Child support

Working out arrangements for sharing the cost of raising children is one of the things you need to consider after separation. Parents must provide financial support for their children. If you have children who live with someone else (all or some of the time), you may need to help with the cost of that person caring for and raising your children. This is called paying child support. 

You are responsible for giving financial support to your children, even if:

• you never lived with the other parent
• you do not live or spend time with the children, or
• you are an adoptive parent for the children.

Child support is usually paid for each child until they turn 18 years old. It can be extended to when a child finishes secondary school, if they turn 18 before they graduate. You might be able to stop paying child support earlier if a child becomes independent, gets married or is part of a de facto relationship.

In special cases, a parent might need to continue to provide financial support for children when they are adults or have become independent. This is called paying child maintenance.

This section has information on child support and child maintenance. Find out:

• what help you can get about child support
• how child support payments are set and collected, and
• what you can do if there is doubt about who are the parents of a child.
• Get help with child support
• Working out how much child support a parent should pay can be a complicated issue.
• Legal Aid WA has child support specialists who may be able to help you work out how much child support you should be paying or receiving. They may also be able to give you advice about child support collection or recovery, as well as advice about proving parentage.
• Call the Infoline to find out what advice and assistance we can give to help with your situation.
• Where else can can I get help with child support issues?
• You could try:
• visiting the Child Support – Services Australia website
• contacting the Gosnells Community Legal Centre on (08) 9398 1455
• contacting the South West Community Legal Centre on (08) 9791 3532, and
• hiring a family lawyer for advice on children’s issues.
• Payments for children
• After separation a parent must provide financial support for their children to the other parent or carer of the child (including adopted children). Carers can include grandparents or other people who have the child in their care. 
• The parent who pays child support is called the payer parent. The carer who recieves child support is called the payee parent/carer. 
• Paying child support is designed to help meet the cost of caring for and raising children. 
• There are four ways a decision can be made about how much child support should be paid by a parent:
•  an informal arrangement about child support payments (this is known as ‘self-management’)
•  a formal agreement about child support payments (this is called a ‘child support agreement’)
•  parents or a carer of the child can apply to Services Australia for a child support assessment, or
•  parents or a carer of the child can apply to the Family Court to make a decision in some limited situations. 
• How is the amount of child support calculated?
• Services Australia uses a formula to work out how much child support should be paid. The formula takes into account:
•  each parent’s income, basic living expenses and other financial obligations
•  how much time each parent has the children in their care, and
•  the number of children, their ages and their needs.
• It is important that each of these factors is considered (regardless of whether the decision about how much child support will be paid is made informally or formally) to ensure the appropriate level of financial support is provided for children.
• You can estimate how much child support should be paid using Services Australia ‘Calculate’. In cases where Services Australia has determined how much child support should be paid, you can ask Services Australia to review the amount of child support at any time if your circumstances change. For more information about what to do if your circumstances change see the Services Australia webpage Change of circumstances.
• How can child support payments be collected?
• If you have an informal child support arrangement, child support payments can be transferred privately, such as by direct debit.
• If you have a formal child support agreement or Services Australia has made a child support assessment, Services Australia can help collect child support payments from a parent. 
• For more information about collection of child support payments see the Services Australia webpage Compare your child support collection options.
• What do I need to know about informal child support arrangements?
• You and the other parent or carer may decide to have an informal arrangement where you ‘self-manage’ how much child support will be paid and how and when payments will be made. The agreement does not have to be registered with Services Australia and you will not have a child support assessment. 
• It is important to know that if you are the payee parent/carer who is receiving child support payments and you decide to ‘self-manage’ child support arranagements you are only able to get the base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A (if you are recieving a benefit). For more information about how child support arrangements can affect your Family Tax Benefit Part A see the Services Australia webpage Child Support and your Family Tax Benefit Part A.  This situation is complex and it is a good idea to obtain legal advice. 
• Does a parent have to pay child support if they are not spending any time with their child?
• Yes. Even if a parent does not spend any time with their child, they will need to pay child support. 
• Does child support still have to be paid if either parent or the carer lives overseas?
• If either parent of a child or the child’s carer lives overseas child support may still need to be paid. 
• Services Australia may be able to help you set up child support when you or the other parent lives overseas. For more information visit the Services Australia webpage Child support when parents and children live outside Australia.
• When do I have to pay child maintenance for my children after they turn 18?
• You may still have to pay child maintenance for your ‘adult’ children if they need to finish their eduation or if they have a physical or mental disability which stops them from supporting themselves. 
• If you would like to receive child maintenance for your adult child, or you have been asked to pay adult child maintenance, you should get legal advice. Legal Aid WA has a specialist child support advisor or you can contact a lawyer who specialises in child maintenance. You can find more information about other places you can get help here. 
• When might I need to ask the Family Court to decide about child support?
• Services Australia deals with most child support matters. However, you may need to apply to the Family Court about the following:
•  varying or setting aside formal child support agreements
•  child support arrears
•  departure from an assessment
•  adult child maintenance payments (when a child is over 18 years of age), or
•  if a parent or carer is living overseas (in some cases).
• All of these situations are complex, it is recommended you get legal advice. 
• Proving parentage
• Sometimes there is disagreement or uncertainty about who the father of a child is (parentage), particularly if payment of child support is an issue. 
• Sometimes, if a person is not sure who the father of a child is, parentage needs to be determined to decide who has to pay child support. This can impact on whether a person can claim Centrelink payments and other services.   
• Find out what the law says about who is considered the parent of a child.
• Why is parentage important?
• Parentage is important because only parents have to pay child support. Parentage may also be an issue in Family Court matters when there is a dispute about who a child lives or spends time with.
• How can a disagreement about parentage be settled?
• Relying on a presumption of paternity
• DNA testing
• A court making an order saying that the parties are the parents of the child
• When is a person said to be the parent of a child? (Presumption of paternity)
• There are some cases where the Court and other agencies, such as Child Support – Services Australia and the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, will accept that a person is the parent of a child without any other evidence. This includes:
• when a man was married to the mother and the child was born:
  • during their marriage 
  • within 44 weeks of the marriage ending by death or annulment
• when a man lived with the mother (but they were not married) at any time from 44 to 20 weeks before the child was born. 
• when a man is on the birth certificate as the father or has signed something (such as a statutory declaration) saying he is the father.
• when a court has made a statement in the past that the man is the father.
• Artificial conception
• If a woman gives birth to a child after  artificial conception  then she is considered to be the parent even if the child is not biologically hers.
• The de facto partner or husband of a woman is considered to be the father of her child if he agreed to the artificial conception.
• The de facto same sex partner of a woman is also considered to be the parent of a child that her partner gave birth to following artificial conception, if she agreed to the artificial conception.
• If the father’s name is not on the birth certificate or he refuses to admit he is the father can I still seek payment of child support?
• Yes. If the other person says that they are not the father but you believe they are, you can apply to the Family Court for a declaration that the person is the father. You may also need to ask for an order that you, the other person and the child go for DNA testing.
• You should try to see if the  person will agree that he is the father or have voluntary DNA testing before you apply to the Family Court.
• What if I do not think I am the father of the child?
• If you are considered  to be the father of a child you must show evidence to prove that you are not.
• To do this you will have to ask for an order from the Family Court and you will need to show evidence that can prove you are not or may not be the father. This can be called ‘rebutting the presumption’.
• DNA testing is usually the best evidence.  You will need everyone involved to agree to the DNA testing or, if they don’t agree  you will need a Court order.