CHILD SUPPORT

How Do I Get Assessed For Child Support?

There are two different types of child support agreements or child maintenance agreements as you may also have heard it be referred to; 

1. A full assessment completed and monitored by the Child Support Agency; and 

2. A private binding child support agreement that is agreed between the parties without the involvement of the Child Support Agency. 

Option number one involves a third party in that the child support assessment is completed by the child support agency. The child support agency is a division of the Department of Human Services. They will consider the parties’ financial situation and their weekly incomes to assess the rate at which child support will be paid. This payment will then be deducted from the paying parties’ pay before they receive it each week, fortnight, or month depending on how they are paid. The rate of payment will fluctuate up or down depending on the paying parties’ financial situation and is largely based on their taxable income each year and the current care arrangements for the children. The payment will also be affected if either party ceases working. It is important to note that if you are the paying party, you cannot be asked to pay more than you can afford and your limited capacity if it is in fact limited, will be factored into the process. 

The payment of child support is a source of contention between many parents and taking the situation from the hands of the parties and placing it in the hands of the child support agency instead is a way of taking the emotion out of the situation, though it is rarely considered this way. Neither party can have much influence over the process if the agency is the one overseeing the payment structure. This way there will be periodic payments made for the maintenance of the children and everybody wins. 

If you do choose to go with option number 2, it is preferable that the agreement is written by a lawyer and that both parties sign their agreement to it. There is an old saying that works in this instance whereby “an agreement is only as good as the paper it is written on” and in essence this could not be more true. Even though you may have unwavering trust in the other party (which significant legal training suggests is more often than not untrue), there is no telling what pain, grief, anger, or resentment may do to a person, and therefore it is always better to protect yourself and have the agreement formalised. 

A private child support agreement will allow both parties to consider and agree on an appropriate rate. This decision will take into account income, financial capacity and usually has a lot to do with the relationship between the parties. If the separation has been on good terms then more often than not the agreement will reflect this. The agreement may even include other aspects of financial compensation such as the division of medical and education-related expenses, especially if education is taking place through a private school. The freedom a private child support agreement gives is that the parties can make their own arrangements based on their own personal circumstances and what they seem to be best for their children. 

Whether you choose to enter into a private agreement or have the child support agency take that decision off your hands, the primary focus is on providing for your children. It is important to note that child support in any form will never cover all the costs associated with having and raising children and the primary parent will almost always end up forking out more costs than the other. This is merely a reality we are stuck with. It will equally be important to allow provisions in your agreement for the amount to be reassessed in the event the paying party increases their time with the children (i.e. the care arrangements are altered). If the agreement in terms of care arrangements is settled, then this may not be necessary.