Child Support
Whilst in a practical sense the financial support of a household following separation simply involves how you pay the bills, in Family Law matters the expenses for a spouse are treated as spousal maintenance and the expenses for a child of the relationship is treated as Child Support.
Child Support Assessment
Child support is calculated in a formula prescribed in the child support legislation. The amount of child support to be paid by a parent under that formula is called a child support assessment.
The calculation of the child support formula is fairly complicated, but conceptually involves three steps:
- The cost to raise a child of a particular age is prescribed in the legislation. The amount is based on statistics of the cost of raising children.
- The formula then determines which portion of the cost to raise each child should be paid by the mother and father based on the percentage they earn of the combined income of the mother and father.
- There is a further adjustment as to how much of the total amount cost to raise a child should be paid on the basis of the level of care provided by each parent.
The Child Support Agency website has a child support calculator which can estimate a child support assessment under the formula.
Child Support Agreements
In our experience parents, regardless of whether they are receiving or paying child support, are rarely happy with the child support assessment.
It is therefore possible to agree on arrangement for child support in a Child Support Agreement. These Agreements offer certainty for parents and can reduce the amount of disputes between parents about child support.
As child support decisions are administrative decisions made under child support legislation, they can be objected to and reviewed on a number of times. They can then be referred to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal before ultimately being decided by the Federal Magistrates Court or Family Court on a question of law. In our experience, that system permits many years of ongoing dispute about the level of child support.
Often at the time of separation, some parents agree on the appropriate amount of child support for their children and can contract out of the child support agency system. Private Child Support Agreements can provide for the payment of children's ongoing living expenses, as well as school fees and private health insurance which may be more appropriate for some families.
Useful factsheets:
I'm happy to pay money for my children but not my ex. Private Child Support Agreements
International clients: can my matter be determined in Australian Courts?