The Child Support Scheme is part of the federal government department, Services Australia. Centrelink and Medicare are also part of Services Australia. The Department administers the Child Support legislation, which is made up of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth) and the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (Cth).

Child Support Assessments

Services Australia - Child Support (SA-Child Support) processes applications for child support, create assessments of child support based on the legislative formula or a child support agreement, and manages a variety of administrative remedies which are available to customers under the legislation. The most common of these remedies include seeking a change to the level of care recorded in the assessment, lodging an Estimate of Income and seeking a Change to the Assessment in Special Circumstances.

The formula assessment relies on having accurate information about parents’ incomes and care arrangements. For this reason, it is important that parents lodge their tax returns on time and provide SA-Child Support with accurate information about the care of the children.

It is also important to notify SA-Child Support of any other change in circumstances as soon as possible. These could include the birth of a relevant dependent child, a change in the care arrangements for a child or a significant decrease in the income of a parent. Such changes may have a direct impact on the child support assessment, or may lead to taking other steps such as lodging an Estimate of Income or an application to Change the Assessment in Special Circumstances.

Collection and Enforcement of Child Support Payments

If necessary, SA-Child Support can collect payments of child support or maintenance from payers, and transfer these payments to payees. The Department has a range of powers to enforce collection of child support debts if they are not paid voluntarily. These powers include the ability to:

Relationship with Centrelink

Child Support, Centrelink and the Family Assistance Office share information about the amount of child support calculated in an assessment, and about the level of care each person provides for the children. If SA-Child Support is collecting the payments, information will also be provided to Centrelink about the actual amount of child support paid or received.

Child support payments can affect Family Tax Benefit (A) entitlements. A person must have at least 35% care of a child to be eligible to receive a payment of FTB (A) for a child.

NB: Centrelink and SA-Child Support do not automatically share information about parents’ incomes. Therefore, if there are changes in a parent’s income or if a payer becomes unemployed, it is important to contact SA-Child Support to discuss the options for changing the child support assessment.