Parents are responsible for the financial support of their children. That responsibility is not changed by separation and divorce, where the children live or the amount of time they spend with a parent or the remarriage of one or both parents

The formula, effective from 1 July 2008, is based on:

• The cost of children;
• The income of both parents;
• The care of children whom the child support is payable;
• Whether the parents have any relevant dependant children living with them; and
• Whether the parents have any children in other child support cases.

If you agree about the child support arrangements, you can make your own arrangements for child support. Parents may wish to make agreements for a variety of reasons, such as finality. We can provide you with legal advice regarding all your child support agreements needs. A range of agreements can be made:

• Prescribing the amount of child support to be paid;
• Altering elements of an assessment made by CSA Methods of payment - periodic or lump sum.

In some limited circumstances an application can be made to the Federal Magistrates Court for a departure from a child support assessment made by the Child Support Agency. Generally, variations that can be made to CSA assessments fall into two categories

• Variations due to circumstances that affect the resources of the parents; and
• Variations due to circumstances that affect the cost of the child. We can provide you with further advice regarding the departure applications.

It is important to remember that the Family Law Courts view child support and parenting issues separately - when considering who the children spend time with and how much the Courts regard the best interest of the child as the most important consideration. This means the Courts won't necessarily look at whether Child Support is paid up-to-date.

Click here to access our Frequently Asked Questions regarding Child Support.  

Click here to access our Family Law Fact Sheets

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