Split or shared care
Whether a child can receive services depends on whether their primary carer qualifies for a Community Services Card.
A child can receive services if their primary carer has a Community Services Card. It makes no difference whether or not the other family member has a card.
A client would usually be considered as the primary carer if the child is included in the client's benefit. If not, then the primary carer is considered to be the person who is the principal provider of on-going day-to-day care for the child.
Guidelines for determining who is the primary carer
The parent with greater responsibility is usually the caregiver. If a parent has the child for at least 60% of the time they have the primary responsibility.
Where parents have equal time, to help you decide which parent has greater responsibility, consider the following:
- who pays for the child's material support (furniture, clothes etc)
- who decides about the child's daily activities
- who takes them to and from school and supervises leisure activities
- who makes decisions about their education and health, who pays for which expenses
If it is not clear who has greater responsibility or the parents share the responsibility equally, the parent who was mainly responsible for the day-to-day care of the child before their separation would be considered the primary carer.
