What are Child Support Payments
Child support payments are made by people to provide financial support to children from their previous relationships. Child support payments are usually made by the parent with whom the child does not primarily live. The child support scheme is run by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH).
Payments can be made either privately, from one parent to the other, or via DFFH, who will collect the payment from one parent and transfer it to the other.
If the court orders a person to pay child support, they must do so. DFFH can enforce child support payments in various ways, including collecting child support directly from banks, deducting it from other government payments and preventing someone from leaving the country if they have not paid their child support debts.
Child support is based on both parents’ income and on the cost of raising children in Australia. The formula also recognises the non-financial contributions of both parents through childcare.
Read more about child support.
If a parent feels that the result of the formula is not accurate and does not reflect their specific situation, they can make an application to DFFH to change their child support payment assessment.
To be eligible for a child support assessment from DFFH, you must either be a legal parent or a non-parent carer of the child. It is possible to arrange and make child support payments without going through the DFFH by way of private agreement or a more formal binding child support agreement.
