Pregnancy, Birth and Baby home

Medicare and other benefits

Key facts

  • If you have a Medicare card, you can access a range of health care services for free or at a lower cost.
  • These include medical services, hospital treatments and prescription medicines.
  • The Australian government provides financial support to families, including help with childcare, parental leave payments, and family tax benefits.
  • Payments are made based on financial need and a range of other criteria.
  • You can check your eligibility for these payments through Services Australia.

    • What is Medicare?

    Medicare (Opens in new tab) is the universal health insurance scheme in Australia. It provides access to medical and hospital services for all Australian residents, as well as some visitors to Australia.

    If you are eligible, you can register for Medicare and receive a Medicare card. You can use this card to receive a wide range of medical services.

    Am I eligible for Medicare?

    You are eligible for Medicare benefits if you:

    • An Australian or New Zealand citizen
    • An Australian permanent resident
    • Someone that has applied for permanent residency (some conditions apply)
    • A temporary resident covered by a Ministerial Order
    • A citizen or permanent resident of Norfolk Island, Cocos Islands, Christmas Island or Lord Howe Island
    • Covered by a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (Opens in new tab) with another country

    To check if you are eligible and to register, go to Enrolling in Medicare (Opens in new tab) on the Services Australia (Opens in new tab) website.

    What does Medicare cover?

    If you have a Medicare card, you can access:

    The benefits or refunds that you can get from Medicare are based on the Medical Benefit Schedule (MBS) (Opens in new tab). This schedule is determined by the Australian Government.

    If your doctor or service provider bulk bills you, you won't have to pay for the service at all. If they charge more than the set MBS fee, you will have to pay a 'gap fee'. It’s a good idea to ask about this when you make your appointment.

    Learn more about bulk billing for medical services (Opens in new tab).

    You can also use the Medical Costs Finder (Opens in new tab) on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website to help you plan for the costs of medical care.

    If you spend a lot of money out-of-pocket on medical appointments and tests in a certain year, you may be eligible for the Medicare Safety Net (Opens in new tab). This means that you will get extra help from the government with your out-of-pocket expenses.

    Learn more about Medicare (Opens in new tab).

    What other benefits are available for parents and families?

    In addition to Medicare, the Australian Government provides other types of support for families who meet certain eligibility criteria. These include:

    Family Tax Benefit

    The Family Tax Benefit is a 2-part payment that helps you with the cost of raising a child. You may be eligible if you:

    • have a dependent child aged 19 years or under
    • care for the child at least 35% of the time
    • meet the eligibility income test

    There are 2 payments available:

    For more information on eligibility and claiming, visit Services Australia's Family Tax Benefit (Opens in new tab) page.

    In order to receive the Family Tax Benefit Part A supplement, your child needs to be up to date with their vaccinations (Opens in new tab). Your child may also need to have a health check.

    Newborn and parental leave payments

    When you have a baby or adopt a child, there are 2 types of payments available. Visit Services Australia’s baby payments (Opens in new tab) page, to find out if you are eligible.

    You are only able to claim one type of payment per child. You cannot claim both Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement and Parental Leave Pay for the same child. 

    • Newborn Upfront Payment and Newborn Supplement (Opens in new tab) is available to eligible parents. It is an increase to your Family Tax Benefit Part A payment when you have a baby, adopt a child or a child comes into your care.
      • The Newborn Upfront Payment is a lump sum payment that you can get per child. It is not taxable.
      • The Newborn Supplement is a payment that you can get for up to 13 weeks. It is not taxable. The amount that you receive depends on how many children you have and your family's income.
    • Parental Leave Pay (Opens in new tab) is a payment to help eligible parents take time off work to care for a newborn or recently adopted child. It is paid at the national minimum wage.
      • From July 1, 2026, the maximum number of Parental Leave Pay days that you can get is 130 days, or 26 weeks.
      • You must meet the eligibility requirements to make a claim. You must also meet an income test, work test and residency requirements.
      • The number of days your family can get depends on when your child came into your care.
      • You can choose to share your Parental Leave Pay with other caregivers of your child, including your partner (Opens in new tab). For more information on sharing your Parental Leave Pay, visit Services Australia — Sharing your payment (Opens in new tab).

    Child Care Subsidy

    A range of payments and services are available to help families with the costs of approved child care. The subsidy is paid to your child care provider and reduces the amount that you need to pay in fees.

    To be eligible for the Child Care Subsidy (Opens in new tab) (CCS), your child must meet certain criteria as well as be either immunised, on an immunisation catch-up schedule, or exempt from immunisation. You can find details of your child's immunisation status on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (Opens in new tab).

    You may be eligible for the CCS payment if you meet these criteria:

    • You care for a child aged 13 or younger who is not attending secondary school.
    • You use an approved child care service.
    • You pay child care fees.
    • You and your child meet residency and immunisation requirements.

    If you're eligible for Child Care Subsidy, you may get extra help with the cost of approved child care. This is called Additional Child Care Subsidy.

    Find child care services at StartingBlocks.gov.au (Opens in new tab) using their tool Find Child Care (Opens in new tab). If you need extra help paying for child care, there are additional child care subsidies (Opens in new tab) available through Services Australia for eligible families.

    Other payments for families

    The Australian Government provides a range of additional payments for families and services that help with the cost of your children's education and health care.

    There are also payments available for people looking after children in special circumstances. You can see explore different payments and services with Centrelink's Payment and Service Finder (Opens in new tab).

    Resources and support

    To find out more about the different benefits and payments available to help you raise children, visit the Department of Social Services website (Opens in new tab). You can learn more from Services Australia's guide to Australian Government payments (Opens in new tab) or Top payments for growing up (Opens in new tab) pages.

    Read our guides to financial support for rural families and migrants to Australia.

    Information for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples

    Services Australia has an Indigenous call centre — you can call them on 1800 136 380 (Opens in new tab).

    Speak to a maternal child health nurse

    Call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby to speak to a maternal child health nurse on 1800 882 436 (Opens in new tab) or video call. Available 7am to midnight (AET), 7 days a week.

    Last reviewed: June 2026

    Need more information?

    These trusted information partners have more on this topic.

    Search our site for