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.
You're normally expected to pay child maintenance until your child is 16, or until they're 20 if they're in school or college full-time studying for: A-levels.
The Registrar cannot end a child support assessment because of the income earned by an eligible child.
How much you pay. 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.
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.
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.
See Your Children More
The single best thing for avoiding child support is to spend time with your children. How much you pay basically depends on how many nights per fortnight the children spend with you. If you have the kids 7 nights per fortnight, you're assumed to be covering 50% of their costs through direct care.
2. It's unfair to hard-working parents. Australia's child support formula is generally unfair to parents who earn a good income. Every dollar that's given to one parent because they have a lower income is a dollar taken from the main financial contributor.
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.
Centrelink may also require parents to apply for an assessment of child support payable by the other parent. A person who starts a de facto relationship with a person who already has children does not have a legal obligation to support those children except in special circumstances.
Can I get more child support if my ex remarries? No. Only the income of the mother and the father of your children is taken into account. So, even if your ex marries a millionaire, their income won't change your child support.
What Does Child Support Not Cover in Australia? The child support amount in Australia is usually insufficient to fund costs such as extracurricular activities, private tuition fees, private health insurance and additional costs due to a child's special needs.
You may still be required to pay Child Maintenance even when the child reaches 18. The parent paying Child Maintenance will normally be expected to continue to pay Child Maintenance until the child reaches 16 years old or 20 years old if they are in approved full-time non-advanced education or training.
If you're the child's parent, you have to pay maintenance even if you don't see them. Paying maintenance doesn't mean you have a right to see the child. If you'd like to see them, you should first try to agree with the person who's looking after them.
So, if a child finishes their A-levels/college education at age 18, the paying parent only needs to pay child maintenance until they finish, because university education does not fall under the umbrella of secondary education.
The basic rule in Australia is that it is the child's right to have access to both moms and dads. There's a rule of equal and shared parental responsibility that both the mother and father share unless there is an order determining otherwise.
In Australia, there is no minimum age which a child can legally refuse to see a parent following divorce or separation. Of course, once children of divorce reach the age of 18 years they can make their own decisions about where they live or which parent they want to spend time with.
Eligible working dads and partners (including same-sex partners) get 2 weeks leave paid at the National Minimum Wage. These payments are made directly to the employee by the Australian Government. for information about eligibility and making a claim for Dad and Partner Pay.
We work out each parent's income percentage by dividing each income by the combined total. We calculate each parent's percentage of care. We work out each parent's cost percentage using the Care and Cost table. We subtract the cost percentage from the income percentage for each parent.
Child support scheme
Under Australian law, separated parents (including same sex parents) have a duty to provide a proper level of financial support for their children.
For the 2021-22 financial year, it's a payment of up to $788.40 for each eligible child. For the 2022-23 financial year, it's a payment of up to $817.60 for each eligible child.
In Australia, parents are not imprisoned for failing to pay child support.
The best course of action is to ask the court for an order modification (more below). The only guaranteed ways for support to end are if parents get back together or the child becomes legally independent based on age (usually 18) or via emancipation, marriage or joining the military.
Liability order from a court
CMS can take you to court over unpaid child maintenance. They can apply for a court order to take legal action. This is a 'liability order'. If the court grants the order, CMS can then legal action against you.