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Child Support Agreements & Disputes
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What is a Child Support Agreement?
- A child support agreement is a written agreement between parents or carers about child support payments.
- There are basically two types of child support agreements"
- A Limited Child Support Agreement.
- A Binding Child Support Agreement.
Limited Child Support Agreement
Is a formal agreement between parents or carers about child support that doesn’t need independent legal advice and can include payment of cash or non-cash items, such as school fees and health insurance.However, you must already have a child support assessment created by the CSA in place before they will accept a limited child support agreement and the payment amount (either cash, cash in lieu, or both) must be equal to, or more than, the annual rate assessed by the CSA. A parent must have at least 35% care of a child to receive child support under an agreement.When the Limited Agreement is accepted by the CSA you can elect to either have a private pay (you pay directly) or a CSA collect (you pay CSA they pass on money).When your Agreement is in place you must do all of the following:- pay child support in full and on time if you’re the paying parent.- make sure you keep the CSA up to date on your children's care arrangements.- lodge your tax return with the ATO on time.- and tell the CSA if anything like care arrangements, income, and any material changes in your circumstances happen.This is because the amount of your child support payable may change.
Binding Child Support Agreement
Is a formal Agreement where both parties need to agree on an amount for child support payments. The amount agreement can be more or less than the amount that would be payable under a child support assessment.
However, before the CSA will accept is as a Binding CHild Support Agrement, both parents must get independent legal advice and each get a legal certificate from the lawyer stating that they have had legal advice on the advantages and disadvantages of a Binding Agreement.
If you don’t get independent legal advice, your binding agreement will not be valid or accepted by the CSA.
When your Agreement is in place you must do all of the following:- pay child support in full and on time if you’re the paying parent.- make sure you keep the CSA up to date on your children's care arrangements.- lodge your tax return with the ATO on time.- and tell the CSA if anything like care arrangements, income, and any material changes in your circumstances happen.This is because the amount of your child support payable may change.
If your agreement does not have any terms or conditions that cover a change in your circumstances then you, or the opther party, may be able to end a Binding Child Support Agreement.It is importnat to get legal advice when dealing with a Binding Child Support Agreement.
For more detailed information see the Child Support Guide - 2.7.4 - Effect of an Agreement Accepted by the Registrar
Direct Link to the Child Support Guide
Why contact Alan McNeill Solicitors for your Child Support Agreements?
We are knowledgeable and experienced and can assist you in drafting your Child Support Agreement and we can ensure that it is, as far as possible, it is technically valid and legally enforceable. In the case it becomes necessary, we can also advise you how to dispute an existing Child Support Agreement or challenge a CSA Child Support Assessment.
Contact us and make an appointment to discuss you Child Support needs.