Foster Child Health Care Card

What Is This Payment?

The Foster Child Health Care Card is a federal concession card administered by Services Australia. The rule database tags it as a Group B benefit with eligibility_only as its result role and places it inside the Concession Cards parent cluster, alongside the standard Health Care Card, the Low Income Health Care Card, the Ex-Carer Allowance (Child) Health Care Card, the Pensioner Concession Card, and the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card variants. Unusually for the cluster, the entitlement scope is per child rather than per carer, and it is ongoing while the foster arrangement continues.

This is not a new payment. The measure that lets foster carers obtain a Health Care Card for a child in their care dates back to the 1998-99 Federal Budget, and was extended from 1 July 2001 so that all foster carers — formal and informal — can get the card regardless of means testing. It sits in the Social Security Act 1991 Health Care Card framework. The reason so many carers miss it is that, unlike the auto-issued Health Care Card, it is not handed out automatically with a payment; it has to be claimed, and a carer who is not on Centrelink income support has no obvious prompt to do so.

The administering body is Services Australia. Channels in this rule are online and service centre. The design intent is squarely about the child's health: children entering foster and kinship care frequently arrive with unmet medical, dental, and developmental needs, and the card removes the cost barrier to PBS medicines from day one — independent of the carer's own finances, which is the whole point of having no means test.

How Much Can You Get?

The amount block is defined as eligibility_only with period: none. The rule produces no direct cash payment. Its value is the concession access it unlocks for the foster child, recorded in the amount note as cheaper PBS medicines.

Concrete savings drivers:

• $7.70 per PBS prescription in 2025-26. A foster child with ongoing scripts — asthma preventers, ADHD medication, antibiotics during placement transitions — pays the concession price rather than the general PBS price, and the gap adds up quickly across a year of placement.
• Concession pricing and bulk-billing access that follow a Health Care Card. Many practices reserve bulk-billing for concession card holders, so the card lowers the cost of GP visits for the child during the placement.
• A card in the child's name that moves with the child's needs, not the carer's circumstances. Because there is no means test, even a higher-income kinship carer secures the same PBS savings for the child.

To audit the practical value, count the foster child's expected PBS scripts across the placement and multiply by the price gap, then add expected bulk-billing savings on GP visits. A child with one or two regular prescriptions and routine medical contact saves a few hundred dollars over a placement year compared with paying general PBS prices.

The rule has no caps, no multiplier, no income_reductions, no tiers. It is binary: the foster-care and residence gates pass and the card issues in the child's name with Health Care Card entitlements, or a gate fails and the card is not granted under this rule. The card is independent — it is issued to the individual child, cannot be transferred, and is separate from any Health Care Card the carer holds in their own right.

Eligibility Conditions

The eligibility block is an all set, so every item must pass.

1. You have a child in your care: dependent_children = true. There is a child in your care for whom the card is being claimed.
2. The child is a foster child: caring_for_foster_child = true. The child is not your biological or adopted child. The official guidance is explicit that you do not need to be a formal foster carer — informal and kinship arrangements count — so long as you are caring for someone else's child.
3. Australian residence status: residency_status in {australian_citizen, permanent_resident, special_category_visa, other_eligible_visa}. The carer must meet residence rules.
4. Living in Australia: living_in_australia = true.

Required fields list these four items. The rule has no exclude block and no conflicts — there is no income or assets test, and the card does not clash with any other benefit, because it is issued in the child's name rather than the carer's. This is what makes it the one Health Care Card a carer can reach when they would fail the Low Income Health Care Card income test and are not on any income-support payment.

One residence nuance is worth flagging. The residence rule applies to the carer. The official guidance notes that a foster child who is not in the care of an Australian resident — or who is residing in an Approved Care Organisation — may instead be able to claim their own Low Income Card. So when the carer fails the residence gate, the pathway shifts to the child's own card rather than disappearing.

A second nuance is the one-card-per-child design. Because eligibility is framed around the individual foster child, each child in care needs a separate claim and receives a separate card in their own name. The card cannot be reused for a different child if the first child leaves care.

How To Apply

Application metadata defines two channels: online through a Centrelink online account linked to myGov, and service centre. You can claim the Foster Child Health Care Card when you claim Family Tax Benefit; if you are not eligible for Family Tax Benefit, you can claim the card separately.

Evidence requirements are short and reflect the child-centred design:

• identity document (for you and for the foster child)
• proof of the care arrangement (a record showing the child is in your foster or kinship care)

Two practical tips. First, claim promptly each time a new foster child enters your care: the card is tied to that specific child, so a new placement means a new claim, and the sooner you lodge it the sooner the child's PBS scripts drop to the concession price. Second, the card is valid for one year from the date of issue and, if you remain eligible, Services Australia automatically reissues it before it expires — so you generally do not need to re-claim for the same child each year, only when a new child arrives or a child leaves your care and a new carer takes over.

Read the official Foster Child Health Care Card claim guidance

Rule-Based Scenarios

Scenario 1: informal kinship care, higher income, still qualifies

Margaret, a grandmother on a comfortable income, is informally caring for her 7-year-old granddaughter while the child's parents are unable to. Because the card has no income or assets test and informal care counts, Margaret claims a Foster Child Health Care Card in the granddaughter's name. The child's asthma preventer now costs $7.70 instead of the general PBS price, and bulk-billing GP visits are easier to find — none of which depends on Margaret's income.

Scenario 2: formal foster placement, claimed alongside Family Tax Benefit

The Okafor family takes a 4-year-old into formal foster care through a state agency. They are already claiming Family Tax Benefit, so they add the Foster Child Health Care Card claim to that process, attaching the child's identity documents and the placement record. The card arrives in the child's name and covers the child's medicines for the placement.

Scenario 3: a second foster child arrives — a second claim is needed

Priya already holds a Foster Child Health Care Card for one child in her care. A sibling is then placed with her. The existing card cannot be reused, so Priya lodges a separate claim for the second child, who receives their own card. Each child's PBS savings run on their own card in their own name.

Scenario 4: carer is not an Australian resident — pathway shifts to the child

A foster child is placed with a carer who does not meet Australian residence rules. The carer fails the residence gate, so the Foster Child Health Care Card is not issued to the carer's claim. Following the official guidance, the child may instead be able to claim their own Low Income Card, so the medicine savings are not lost — they are reached through a different door.

Common Mistakes

• Assuming an income test applies: the most common reason carers never claim is the belief that a comfortable income disqualifies them. It does not. The Foster Child Health Care Card has no income or assets test, which is exactly what makes it reachable when the Low Income Health Care Card is not.
• Thinking only formal foster carers qualify: the official guidance states you do not need to be a formal foster carer. Informal and kinship arrangements — a grandparent, aunt, or family friend caring for someone else's child — also count.
• Expecting one card to cover several foster children: a card is issued to an individual child and cannot be transferred or used for another child. Each foster child in your care needs a separate claim and gets a separate card.
• Not re-claiming when a new child enters care: because the card is tied to a specific child, a new placement always means a new claim. Carers who assume their existing card "covers the household" leave the new child paying full PBS prices.
• Confusing the foster card with your own Health Care Card or Medicare card: this card is issued in the foster child's name, not the carer's. It is separate from any card you hold for yourself and from the child's Medicare arrangements.
• Waiting for it to arrive automatically: unlike the Health Care Card that comes with income-support payments, the Foster Child Health Care Card must be claimed. A carer who is not on a Centrelink payment will never be auto-issued the card and has to lodge a claim to get it.

Related Benefits

• Health Care Card (HCC) — the standard sibling card, auto-issued with qualifying payments. The Foster Child card carries the same Health Care Card entitlements but is issued in the child's name and needs no payment.
• Low Income Health Care Card (LIHCC) — the income-tested alternative. When a foster carer fails the residence gate, the official guidance points the child toward claiming their own Low Income Card.
• Ex-Carer Allowance (Child) Health Care Card — another standalone Health Care Card variant in the Concession Cards cluster, for young people who held a carer-linked card before turning 16.
• Family Tax Benefit Part A — base rate — many foster and kinship carers claim FTB for a child in care, and the Foster Child Health Care Card can be claimed in the same process.
• Child Dental Benefits Schedule — complementary support for a child's dental costs; a foster child with the Health Care Card pathway often qualifies for subsidised dental too.
• Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) — the pension-linked concession card in the same cluster, held by carers on pension-type payments in their own right.

Frequently Asked Questions