How does the child support formula work?
When working out your child support payment, the Child Support Agency looks at:
- both parents’ income
- if you are supporting other children
- the costs of raising children (including their ages and the number of children)
- how much time you spend with the children (your ‘levels of care’).
- the costs of the children are shared by both parents. The Child Support Agency works out these costs by combining both parents income. Each parent has a ‘self-support amount’ deducted from their income before the calculations are done. The parent with the higher income is responsible for providing the greater share of the children’s costs.If you look after the children but are not a parent of the children you can apply to the Child Support Agency for child support. Legal Aid or a community legal centre can give you more information.It is important that the Child Support Agency know you have other children of your own living with you. If you do, your income used to calculate your child support responsibilities may be reduced and you may pay less child support.How do the children’s costs and their care arrangements affect child support? Some of the children’s costs can be met directly through looking after your children, and the rest will be paid or received as child support. This table explains how much of your child support responsibilities are met directly through looking after your children.
- Meeting the costs of your children through direct care
- The amount of care you and the other parent provide for the children can be recognised as meeting some or all of the costs of the children.
- If you have step-children, your step-child’s parents are responsible for supporting them. In special circumstances you can apply to have your assessment reviewed if you have child support children and step-children. Get legal advice about this.
- What if I pay child support and have other children living with me?
- Do your tax returns every year. The Child Support Agency and the Australian Taxation Office share their records. If you lodge a tax return late, your child support assessment for past years may change. You may have paid or been paid too much child support. This can cause financial difficulties.
| The nights per year the children spend with you | Equal to these nights per fortnight | Words the Child Support Agency use to describe this level of care | The amount of child support that you meet directly through looking after your children |
| 0–51 nights | 1 night | ‘Below regular care’ | None |
| 52–127 nights | 2–4 nights | ‘Regular care’ | 24% |
| 128–175 nights | 5–6 nights | ‘Shared care’ | 25% plus 2% for every percentage point over 35% |
| 176–189 nights | 7 nights | ‘Shared care’ | 50% |
| 190–237 nights | 8–9 nights | ‘Shared care’ | 51% plus 2% for every percentage point over 53% |
| 238–313 nights | 10–12 nights | ‘Primary care’ | 76% |
| 314–365 nights | 13–14 nights | ‘Above primary care’ | 100% |
If you care for the children 52 nights or more each year, and are receiving a Centrelink benefit, you may not need to pay child support. This is because you are meeting your share of the children’s costs by looking after them.
If you care for the children 52 nights or more each year, and are receiving a Centrelink benefit, you may not need to pay child support. This is because you are meeting your share of the children’s costs by looking after them.
If you change the amount of time you care for the children, your child support may also change. This is because your share of the children’s costs may vary depending on how much time you look after them.
You must tell the Child Support Agency as soon as your childcare arrangements change. If the Child Support Agency makes a decision that you disagree with, get legal advice quickly.