Calculating Child Support Payments
Child support payments are calculated according to an administrative formula that uses an income shares approach and is based on research into the cost of raising children in Australia.
The formula:
- uses the combined income of both parents to calculate child support payments;
- excludes the same self-support amount from both parents’ incomes, treating them in the same way;
- calculates child support payments based on the costs of raising children, according to the incomes of both parents; and
- recognises both parents’ contributions to the cost of their children through care.
If parents feel that the formula does not reflect the special circumstances of their case, they may apply to Services Australia for a change of assessment. Under this process, Services Australia can examine the broader financial circumstances of both parents and make a decision to depart from the formula assessment.
Parents may also choose to negotiate their own child support arrangements through a child support agreement. Agreements can specify the amount, frequency and method of payments but must meet the requirements of the legislation in order to be accepted by Services Australia.
Child support payments
Child support payments can be transferred privately, or Services Australia can collect and transfer the payments on parents’ behalf.
Where payments are not made voluntarily, Services Australia has a range of powers to enforce the collection of child support.
These include:
- deducting child support from a parent’s salary or wage;
- intercepting tax refunds; collecting from third parties such as banks;
- deducting payments from social security and other government payments;
- preventing a person from leaving Australia without paying the debt or making a suitable payment arrangement; and
- litigation action to recover a child support debt in any court with family law jurisdiction.
Source:
Australian Government Department of Social Services https://www.dss.gov.au/
© Commonwealth of Australia 2024
Information presented here under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0)
