You can legally stop paying child maintenance when the child turns 18, finishes secondary school (even if past 18), becomes financially independent, marries, gets adopted, or enters a de facto relationship, but you must formally end the order or assessment, often by contacting Services Australia or applying for an adult child maintenance order for over-18s in special circumstances like disabilities or ongoing education.
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.
If a child under the age of 18 leaves school, starts full-time employment or becomes financially self-sufficient, you may be able to stop paying child support. However, this is not automatic. You will need to contact Services Australia and may need to request a formal reassessment of your obligations.
No. Child support is the parents' legal financial responsibility. The child's ability to earn is separate from the parents' need to pay.
Apply for a termination of assessment: If you think you no longer need to pay child support, you may apply for a termination of the child support assessment. Check for arrears in payments: If you have unpaid/overdue child support (arrears), you may still need to pay that amount even after your obligation ends.
Income assessment
Because the formula is based on each parent's adjusted taxable income, a means to lawfully reduce payments is to reduce taxable income by strategies such as: Salary sacrificing. Business deductions. Negative gearing.
No, a father generally cannot simply refuse to pay child support in Australia; it's a legal obligation, and Services Australia has strong enforcement powers like deducting from wages/tax, intercepting refunds, seizing assets, and even placing travel bans, with severe penalties for non-payment, though you can apply for reassessment or payment plans if you can't pay.
In Australia, your $100k income means you'll pay child support based on a formula involving both parents' incomes, the number/ages of children, and care arrangements, typically using the Child Support Estimator on Services Australia's website. For a combined income around $100k, your payment will likely involve a base amount plus a percentage of income over a threshold (e.g., $14,324 + 12c for income over $89,523 for one child), but it's complex and depends heavily on the other parent's income and care time.
There isn't a universal "minimum" child support payment; it depends heavily on your country and specific circumstances, but often involves low-income payers contributing a set minimum (e.g., around $500+ annually in Australia for low earners) if their calculated amount is less, or if they don't have regular care, while private agreements allow parents to set their own amount. The actual minimum is determined by government agencies (like Services Australia) based on income, care arrangements, and child age, with higher care reducing or eliminating the payment.
As a result, the amount of child support payable may increase to accommodate these additional needs. Key takeaway: Child support payments may rise when a child turns 13 due to the higher cost bracket applied by the child support formula.
If you have a child support debt we may issue a Departure Prohibition Order. It'll stop you from leaving Australia until you either: pay your debt in full. enter into an acceptable payment arrangement.
How long do I have to pay child support? The legal duty of support continues until the child turns 18 years of age, and has graduated from high school; or turns 19 years old, whichever occurs first; marries; dies; or is legally free in some way, such as joining the military.
Generally, child support obligations continue until the child reaches the age of 18 or completes their secondary education. However, if a child drops out of school before turning 18, the obligation to pay child support may persist.
Standard Backdating Periods:
Regular cases: Up to 18 months from application date. Cases involving domestic violence: Up to 7 years. Cases where parentage was unknown: From date of parentage confirmation.
The biggest mistake in a custody battle is losing sight of the child's best interests by prioritizing parental conflict, anger, or revenge, which courts view very negatively. This often manifests as bad-mouthing the other parent, alienating the child, refusing to cooperate, or involving the child in disputes, all of which signal poor co-parenting and harm the case.
If you receive child support or spousal support
You don't pay tax on child support and spousal support you receive. This means you don't have to report them in your tax return. If you get other payments from us you may need to report them if they're taxable.
The garnishment law allows up to 50% of a worker's disposable earnings to be garnished for these purposes if the worker is supporting another spouse or child, or up to 60% if the worker is not.
Kanye West pays $200K per month in child support to Kim Kardashian for their 4 kids. This is reportedly one of the highest child support payment in American history.
In Australia, a father's child support payment isn't a fixed amount but is calculated by Services Australia (processing.csa.gov.au) based on both parents' combined income, the child's age, and the percentage of time each parent spends with the child (care arrangements). The calculation uses a "Costs of Children" table, with higher combined incomes and younger children generally leading to higher costs, and payment amounts are adjusted for each parent's share of care and income, with a minimum payment often required.
If your ex-partner has more children, Services Australia will adjust the child support assessment to reflect their new responsibilities. This may lower the payments you receive, but their obligation to support your child does not end.
Child support obligations typically end when the child turns 18, but child support arrears and any spousal support payments remain legally enforceable regardless of the child's age. You can apply to extend child support to the end of the school year if the child turns 18 while in full-time secondary study.
No, a mother generally cannot unilaterally stop a father from seeing a child in Australia; the law prioritizes the child's right to a relationship with both parents, but a mother can apply to the Family Court to restrict access if there's an unacceptable risk of harm (physical, sexual, emotional abuse, neglect, substance abuse) to the child, requiring court orders and evidence, as denying access without a court order can have serious legal consequences.
Salary sacrificing may reduce your taxable income, but it does not eliminate your responsibility to financially support your child.
The Child Maintenance Service simply reduces the amount of weekly income that it takes into account. For example, if the paying parent is paying for: one other child, their weekly income will be reduced by 11% two other children, their weekly income will be reduced by 14%