AUSTRALIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Paul Doolan, Melinda Winning, Carly Middleton and Jeff Marhinin, Barkus Doolan Winning
both the financial relief and child support matters simultaneously. How Child Support is Calculated Child support is initially determined by a for - mula that takes into account a series of fac - tors, including the number and age of children, whether a parent has the responsibility to sup - port any other children, the respective taxable income of each parent, and the number of nights of care each parent has for the child or children. Services Australia issues an administrative assessment of child support based upon the application of that formula to the circumstances of the particular case. The application of the formula can, however, result in outcomes that do not reflect the needs of the children or the capacity of the particular parent to make payments. The formula is essen - tially geared to relatively standard circumstanc - es, and it is largely unsuitable for cases involving high net worth individuals, children who attend private schools, and/or where the children have additional needs that cannot be met from the usual application of the formula. Applications can be made for a departure from the formula, in the special circumstances of a case, on a series of grounds such as the educational needs of children, the income of each parent, and where children have special needs. How Parties Can Agree Child Support Arrangements Outside the Court System There are a variety of methods by which parents reach agreement about child support. Many parents do not go through the child sup - port system conducted by Services Australia, instead reaching an informal (non-binding) agreement between themselves as to what level of periodic and/or non-periodic child sup -
port will be paid. By way of example, one par - ent may agree to meet private school fees, or they might agree to share health insurance costs and school fees between them. If that agreement later breaks down, then they can enter the child support administrative assessment system. Parents wishing to formalise a child support arrangement can do so by a series of mecha - nisms, as follows: • making a Limited Child Support Agreement, ostensibly enforceable for a period of three years, which is registered with Services Aus - tralia; • making a Binding Child Support Agreement, which operates unless and until it is terminat - ed by agreement or set aside by a court, and which generally operates until a child turns 18 or – if they finish secondary education in the year they turn 18 – then at the end of such year; and • where there are child support matters before a court, having an order made by consent by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Aus - tralia for a departure from the administrative provisions under the Child Support (Assess - ment) Act. Adult Child Maintenance Parents have an ongoing obligation to support their children even after they turn 18, in certain specified situations. In general terms, this often involves circumstances where a child: • is undertaking a full-time tertiary education course for a first degree or qualification; or • where the child has a physical or mental incapacity. Applications for what is often termed “adult child maintenance” can be brought before a court
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