1.1.P.240 Primary claim

Definition

There are 3 types of PLP claims: a primary claim, a secondary claim and a tertiary claim.

Centrelink cannot make a determination that PLP is payable to a person for a child for a period unless a person has made an effective primary claim, an effective secondary claim or an effective tertiary claim. Only a natural person can make a claim.

A primary claim is a claim in the form approved by Centrelink for primary claims and must contain any information required by Centrelink, and be accompanied by any documents required by Centrelink. A primary claim may only be made by the child's birth mother, an adoptive parent of the child or a person who satisfies the circumstances prescribed by the PPL Rules as being exceptional circumstances in which a primary claim can be made.

Only the following people can make an effective primary claim for PLP for a child:

• the child' birth mother,
• an adoptive parent of the child, or
• a person who satisfies the circumstances prescribed by the PPL Rules as being exceptional circumstances in which a primary claim can be made.

The exceptional circumstances that a person must satisfy to lodge an effective primary claim under the PPL Rules are as follows for claimants who have a specific relationship to the child, such as the partner of a birth mother, the partner of an adoptive parent, or the other legal parent or their partner:

• the person has, and is likely to continue to have, care of the child for at least 26 weeks, and
• the person became, or will become, the child's primary carer before the child's first birthday or, for an adopted child, before the first anniversary of the day of placement of the child, and
• the birth mother or adoptive parent of the child is incapable of caring for the child (1.1.I.05) and will be incapable, or is likely to be incapable, of caring for the child for at least 26 weeks , or
• Centrelink is satisfied on reasonable grounds that:
  • the person became the primary carer of the child in special circumstances, and
  • it would be unreasonable for the birth mother, or adoptive parent, of the child to care for the child, and
  • it is in the interests of the child for the person to care for the child.

A person who has no specific relationship to a child may lodge a primary claim in exceptional circumstances under the PPL Rules if, in addition to meeting the criteria outlined above for a claimant who has a specific relationship to the child, the following circumstances are satisfied:

• the partner of the birth mother or the adoptive parent is incapable of caring for the child,
• the child was not entrusted to the care of the person or their partner under a decision by a state or territory child protection agency under legislation dealing with child protection in the state or territory,
• Centrelink is satisfied on reasonable grounds that:
  • the person became the primary carer of the child in special circumstances, and
  • it would be unreasonable for the partner of the child's birth mother, or the partner of the child's adoptive parent, to care for the child, and
  • it is in the interests of the child for the person to care for the child.

A person who is a parent of a child born because of a surrogacy arrangement may lodge a primary claim in exceptional circumstances under the PPL Rules if they became the parent of the child because a court made an order under a law:

• prescribed for the purposes of the Family Law Act 1975 section 60HB, or
• of a state or territory transferring the parentage of the child to the claimant.