Child Support

The majority of separating families enter into some form of Child Support arrangement to share the costs of raising children between the parents. Factors included in determining child support payments include:

• The costs of raising the children
• The income of both parents
• The percentage of time each parent cares for the children

There are various ways in which child support can be arranged to suit various family situations. Parents can choose a self-assessed, self-managed arrangement, or elect for the Department of Human Services (DHS) to make a formal assessment. There are also various ways for payments to be collected and distributed.

The DHS provides a good online summary of your options in regards to child support. The online Child Support Estimator can provide you with an estimate of your child support liability.

Where a formal assessment has been made, you and your former partner can opt for Private Collect arrangement where funds are transferred directly between the parents, or Child Support Collect arrangement where the Child Support Agency (a part of the DHS) collects and deposits the payments for you.

Burbank & Brown can provide balanced, expert advice on which style or agreement may work best based on your own personal circumstances.

MDV Family Lawyers can help by drafting either a Limited or Binding Child Support Agreement to formalise any agreement reached regarding the payment of child support following separation as part and parcel of any property settlement negotiations or as a stand-alone agreement.

If you and your former partner elect a Private Collect arrangement, MDV Family Lawyers can ensure that the final agreement, whether limited or binding, is registered with the Child Support Agency.

Read our article about Limited vs Binding child support agreements

If you have exhausted all internal avenues of review or you are still not happy with your child support liability as assessed, and you believe that there are special circumstances that may warrant a departure order, then you can make application to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

Burbank & Brown can assist you with this kind of application. Read our article about the types of applications we can help with.

If you have any questions or would like to book an appointment, get in touch with our office or book online now.