Child Support Lawyers

How is Child Support calculated?

Financial Support for children in Australia in generally determined by an administrative Assessment of child support. The Assessment is made using the formula as Set out in the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (CTH).  This is a complex formula that takes into account the percentages of care, the parties incomes and financial dependents. Find out more about the formula here.

Information contained in the child support register about the parties’ common children and care arrangements can be disputed by lodging objection. The parties are also able to apply for a departure from the formula assessed in special circumstance.

Who determines how much Child Support I receive?

In Australia, Services Australia: Child Support (“CSA”) is in charge of calculating child support assessments for separated parents and determining how much child support each parent should pay to each other using a standard formula. Parents can only apply to a court about child support issues in very limited circumstances.

The formula takes into account each parent’s income and the respective care each parent has for the child/children that is the subject of the assessment.

If you are considering applying for child support then you can use the online Child Support estimator available on the Services Australia website to work out the amount of child support you are likely to pay.

How do I apply for child support?

When parents are separating, they often want to understand how much financial support they might receive for their children.

Applying for child support is as simple as making a phone call or lodging an online application through the Services Australia website. It can take as little as 20 minutes and either parent can opt into a child support assessment.

There are also circumstances where you can have an Australian child support assessment even where one parent is residing outside of Australia. Our trained family lawyers can help you to understand any complex eligibility requirements where one or even both parents are outside of Australia.

When you apply for child support, you will be asked questions about:

1. Both your own and the other parent’s contact information;
2. What your income is;
3. What the other parent’s income is or who their employer is; and

What the current care arrangements are for your children.

What does Child Support actually cover?

The current basic Child Support formula is designed to share the standard cost of a child. The current governmental policy underlying the formula is that the cost of a child will vary depending on a number of core factors:

1. Each parent’s income;
2. The number of children a parent has, although after 3 children, this cost has been found to plateau; and
3. The ages of children.

Each year the government releases the costs of children table, which is used together with parents’ incomes and care percentages to work out your rate of child support.

As such the child support you receive and/or are assessed to pay is an allowance to help parents fairly share the standard costs of a child/children. The formula does not cover any particular expense. If you are a parenting receiving child support you are entitled to spend this money however you choose.

It is important to note that there is only a legal requirement to pay child support – this does not extend to extra-curricular or schooling activities (unless there is a court Order or BCSA requiring this)

How is child support determined if I don’t have a Court Order or written plan regarding care arrangements for my child/ren?

You do not need to have a formal agreement in place to be able to tell CSA how much time your children spend with you and the other parent.

Usually, CSA work out a parent’s percentage of care by the number of days a child actually spends with each parent. If you are not following your parenting plan or court order you should tell CSA. Even where there is an agreement in place the CSA will be more concerned with the amount of care that is actually happening.

However, you should consider if the other parent will agree with what you say is the current level of care. If there is a dispute the CSA may need you and the other parent to provide additional proof.

Can I still apply for child support if I live in the same house as the other parent?

Parents can still be recognized as legally separated, even though they are living under the same roof. Separation in Australia occurs where one parent communicates to the other their intention to separate and then acts on this intention, this often involves moving to a separate residence, but not always. It is common for separating parents to remain living together for many reasons.

If parents do not agree about separation then child support may need to obtain further proof to establish the fact of separation, if both parents are still living under the same roof. This can include text messages or correspondence from any government services or agencies, already notified about the fact of separation.

I don’t know the other parent’s income – help!

You do not need to know the other parent’s income.

CSA will contact both parents as part of the process of creating an assessment. If they cannot contact the other parent then they can access information from the Australian Tax Office. If they are unable to get any income information that way then they have powers to create a default income, which can be used until the other parent updates their income.

Do I need to apply for an assessment?

There is no legal requirement that separated parents must apply for child support.

You can work out child support arrangements between yourselves.  However, if communication breaks down and things go wrong with the other parent, there may be nothing you can do to enforce payments under an informal agreement with the other parent.

You also need to apply for a child support assessment or have a legally recognized child support agreement in place to get more than the minimum rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A. There are exceptions to this rule such as where you may be experiencing family violence or you are unable to locate the other parent.

If you are receiving no financial support from the other parent, absent any agreement then the only way to force payment is to seek a child support assessment. Importantly, if you have never applied for a child support assessment previously, there is no way to get back paid child support.

How is child support collected?

When you apply for Child Support you have a choice of:

1. Private collection (this is where you agree to payment between you); or
2. child support collects.

If you choose private collection the Child Support Agency will calculate the amount of child support required to be paid, but it is up to the parents to work out how child support money is paid. If communication breaks down and things become problematic you may need to consider if this option is appropriate for your circumstances.

If you choose Child Support collect then the Child Support Agency will be in charge of collecting child support from the paying parent. The paying parent will pay the Agency, who will then pay the parent receiving child support. The Child Support Agency can help you collect payments during a private child support period up to 90 days prior to you switching over to child support collect.