The A-B-C's of Child Support

By Emily Austin

The underlying premise of child support is to ensure that children of separated parents continue to be supported by both parents financially. The quantity of a parent’s child support obligations is calculated using a legislated formula comprised of 8 steps that take into account the parent’s income and financial resources as well as the current parenting arrangements. Usefully, Services Australia has developed a calculator that can provide an estimate as to child support payments: https://processing.csa.gov.au/estimator/About.aspx

The legislation also accommodates parents who come to private arrangements with each other, outside the assessment formula.

If parties come to an agreement and execute a formal child support agreement in accordance with the requirements set out in the legislation, they can have their agreement registered and recognised by Services Australia.

There are two types of child support agreements parties can enter:

Binding Child Support Agreements

Agreements between parents that are intended to be in place for a long term and can only be terminated in limited circumstances.

Limited Child Support Agreements

Agreements between parents that can lapse after a three-year period, or if a notional assessment of the amount of child support that would have been payable by one parent varies by more than 15%.

Advantages	Disadvantages
1: Can be a quicker process and there will not be a requirement to wait for an assessment by Services Australia.	1: Can be expensive.
2: Allows parents agreeing to the sum of child support payments to have confidence that those payments will be made and made on time.	2: If you have entered a binding child support agreement and your circumstances change (such as a loss of income) it can be difficult to terminate the agreement, particularly if the other parent does not agree to termination.
3: Allows parents to make very specific arrangements that are not capable of being accounted for using the usual child support assessment formula, for example, payment of private school fees, private health insurance, extra-curricular activities and other supports required for children with more significant needs.	3: Child Support Assessment may be less (or more, depending on the parent).