Community and Disability Ministers discuss grandparents raising grandchildren

Commonwealth, state and territory Community and Disability Ministers have supported changes to assist grandparents in the  critical role they can play in raising their grandchildren in the Australian community.

At a recent meeting, they formally recognised that a significant barrier for many grandparents and relatives caring for a child in an informal arrangement, is having a consistent and recognised method to prove their care giving status, in order to access relevant government and other services.

To address this issue, the Ministers were updated on progress in various jurisdictions, in considering whether to follow South Australia’s lead in developing the Informal Relative Caregiver’s Statutory Declaration, which was implemented in May 2007.

Ministers supported the Commonwealth Government recognising the declaration as part of the process to access Commonwealth benefits and payments, such as Family Tax Benefit, through Centrelink and other agencies. 

This should help improve the timeliness of processing applications for these benefits by kinship carers.