The Government announced today (March 29) that the income and asset limits of the Working Family Allowance (WFA) Scheme would be raised from April 1 (detailed at Annex), applicable to claim months from April 2019 to March 2020.
Under the WFA Scheme, the claim period of an application covers the immediate past six calendar months before the submission of the application, and an eligible household has to submit an application for every claim period.
A household meeting the requirements on working hours as well as the income and asset limits may apply for a Basic Allowance ($800 per month for full rate), Medium Allowance ($1,000 per month for full rate) or Higher Allowance ($1,200 per month for full rate). Each eligible child may also be granted a Child Allowance ($1,000 per child per month for full rate). Depending on the household income, the allowances may be granted at full rate, 3/4 rate or half rate. The working hour requirements for single parents are lower. Details are tabulated below:
| Full rate monthly allowance (monthly household income not higher than 50 per cent Median Monthly Domestic Household Income of economically active households (MMDHIEA)) |
3/4 rate monthly allowance (monthly household income of more than 50 per cent but not higher than 60 per cent MMDHIEA) |
Half rate monthly allowance (monthly household income of more than 60 per cent but not higher than 70 per cent MMDHIEA) |
|
| Basic Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 144 hours (Single-parent households: 36 hours) |
$800 | $600 | $400 |
| Medium Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 168 hours (Single-parent households: 54 hours) |
$1,000 | $750 | $500 |
| Higher Allowance: Monthly working hours of at least 192 hours (Single-parent households: 72 hours) |
$1,200 | $900 | $600 |
| Child Allowance (Each child or youth) |
$1,000 | $750 | $500 |
Notes: All household members are allowed to aggregate their working hours for WFA applications. The WFA Scheme covers singleton households.
There are 159 distribution outlets for application forms and related documents, including the Working Family Allowance Office (WFAO) and Student Finance Office (SFO) of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency, Job Centres and Industry-based Recruitment Centres of the Labour Department (LD), District Social Welfare Offices, Social Security Field Units and Integrated Family Service Centres of the Social Welfare Department (SWD), and the Home Affairs Enquiry Centres of the Home Affairs Department.
Applications can be submitted by post to PO Box No. 62600 Kwun Tong Post Office (WFAO) or through the drop-in boxes at the WFAO and SFO, the LD's Job Centres and the SWD's District Social Welfare Offices.
Applicants are welcome to call the 24-hour hotline (2558 3000) or visit the WFAO's enquiry counters at 9/F, 181 Hoi Bun Road, Kwun Tong, for enquiries. New applicants who have difficulty in completing the application forms can seek assistance from over 90 service units of non-governmental organisations providing form-filling service from April 9 to September 30. Information about the WFA Scheme and a list of these service units are available at the WFAO's website (www.wfa.gov.hk).
Separately, WFAO will take up the processing of individual-based Work Incentive Transport Subsidy (I-WITS) Scheme applications from LD starting from April 1. LD has issued letters to current recipients of the I-WITS on the detailed arrangements. For details of I-WITS applications from April 1, please call the WFAO's 24-hour hotline above, approach the enquiry counters aforementioned, or browse the website of the I-WITS Scheme (www.iwits.gov.hk).
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