kids’ health at risk, you could be putting at risk how much you get paid in your Family Tax Benefit Part A.

And we all know kids cost money – giving ‘em good tucker, clothes, footy boots, books for school… it all adds up. So the Family Tax Benefit comes in real handy when it comes to helping you cope with all that stuff. So, by protecting your kids with immunisation shots, you can protect your benefit and keep getting the help you need.

If it does look like your payment might change, Centrelink will get in touch to let you know what you need to do. Want more info? Then go to this website: www.humanservices.gov.au/immunisation.

Recently some young mob came up to me and asked if when I was growing up, did I always wanna work on the radio? And to be honest, I told them being on the radio was the last thing I thought I’d be doing. See when I was growing up, there were two things I knew I was always gonna need in life - food and a car. So I thought I’d become either a chef or a mechanic. And when I left school, I actually did become a mechanic. It was the first of many jobs for me. But that feels like a lifetime ago… and things have changed a lot since then. Getting a job these days isn’t so simple.

Which is why - if you’re looking for your first job or even looking to change the job you’re in - the Indigenous Apprenticeships Program is a great place to start. Right now, the Australian Government has a bunch of deadly jobs being offered up in cities and towns all over country. You can get a full-time position in the Australian Public Service and a certificate or diploma qualification at the end of the year. Too good, eh?

If you’re motivated to change your direction in life and you wanna make a difference, then go ahead and apply. But do it soon ‘cos applications close on the 7th of May. It doesn’t take much to jump online to find out more and apply - just follow this link: www.humanservices.gov.au/indigenousapprenticeships.

I speak to kids in high schools almost every week… and one of the many things I’ve learned from them is that having a high school education has never been more important.

It’s not just about getting a job so you can have money and look after family. It’s also about developing confidence, leadership skills, and building strong connections to community.

Now, it can cost a lot to send kids to high school… but you know you can get some help with that. Centrelink has this thing called ABSTUDY which basically helps our mob with covering the costs of education. You might wanna use it on some books, on school fees or even on uniforms.

But you need to do something about it now ‘cos next year might be too late. It’s easy to put in a claim – just call 1800 132 317. The sooner you claim, the sooner you’ll know what’s happening.

Now, some mob need to send their kids away to study because there’s no high school nearby.  This means they’re also living away from home. ABSTUDY can help with this too. In fact, you might be able to get ABSTUDY Fares Allowance to help with their travel costs. But you’ve gotta get in early.

Centrelink can help arrange and pay for this stuff, but you mob need to put in a claim well before your kids travel and before school starts next year. Getting ABSTUDY before Term 1 starts means your kids can start on time and get the best shot at the education they deserve.

Wanna claim ABSTUDY for 2019? Then call 1800 132 317.

One thing all mob understand is the importance of family and why we need to look after the people we love.

Sometimes that means we find ourselves caring for someone with a disability or a serious illness. We might even be looking after an elderly family member or an aunty or uncle who can’t get around so good no more.

You could be 22, 42 or 72 – it doesn’t matter. If you’re a carer, then listen up…. ‘cos over the next few weeks them Canberra mob are bringing in some new services that’ll help you out.

From October, you’ll be able to access something called the Carer Gateway. It’s a website - carergateway.gov.au – that’ll give you information and links around things like peer support, counselling, coaching and educational resources.

You’ll also be able to jump on the phone and yarn to someone who’s there to help you cope, ‘cos we all know that caring for people gets tough at times and you just want to talk to someone who gets it. You can check it out by calling 1800 422 737.

Coming with these changes is gonna be something called a Carer Allowance income test. It’ll have an income threshold of two hundred and fifty thousand bucks, so it won’t bother too many mob that I know.

Still, it’s stuff you need to know about… and if you get a Carer’s Allowance, you might just be getting a letter from Centrelink soon asking you to provide some information.

Jump online to find out more - carergateway.gov.au.

In the last couple of months, Centrelink have made changes to the Family Tax Benefit and how it’s connected to kids’ health checks. It’s gonna affect some of you mob that have kids who’ve just turned 4 or might be about to turn 4. Raising proper deadly kids can be hard and the costs can really add up. If you're like me, you want ‘em to have good tucker, clothes, toys and stuff... but there's not always enough to go around. That’s where the Family Tax Benefit comes in – to help you cope.

And we all want our kids to be healthy. We want ‘em to eat well and exercise, but we don’t want ‘em getting sick. That’s why getting health checks before they start school is a good way to see how they’re traveling.

You’ll get a letter telling you if your kid needs a health check and then you just need to let the Human Services mob know it’s been done before your kid turns 5. Easy. If you need to arrange a health check, go and have a yarn with a health professional at your nearest clinic.

Just think about it - in this new mob generation, we’ve got the next Baker Boy, we’ve got the next Cathy Freeman… in fact, we’ve probably got hundreds of ‘em. And who knows - we might even have the next Prime Minister! By looking after them, you look after yourself.

Go to this website for more info: www.humanservices.gov.au and search ‘healthy start’.

Recently, Centrelink made changes to the Family Tax Benefit and those changes are gonna affect some of you mob that have kids.

Now I know raising kids can be hard and the costs can really add up. You want them to have good tucker, clothes, and toys, but there's not always enough to go around. That's where the Family Tax Benefit comes in - it helps you cope with raising proper deadly kids and giving them the best start in life.

But you need to do your bit too. Just like getting them to eat healthy food and doing exercise, you have to make sure our young mob are up-to-date with their immunisation shots so they’ve got protection against getting sick.

And that means you can keep getting the Family Tax Benefit.

It’s basic stuff - protect your kids with immunisation, protect yourself with the help you deserve.

Get more info at www.humanservices.gov.au/immunisation