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Annual Report 06–07
Output 2: Child Support Agency
The right amount of child support at the right time
Child support assessments are calculated using a basic formula that takes into account the parents’ income, the number of children and the family’s living arrangements. In some circumstances, child support assessments may be modified to make sure that assessments are calculated in a more accurate, balanced way. CSA may consider changing the assessment when parents’ financial circumstances are not accurately reflected in the child support amount.
An example of CSA ensuring that parents pay the right amount of child support, at the right time, is a case where the paying parent is a nurse. The father provided regular care for their child, who suffered from a disability.
The paying parent’s income for the purpose of the assessment was $34,686 based on her estimate of income). In the past, she had accrued some outstanding child support debt that was later recovered by CSA directly through deductions made by her employer. The paying parent then reduced her estimated financial income, which in turn reduced the calculated amount of child support.
CSA investigated the customer’s financial circumstances and found that her income was greater than the income supplied for the assessment. As a result, the child support income was increased to $56,493 to reflect the paying parent’s actual base rate of pay.
Based on CSA’s action, the annual rate of child support payable was increased from $1,604 to $5,530 and now more accurately reflects the paying parent’s capacity to provide support for her child.
From a broader government perspective, this successful outcome also resulted in a saving for taxpayers by reducing the entitlement to Family Tax Benefit.