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Child support – new law

Date created: 10 July 2008

Applies from 1 July 2008

There is a new formula to assess the amount of child support that needs to be paid to care for children after parents have separated. This change affects all parents who pay or receive child support. The amount of child care that needs to be paid is based on the:

financial circumstances of each parent
age of the child(ren)
care that is provided by each parent
whether one parent supports other children
special needs of the child
amount of time that each parent spends with the child
number of dependent children living with each parent.

Increase to minimum payment

The minimum child support payment has increased from $5.00 to $6.14 per week. This payment will now be linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to keep up with inflation.

Direct payments

Paying parents will be able to direct up to 30 per cent of their child support to essential costs such as school fees or medical costs. This is a rise from 25 per cent.

Second job

A payer’s income that is earned from a second job or overtime may be excluded from child support calculations for the first three years after separation.