A Guide to Child Support

THE SEPARATION 

COLLECTIVE 

Guide to Child Support 

This guide relates to Child support claims through CSA (Child Support Australia). Child support 

arrangements outside of this are ones made by private agreement or those determined by 

court order. 

For the best outcome it’s advised to make a private agreement for child support privately. 

You can choose to have this lodged with the CSA for collection or collect yourself. 

CONTENTS▪ 

1. Applying for Child Support 

2. Percentage of Care 

3. Child Support Assessment 

3a. Taxable Income 

3b Annual rate of child support 

4. When child support is due and payable. 

5. Cost of Children Table 

6. Amending an Assessment 

7. Objecting an Assessment 

8. Collecting Child Support 

8a. Departure Prohibition Orders. 

www.facebook.com/groups/theseparationcollective 

www.separationcollective.com.au 

Disclaimer: The content of this document is general information only and is not provided as a substitute for legal/professional advice. If you have a 

legal/financial/ any other issue, you should contact a lawyer and/or professional before making a decision about your options or personal 

situation.TheSeparationCollective.com.au cannot provide legal/professional advice.

1. Applying for Child Support 

A parent can apply for a child support assessment for a child if they are not living with 

the other parent of the child as their partner. 

Both parents are assessed in respect of the costs of the children, the roles of payer and 

payee and the amount of child support payable will depend on the incomes of both 

parents and the care they each provide for the children. If the income and/or care 

percentage changes, the roles may reverse, and the child support assessment will 

continue without the need for a new application for child support. 

2. Percentage of Care 

A parent or non-parent carer's percentage of care for a day in a child support period is the 

percentage of care that the person is likely to have of the child during the care period. 

Care will generally be worked out based on the number of nights that the child is likely to 

be in the care of the person during the care period. 

Where parents are separated but living in the same house, the Registrar will determine 

each parent's percentage of care for a child based on the individual circumstances of the 

case and evidence available. Generally, where the parents contribute in a similar manner 

to the care of the child, they will be regarded as sharing equally in the care of the child. In 

this case, the Registrar will determine that each parent has a care percentage of 50%. 

Additionally, in limited circumstances, a person may have care of a child who is not living 

with them for a period of time. For example, a person can provide care for a child who is 

at boarding school, in hospital or in separate accommodation. However, a person who 

simply supervises the child (for example, a baby sitter, a child minder such as a 

grandparent or a schoolteacher) does not provide care. 

Consideration is given to who has responsibility for making arrangements for, and 

decisions about, the child's welfare, as well as who is meeting the child's costs, rather than 

just the accommodation arrangements themselves. The Registrar will give weight to 

statements from both parents and any non-parent carers. 

A parent or non-parent carer's percentage of care for a child will be used to determine the 

parent's or non-parent carer's cost percentage for the child. 

Click here for the Child Support Care Estimator 




3. Child Support Assessment 

The child support income of both parents is used to calculate their child support 

assessment. 

3a Taxable Income 

A parent's adjusted taxable income is the total of the following components: 

• taxable income for the last relevant year of income (including overseas 

income if the parent is a resident of a reciprocating jurisdiction) 

• reportable fringe benefits total for that year of income 

• target foreign income for that year of income 

• the parent's total net investment loss for that year of income 

• the total of the specified tax free pensions or benefits received in that year 

of income, and 

• the parent's reportable superannuation contributions. 

3b. Annual rate of child support 

If a parent has a positive child support percentage under step 6, the annual rate of child 

support payable by the parent for the child is worked out using the formula: 

Child support percentage × Costs of the child 

Click here for the Child Support Estimator 

The minimum rate of child support payable per annum for 2021 is $446. 

4. When child support is due & payable 

A child support assessment creates a liability owed by a liable parent to a payee. The CSA 

Act sets out when a liability is due and payable 

Child support payable in relation to any day in a month becomes due and payable on: 

• the 7th day of the following month, or 

• the 30th day after the liable parent concerned was given a notice of 

assessment 




5. Cost of Children Table 

Fraction of 

MTAWE 

0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 no increase 

above this cap 

No. of 

children 

$0 to $39,479 $39,480 to 

$78,957 

$78,958 to 

$118,436 


$157,914 


$197,393 

Income over 

$197,393 

Children aged 0-12 years 

1 child 17c for each $1 $6,711 plus 15c 

for each $1 

over $39,479 

$12,633 plus 

12c for each $1 

over $78,957 

$17,370 plus 10c 

for each $1 over 

$118,436 

$21,318 plus 7c for 

each $1 over 

$157,914 

$24,082 

2 children 24c for each $1 $9,475 plus 23c 

for each $1 

over $39,479 

$18,555 plus 


over $78,957 

$26,451 plus 18c 


$118,436 

$33,557 plus 10c 


$157,914 

$37,505 

3 + children 27c for each $1 $10,659 plus 


over $39,479 

$20,923 plus 


over $78,957 

$30,793 plus 24c 


$118,436 

$40,268 plus 18c 


$157,914 

$47,374 

Children aged 13 + years 

1 child 23c for each $1 $9,080 plus 22c 

for each $1 

over $39,479 

$17,765 plus 


over $78,957 

$22,502 plus 10c 


$118,436 

$26,450 plus 9c for 

each $1 over 

$157,914 

$30,003 

2 children 29c for each $1 $11,449 plus 


over $39,479 

$22,503 plus 


over $78,957 

$32,373 plus 20c 


$118,436 

$40,269 plus 13c 


$157,914 

$45,401 

3 + children 32c for each $1 $12,633 plus 


over $39,479 

$24,871 plus 


over $78,957 

$36,715 plus 29c 


$118,436 

$48,164 plus 20c 


$157,914 

$56,060 

Children of mixed age 

2 children 26.5c for each 

$1 

$10,462 plus 

25.5c for each 

$1 over $39,479 

$20,529 plus 


$1 over $78,957 

$29,412 plus 19c 


$118,436 

$36,913 plus 11.5c 


$157,914 

$41,453 

3 + children 29.5c for each 

$1 

$11,646 plus 


$1 over $39,479 

$22,897 plus 


$1 over $78,957 

$33,754 plus 26.5c 


$118,436 

$44,216 plus 19c 


$157,914 

$51,717 




6. Amending an Assessment 

The CSA can amend an assessment to take into account changed circumstances. 

The reasons why an assessment may be amended include (but are not limited to): 

• correcting any error or mistake (whether or not made by the CSA) 

• correcting the effect of any false or misleading statement made to the Registrar 

• giving effect to a terminating event 

• giving effect to a care determination or interim care determination 

• giving effect to a change in a parent's or non-parent carer's percentage of care 

• giving effect to an event or change of circumstances that affects the annual rate of 

child support 

• giving effect to the Registrar's acceptance of a child support agreement 

• giving effect to a decision of the AAT, or 

• giving effect to a decision or order of a court which has jurisdiction under either the 

CSA Act, CSRC Act or AAT Act. 

7. Objecting an Assessment 

Unless it is to correct an error or mistake, generally, the CSA will not change a decision 

once it has been made. 

A parent may lodge an objection if they want the Registrar to reconsider a decision and 

change the assessment. Circumstances where it would be appropriate to lodge an 

objection to the CSA's original decision include if the facts are not clear; if there is new 

information that one parent has not had an opportunity to comment upon; or if there is a 

dispute about the facts. It is not appropriate to change a decision at the request of one 

parent. A parent who failed to provide information to the Registrar before the original 

decision was made may be able to make a new application based on the relevant 

information (e.g. a new change of assessment application). Otherwise, the parent may 

object to the original decision and the CSA will take that new information into account 

when considering the objection. 

If parents believe that the CSA has made a mistake of fact and/or applied the law 

incorrectly they may object to that decision. 

If a parent lodges an objection, the CSA must reconsider the original decision, taking into 

account any relevant new information. 




8. Collecting Child Support 

The Registrar can collect child support as voluntary payments from the payer or by 

intercepting money which would otherwise be payable to a payer (e.g. a tax refund or from 

their employer). The involvement of a court is not required. The Registrar can exercise 

certain administrative enforcement powers by issuing a notice. 

The CSA has powers to collect a child support debt from: 

• A parent’s employer from salary or wages 

• Social security payments and benefits 

• Family Tax benefit 

• Veterans’ pensions and allowances 

• Interception of tax returns 

• Collection from third parties 

• Collection from parental leave payments 

8a Departure Prohibition Orders 

The CSA also have the power to make DPO (departure prohibition Orders). These are 

normally enforced when a parent has failed to meet their child support liability. The DPO 

stops the payer from leaving Australia without either discharging all debts or making 

satisfactory arrangements to do so. 




THE SEPARATION 

COLLECTIVE 

separationcollective.com.au

A Guide to Child Support

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?