Child Support: Answers to 3 Common Questions

Child Support: Answers to 3 Common Questions

After Separation

After parents have separated there are usually three common questions asked about child support. They are:

1. Who pays child support and who can apply for child support?
2. How is child support calculated?
3. What can you do if the parent who has received an assessment does not pay?

This article is to address these 3 questions.

Who pays child support, and who can apply for child support? 

If you are separated from your spouse, it is likely that the CSA (Child Support Agency) will assess one parent to receive child support payments and for the other to pay.

Upon receiving an application for child support, the CSA will calculate the liability of each parent to pay child support.

The parent that receives and the parent that is required to pay child support will depend on the incomes of both parents and the amount of care each parent provides to the child(ren) of the relationship.

The CSA refers to the amount of care as the ‘percentage of care’ that each parent has.

For Example:

If Child A lives with Dad 100 nights per year, that would mean that Child A lives with their dad 28% of the time. (100/365 days = 28%)

For this example, it is likely that dad will be required to pay child support, in circumstances where:

• Mum is the primary carer of Child A; and/or
• Dad’s income is more than Mum's.

How is child support calculated?

The basic formula for calculating how much child support should be paid takes into account many factors, including:

• The income of both parents.
• The percentage of nights the child/ren spend with each parent each year.
• The percentage of the child’s cost for which each parent is responsible.
• If there are any other dependent children
• If the parent has any other child support obligations to other children, and
• The overall costs of the child/ren.

Once the CSA determines liability, they will issue the paying parent with an Assessment to pay child support.

It then becomes their responsibility to pay the child support amount.

What can you do if the parent who has received an assessment does not pay?

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. The first thing to do in this situation is to contact the CSA and ask them to collect child support on your behalf.

The CSA can do this by either:

• Debt collection.
• Garnishing the wages of the parent who is failing to pay.
• Using tax refunds for payments owed.
• Seizing the assets of the parent who owes child support.
• Preventing the parent from leaving the country until all debts relating to child support are paid.
• Taking possession of any property owned until the debt has been paid.

If the CSA is unable to collect child support using the above methods, they may commence Court proceedings to enforce the Assessment.