The Law Handbook 2024

270 Section 4: Relationships, families and young people This primary duty of parents continues until a child reaches the age of 18 years, unless the child is able to support themself before then, marries or is adopted. In some circumstances, maintenance can be paid for children over the age of 18 years (see ‘Adult child maintenance’, above). Child support assessment For an assessment of child support, separated parents can apply to Services Australia (see ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter). The assessment is based on a child support formula. This formula calculates each parent’s contribution towards the costs of raising a child based on the combined incomes of both parents and the care arrangements for the child. The ‘Costs of Children Table’ sets out how much children cost by reference to the parents’ combined income, the age and number of children (s 1, sch 1 Assessment Act). The Costs of Children Table and the online estimator can be found at https://guides. dss.gov.au/child-support-guide/2/4/6#table. Parents must notify Services Australia about the care arrangements for the children. This may be in the form of an agreement (written or verbal), a parenting plan or court order. At times, parents may not agree on the level of care. In most instances, Services Australia will make a determination based on the actual level of care. However, in limited circumstances where care is disputed, an interim care determination may be made and a person’s percentage of care for both child support and Family Tax Benefit purposes may be determined according to a written agreement, parenting plan, or court order for an interim period, rather than being based on actual care. You should keep a record of the evidence of the change in care arrangements (the record could include, for example, diary entries, visits to healthcare providers or other services, and third- party statements). ‘Regular care’ is defined as having 14–35 per cent care of a child; ‘shared care’ is defined as having 35–65 per cent care of a child (s 5 Assessment Act). An amount for self-support of each parent and the costs of children from new families are also taken into account. Parents in same-sex relationships can apply for child support. Children conceived through artificial conception procedures A woman who gives birth to a child following an artificial conception procedure is the child’s legal parent. If the child is born to a woman while she is married or in a de facto relationship (either a same- sex or opposite-sex relationship) and her partner consented to the artificial conception procedure, then the partner is also the child’s legal parent. A woman’s partner is presumed to have consented to the procedure unless it is demonstrated, on the balance of probabilities, that he or she did not consent. In other circumstances, a known sperm donor may be regarded as a parent and have to pay child support. (For more information relating to parentage of children conceived through artificial conception procedures, see Chapter 4.3: Same-sex and de facto couples and families.) Minimum child support If a parent is on a low income (e.g. Centrelink benefits), minimum child support of $9.48 per week to each family is payable (up to a maximum of three families). This amount is subject to indexation (s 66 Assessment Act) and the parent will be advised in writing of the new amount. The minimum rate does not apply if there is a departure determination, court order or agreement in place (s 66(8) Assessment Act) or if a parent has at least regular care of one or more of the children (s 66(1) Assessment Act). Fixed child support A parent who declares a low income but is not on an income support payment may be assessed to pay a fixed rate of $31.38 per child per week (subject to indexation) up to a maximum of three children. This is called a ‘fixed assessment’ and may apply to parents who minimise income to avoid child support. Maximum child support The maximum child support payable is also known as the ‘cap’. The maximum child support is applied to the combined income of both parents up to 2.5 times the annual equivalent of all Male Total Average Weekly Earnings ( MTAWE ) and calculated using the Costs of Children Table.