Part 3: Registrable maintenance liabilities
Introduction
The Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 provides for various liabilities to be registered for collection by the Child Support Agency.
Australian liabilities
Child support assessments made under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (the Assessment Act) are registrable maintenance liabilities.
From 1 January 2007, CSA can register for collection an order made under section 143 of the Assessment Act requiring a former payee to repay to a former payer a specified amount of child support for a child of whom the former payer is not the parent. These registrable debts are referred to as 'parentage overpayments'.
Where parents or children are not eligible for an assessment under the Assessment Act, child maintenance in Australia is determined by the courts on a case-by-case basis. Financial support for children is determined under the Family Law Act 1975 along with other issues arising from family breakdown including spousal maintenance.
Parties may apply to court for a court order for maintenance or a court-registered maintenance agreement. CSA refers to these cases as Stage 1 cases.
Overseas orders
CSA can register overseas maintenance liabilities arising in a reciprocating jurisdiction for collection, in the same way that it can register Australian court orders and child support assessments.
Once CSA has registered an overseas maintenance liability for collection, it must administer the liability in the same way that it does for Australian child support assessments and orders. In most ways, CSA administers these cases in the same way as Australian Stage 1 liabilities, however there are some important differences.
In this part
The chapters in this part describe the types of registrable maintenance liabilities, notification requirements, how court orders are varied and some hints on how to interpret difficult clauses and commonly used expressions. The registration of overseas child support orders, court registered agreements and liabilities is also described.
Contents
Australian Liabilities This chapter describes the liabilities created under the Assessment Act and the types of orders an Australian court can make under the Family Law Act 1975, which can be registered and enforced by the Child Support Agency. It also describes court-registered maintenance agreements. |
|
Requirements of registrable court orders and court registered agreements This chapter describes the kinds of maintenance liabilities that CSA can register apart from those which arise under child support assessments. CSA refers to these non-assessment liabilities as Stage 1 liabilities. These include orders made under the Family Law Act 1975 and parentage overpayment orders made under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. |
|
Notification of Court Orders and Court Registered Agreements This chapter explains the requirements for payers and payees to notify CSA when a court makes an order or registers an agreement that starts or varies a registrable maintenance liability. |
|
Variations to Court Orders This chapter describes how and when CSA will vary the register entry for a stage 1 registrable maintenance liability. |
|
Interpreting Court Orders This chapter describes the meaning of common terms used in court orders and some hints on interpreting difficult clauses. |
|
Overseas Orders, Court Registered Agreements and Assessments This chapter describes the treatment of overseas maintenance liabilities arising in a reciprocating jurisdiction. |