Changes to the Child Support (Assessment) Act took effect as of 1 July 2018, with such changes being retrospective across all agreements. This means that anyone with an active Binding Child Support Agreement needs to be aware of the amendments and what they might mean to the agreement that they have.
The effect of the changes is that child support agreements can be suspended or terminated in certain circumstances.
If the agreement does not provide for what is to occur in the event of a change of care; and the carer entitled to support pursuant to the agreement ceases to be an eligible carer (i.e. should their care drop below 35% of nights) the agreement will be affected.
The result of a change in parenting arrangements not provided for in the agreement is that the agreement will be suspended for 28 days or 26 weeks depending on the circumstances. Following this suspension period, the Binding Child Support Agreement may be terminated altogether if the primary parent doesn’t return to the status of primary parent.
If you have a Binding Child Support Agreement that pre-dates the changes we recommend that you contact our office to discuss the changes and what, if any, bearing they have on your existing agreement.
