There are really only two decisions when it comes to the issue of child support. Do you go with the child support assessment issued by the government or enter into a child support agreement? An application for an assessment can be made via the Department of Human Services (usually but not always Centrelink) if you want the government to dictate how and when financial support is paid for your child, then that is the end of the process.
If you want to provide for the payment of other expenses (non-periodic payments) in addition to or instead of periodic payments as assessed then a Child Support Agreement is what you need. An agreement can be entered into between the parent of the child or children (or a non-parent if the non-parent has a parenting role).
Each party must have independent legal advice prior to entering into the agreement and must be in writing which must be registered with the Department. If a party is in receipt of a means tested parenting payment the amount of child support they receive pursuant to the agreement should not be less than they would receive pursuant to an assessment. The Child Support Agency processes are notoriously difficult, why leave yourself open to them!
You will need specialist legal advice on this.
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