Child support is a payment made by one parent to the other to
assist him or her to meet the expenses of raising their
child/children. The legislation provides that parents of a
child/children have a duty to maintain the child/children. This
applies even if one parent is not presently spending time with the
child/children or is spending less time than he or she would like.
It is therefore common that one parent will seek the payment of
child support from the other upon their separation.
This article runs you through the central aspects of child
support - from usual procedure, to departure orders, to parental
requirements.
Usual procedure
Parents can apply to the Department of Human Services
('Child Support Agency' or 'CSA') to make an
assessment for child support. The assessment depends on a number of
factors; in particular both parents' income, the ages of the
child/children, and the number of nights the child/children spend
with each of them.
