You can listen to or watch our podcasts anytime on your phone or computer.
Our podcast episodes explain important topics that may affect you or your family. From payments and claiming support, to protecting yourself from scams and getting the most out of our services.
You can find our podcasts by searching for Services Australia on your preferred platform. You can also listen to or watch our podcasts on the Services Australia YouTube channel.
There are also links to each podcast episode, along with transcripts and supporting information in the episode notes.
Balancing helps make sure you receive the right amount of Family Tax Benefit and Child Care Subsidy based on your family’s circumstances.
In this episode Kirsten and Hank discuss how balancing works and what you need to do at tax time. They also discuss the possible balancing outcomes and steps you can take to reduce the risk of a debt in the future.
Read more about balancing your family assistance payments.
Parental Leave Pay can help eligible parents and carers take time off work to care for a new baby or recently adopted child.
In this episode Kirsten and Chelsea discuss who can get Parental Leave Pay and recent changes to the scheme. They discuss how both parents may be able to access the payment and when to claim.
Read more about Parental Leave Pay.
Tax time can affect your payments and services, depending on your circumstances.
In this episode Kirsten and Hank discuss what tax time means if you receive payments such as Family Tax Benefit, Child Support or Medicare. They explain payment balancing, when you may need to lodge a tax return, common mistakes to avoid and how to protect yourself from scams.
Read more about what you need to do at tax time.
If your bank details aren’t up to date with Medicare, they won’t be able to pay your benefit. You could also have unpaid Medicare benefits if you haven’t added a bank account since you turned 14.
In this episode Kirsten and Chelsea tell you how you can check to see if you are one of the 1 million Australians who have unclaimed Medicare benefits and how to update your details so you don’t miss out.
Read more about updating your bank account details with Medicare.
We hear so much about scams these days and especially ones that impersonate government agencies like Services Australia and myGov.
In this episode Kirsten and Hank discuss the types of scams you need to look out for, what you can do to protect yourself and what Services Australia is doing to protect your information from scams.
Read more about protecting yourself from scams and identity theft.
The Child Dental Benefits Schedule covers part or the full cost of some basic dental services for children if you get certain payments from us.
In this episode Kirsten and Chelsea discuss the benefits, eligibility and what you need to do to claim.
Read more about Child Dental Benefits Schedule.
Child Care Subsidy is assistance to help you with the cost of child care.
To get Child Care Subsidy you must:
- care for a child 13 or younger who’s not attending secondary school, unless an exemption applies
- use an approved child care service
- be responsible for paying the child care fees
- meet residence and immunisation requirements.
In this episode Kirsten and Chelsea talk about everything you need to know, who can get it and how to claim.
Read more about Child Care Subsidy.
Currently, around 600,000 people use Centrepay, a free bill paying service offered by Services Australia.
It is for managing expenses like accommodation, utilities, and essential services.
Centrepay is changing because community feedback indicated that it was necessary to better protect customers and to simplify the service, returning it to its primary purpose of bill payment.
In this episode Kirsten and Hank talk about what you need to know about Centrepay.
Read more about Centrepay.
Whether you or someone you know is finishing Year 12, heading to uni, starting a trade or even jumping straight into work or you are still deciding what your next steps are then this is the episode for you.
In this episode Kirsten and Justin discuss the support available, eligibility and give you some tips to help make the transition smoother.
Read more about leaving secondary school.
Deeming rates are changing and if you’re receiving a payment from us, like the age pension, it’s important that you understand how the changes could affect you.
In this episode Kirsten and Hank explain what deeming is, the changes and what you need to do.
Select your payment to learn more about deeming.