Child Support

If you and your partner separated on or after 1 October 1989 or any of your children were born after this date, your situation regarding child support will be governed by the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth).
  • The Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth) provides a mathematical formula for the calculation of your child support liabilities (that is, how much child support/ maintenance you are to pay or receive).
  • Factors that may be taken into account in order to determine how much child support should be paid include the income of the parents, the number of children involved and the number of nights per year the children spend with each parent.
  • Upon separation, no child support assessment is automatically made and the parent with whom the child/children reside after separation must lodge an application for child support with the Child Support Agency.
  • It is important to remember that the assessment and determination of child support is an internal government procedure and it is not handled through the court system.
  • After the initial application has been lodged with the Child Support Agency an Assessment Notice will usually issue to the applicant several weeks later. This notice will say how much is to be received or paid each month and will explain the parties’ rights relating to the payment and receipt of child support.
  • In most cases the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 states that the child support payments will be deducted straight from the wages of the person liable to pay, in a similar manner to the deduction of tax from a person’s wage. The payments will then be processed by the Child Support Agency and sent to the person entitled to receive them.
  • The child support legislation is complex and something that even lawyers struggle to understand, so it is important you speak with a lawyer who is familiar with family law matters.
The Parent's Guide to Child Support, published by the Commonwealth Government, is a comprehensive guide to child support in Australia. This publication is available free of charge from the Child Support Agency's website - download a copy simply by clicking here.

This website contains general information only. This website does not contain any legal advice. If you require legal advice, contact an Australian Legal Practitioner.