In Australia shared custody means that the non-residential parent pays child support to the residential parent. In the case of a 50/50 split, the higher earner usually pays child support to the lower earner to ensure the children's standard of living is the same in both locations.
Obviously you have to get specific legal advice but he will still need to pay child maintenance even if 50/50 care. There's a calculator on the Child Maintenance Service website where you can enter the number of days the higher earner has the children and their income and it will tell you the amount of CM due.
Parents commonly choose 50/50 custody when they reach an agreement, and it can also be ordered by a court following trial, if appropriate.
How much you pay. The fixed rate for child support periods starting on or after 1 January 2023 is $1,632 per child per year. If you pay the fixed rate for more than 3 children, we'll cap the amount at 3 times the fixed rate.
2. What is the maximum child support in Australia? You can calculate the maximum child support amount using the combined income of both parents, up to 2.5 times the annual equivalent of the Male Total Average Weekly Earnings, as well as the Costs of Children Table.
See Your Children More
The single best thing for avoiding child support is to spend time with your children. How much you pay basically depends on how many nights per fortnight the children spend with you. If you have the kids 7 nights per fortnight, you're assumed to be covering 50% of their costs through direct care.
We work out each parent's income percentage by dividing each income by the combined total. We calculate each parent's percentage of care. We work out each parent's cost percentage using the Care and Cost table. We subtract the cost percentage from the income percentage for each parent.
What Does Child Support Not Cover in Australia? The child support amount in Australia is usually insufficient to fund costs such as extracurricular activities, private tuition fees, private health insurance and additional costs due to a child's special needs.
The custodial parent will receive support if the care % is greater than 35% and the cost percentage is greater than his or her income. You will have to pay child maintenance if the care % is less than 65% and the income percentage exceeds the cost.
A parent may not withhold payment of maintenance if he or she is not allowed by the other parent to exercise his/her right of access to a child. The flip side of the coin is that a parent may not refuse the other parent access to a child when the latter does not contribute towards the maintenance of that child.
If you have shared care for at least 52 nights a year, you don't need to pay any child maintenance.
No child support payments if 50/50 care
“Shared care where it exists should have no payments from either party as both parents have their expenses with their children, food, clothing and other support that they choose to provide on their income.”
The costs in a contested action can range from $10,000 to $100,000 plus for each party. The median annual income of people in the court is $25,000 to $30,000. Some spend two or three time their annual income on legal fees.
Alternating weeks are one of the simplest 50/50 schedules. In this pattern, one week is spent with Parent A while the following week is spent with Parent B. This keeps parenting exchanges to an absolute minimum while still allowing both parents to have robust relationships with their children.
Exempt Income
a personal allowance for single people over the age of 25 years. an allowance for a child living with the parent (their own child) if there is such a child, a family premium. a disabled premium for any qualifying child or parent.
You will not be expected to pay anything through the Child Maintenance Service if you: Share care equally with the other parent. Are in full-time education with no income.
Normally child support stops when your child turns 18. If your child's in secondary study, you can apply to extend it to the end of the school year.
Child support scheme
Under Australian law, separated parents (including same sex parents) have a duty to provide a proper level of financial support for their children.
2. It's unfair to hard-working parents. Australia's child support formula is generally unfair to parents who earn a good income. Every dollar that's given to one parent because they have a lower income is a dollar taken from the main financial contributor.
In Australia, there is no minimum age which a child can legally refuse to see a parent following divorce or separation. Of course, once children of divorce reach the age of 18 years they can make their own decisions about where they live or which parent they want to spend time with.
When Services Australia calculates child support, they make an assessment factoring in the cost of a child attending a state school, not a private school.
On the basic rate, if you're paying for: one child, you'll pay 12% of your gross weekly income. two children, you'll pay 16% of your gross weekly income. three or more children, you'll pay 19% of your gross weekly income.
The CMS considers a parent to share care if they look after the child at least one night a week on average. If your child's other parent cares for your child 52 nights a year or more, the amount of child maintenance you can receive is reduced. For child maintenance to be reduced, care must include an overnight stay.
For the 2021-22 financial year, it's a payment of up to $788.40 for each eligible child. For the 2022-23 financial year, it's a payment of up to $817.60 for each eligible child.