Accurate Child Support Estimates
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Parents in Australia are legally obligated to support their children financially, normally in the form of child support payments.
In order to decide if a parent is liable to make these payments, the Department of Human Services (DHS), or the Child Support Agency, decides any payment liability.
While going through the review process of the government can be complex, this article will outline how DHS calculates child support orders and the amount of payment.
For a rough approximation, use our child support estimator – it can inform you if you’ll be required to pay child support or not and provide a reasonable estimate of what you’ll owe.
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Understanding Child Support Assessments
The Department uses a number of formulas to figure out the amount of child support you need to pay each day.
The chart below will help you to determine which formula applies to you.
Carer Child Support
If you are a carer, you may also be able to claim child support. A different set of formulas (formulas 2, 4, 5 and/or 6) will apply. Please contact our office for further information.
Example 1
If example 1 applies to you, the Department will use formula 1 to assess the child support payable.
Formula 1 is used to create a method statement and ultimately, the child support payable by each parent. Your method statement will outline the following for you and the other parent:
Parent’s adjusted taxable income less the parent’s self-support amount[1]
A negative result is considered $0.
Combined Child Support Income
Add together your and the other parent’s child support income
This is worked out using the figures from items 1 and 2.
Parent’s child support income ÷ parent’s combined child support income
The Department will work out your care percentage based on the amount of care you provide.
This steps is easiest if you and the other parent are able to agree how much care you each provide. Eg you care for the child 100 nights a year and the other parent cares for the child the remaining nights per year.
NOTE: This is based on nights, not days.
If you can’t agree, the Department will ask for evidence from both parties and will work the percentage out for you.
This is worked out using the percentage of care figure from item 4.
For example, if your percentage of care is less than 14%, your cost percentage will be nil. If your percentage of care is more than 86%, your cost percentage will be 100%.
Parent’s income percentage less the parent’s cost percentage
Costs Of The Child
The costs of the child are based on the parents’ combined total income using the costs of children table published by the Department each year. [https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/child-support/child-support-assessment/how-we-work-out-your-assessment/basic-formula#costsofchildren]
Note: All of these figures are for the child for a single day.
If, based on the above, you have a positive child support percentage the annual rate of child support payable is worked out using the formula:
| (Parent’s child support percentage for the child for the day) X (Costs of the child for the day) |
Example 2
If example 2 applies to you, the Department will use formula 3 to assess the child support payable.
Formula 3 is used to create a method statement, determine the costs of the child, work out your multi-case cap[2] and ultimately, the child support payable by each parent.
The Department will follow the process below:
- Complete your method statement which will include the following:
Parent’s adjusted taxable income less:
(i) Parent’s self-support amount
(ii) Parent’s relevant dependent child amount and
(iii) Parent’s multi-case allowance
A negative result is considered $0.
Combined Child Support Income
Add together your and the other parent’s child support income
This is worked out using the figures from items 1 and 2.
Parent’s child support income ÷ parent’s combined child support income
The Department will work out your care percentage based on the amount of care you provide.
This steps is easiest if you and the other parent are able to agree how much care you each provide. Eg you care for the child 100 nights a year and the other parent cares for the child the remaining nights per year.
NOTE: This is based on nights, not days.
If you can’t agree, the Department will ask for evidence from both parties and will work the percentage out for you.
This is worked out using the percentage of care figure from item 4.
For example, if your percentage of care is less than 14%, your cost percentage will be nil. If your percentage of care is more than 86%, your cost percentage will be 100%.
Parent’s income percentage less the parent’s cost percentage
Costs Of The Child
The costs of the child are based on the parents’ combined total income using the costs of children table published by the Department each year. [https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/child-support/child-support-assessment/how-we-work-out-your-assessment/basic-formula#costsofchildren]
- If you have a positive child support percentage, the following rate is determined:
| (Parent’s child support percentage for the child for the day) X (Costs of the child for the day) |
- Work out each parent‘s multi-case cap.
- If you or the other parent have a positive child support percentage, the annual rate of child support payable by the parent :
- the rate worked out at point 3 above OR
- the parent‘s multi-case cap (whichever is lower).
Again, all of these figures are for the child for a single day.
Child Support Estimator Tool
To work out what figure this will result in for you, please use this child support estimator at the top of this page by clicking here.
Day Care and Complications in Determining your Percentage of Child Support
To determine your percentage of care for your child, the Department will consider how many nights in a year you care for your child.
Many care arrangements, particularly for young children, provide for day contact only. It may be the case that you care for the child 5 days a week from 9am until 5pm. So how is this considered?
We recently had to consider this when assisting a client with his parenting matter. The client had a young child (pre-school age) who spent the day with his father (8am to 5pm) three times per week. Although this amounts to a substantial period of time with his father, on a strict interpretation of the legislation, his care percentage would be zero.
The Department declared that the client’s percentage of care for the child was 14% despite not having any overnight time with the child.
This demonstrates that, despite the legislation, the Department will consider the time you spend with the child (if this time is significant), even where this time is not overnight time. This will be assessed on a case by case basis.
What does this mean for you? Should your circumstances mean that you are unable to spend overnight time with your child but you still spend significant time with the child, and the Department assesses your percentage of care of the child as nominal, you should seek a reassessment on that basis. We have an article on how to do this and can provide you with assistance throughout the process.
[1] Self-support amount means 1/3 x annualized MTAWE figure for the relevant June quarter
[2] Multi-case cap is (100% – parent’s cost percentage) x multi-case child costs. The multi-case cap is used to ensure that the paying parent does not pay more child support for a child than they would if all the children lived in the same household. (child support Guide, Version 4.4.2, 12 August 2019, Australian Government).
When does child support end?
In Australia, a parent’s duty to maintain their children occurs through child support payments.
A parent, if assessed as needing to pay child support, is required to maintain the child from the date of the assessment by the Department of Human Services (Department) until the child turns 18.
To find out more about the exceptions which apply as to when you are required to pay child support, please refer to our article on the subject.
