According to the law, parents are required to financially support their children. This duty is considered paramount over all other responsibilities and obligations that a parent may have, apart from the duty of a parent to support themselves and other children.
If you don't pay your child support in full and on time, we may apply penalties on the outstanding amount. You pay the penalty amount to the Australian Government, not to the receiving parent. If you pay the overdue child support, we may reduce or remove the penalty from your account.
The law says that both parents have a duty to support their children financially, whether they are biological (birth) or adoptive parents, same-sex or otherwise. Find out how you can get Other support for parenting arrangements, child contact and child support.
In Australia, parents have a legal responsibility to financially support their children, whether they are biological, adoptive or same sex parents. Parents can make an agreement about child support or they can apply to the Services Australia (Child Support) for an administrative assessment.
In Australia shared custody means that the non-residential parent pays child support to the residential parent. In the case of a 50/50 split, the higher earner usually pays child support to the lower earner to ensure the children's standard of living is the same in both locations.
The fixed rate for child support periods starting on or after 1 January 2023 is $1,632 per child per year. If you pay the fixed rate for more than 3 children, we'll cap the amount at 3 times the fixed rate. If you pay the fixed rate to more than one person, we divide the amount between those receiving parents.
This means that child support payments are based on both parents' income and how much more the higher-earning parent makes, but there is no law that caps child support at any specific dollar amount.
We can collect overdue payments going back: up to 3 months in normal circumstances. up to 9 months in exceptional circumstances.
A mother cannot deny a father access to their children in Australia. There is a presumption of equal and shared parental responsibility. Only an order from a local court, Federal Circuit Court or Family Court of Australia would be able to stop a father from accessing their children in Australia.
If you have a Child Support Case
If you have a child support debt we may issue a Departure Prohibition Order. It'll stop you from leaving Australia until you either: pay your debt in full. enter into an acceptable payment arrangement.
What is the Difference Between Child Support and Child Maintenance? To put it simply, the difference between child support and child maintenance is that child support is financial support for children under the age of 18 whereas child maintenance is financial support for adult children over the age of 18.
Does Child Support Change if my ex-spouse remarries? No. Only the income of the parents of your children is taken into account in the assessment of your child support payments. Furthermore, a new spouse of a child support payer is not responsible for making child support payments.
Do you pay less child support if you have another child? Yes. Your assessment is based on the number of dependent children that you have. If you have a child with a new partner, then that new child is considered a dependent.
The Child Support Agency can use a Section 72A notice to gain access to superannuation in some limited circumstances.
Garnishing Bank Accounts
Services Australia is also able to apply to place a notice on bank accounts to recover unpaid child support where no payment arrangements are in place. This would mean that any significant funds in a payee parent's bank account may be collected to pay any outstanding arrears.
Generally, yes. Centrelink family assistance and child support payments are closely linked. You must apply for child support from the other parent by contacting Child Support to be eligible to receive more than the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A.
Normally child support stops when your child turns 18. If your child's in secondary study, you can apply to extend it to the end of the school year.
Relocating with children
The court will consider what is in the best interests of the child before granting permission to move away from the other parent. If the other parent wants to stop the move, then they can apply to the courts to prevent the relocation.
The custodial parent will receive support if the care % is greater than 35% and the cost percentage is greater than his or her income. You will have to pay child maintenance if the care % is less than 65% and the income percentage exceeds the cost.
Where you have a private arrangement in place, salary packaging will not generally have any impact on your child support payments. Salary packaging may impact the amount of benefit you receive from Centrelink, and other financial payments such as Child Support.
The assessment period
A child support period is the amount of time an assessment covers. It can be up to 15 months.
2. What is the maximum child support in Australia? You can calculate the maximum child support amount using the combined income of both parents, up to 2.5 times the annual equivalent of the Male Total Average Weekly Earnings, as well as the Costs of Children Table.
Use this form if you wish to end a child support assessment made by us. Download and complete the Ending a child support assessment form. If you have a disability or impairment and use assistive technology, you may not be able to access our forms.