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Can the Court change my Child Support Assessment?

Brittany Colussi
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16 August 2019

Yes, the Court can change your child support assessment, but only in certain circumstances.

In most cases any amendments to your child support assessment will be considered by the Child Support Agency internally.  However, the Court may make orders in certain circumstances where a person has previously applied to the Child Support Agency directly and they object to their decision.

How do I make an Application to the Court to change my child support assessment?

Before making an Application to the Court, a person must have satisfied all administrative requirements within the Child Support Agency, including (if applicable) an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of an Agency decision.  If after exhausting these options, the person remains unsatisfied with their assessment, they can then file an Application to the Court.

What type of Applications can the Court hear?

The Court has the power to hear the following Applications:-

  1. for a declaration that a person is or is not a parent of a child for the purposes of paying or not paying child support (generally where the paternity of the child is contested);
  2. for recovery of child support paid when a person was not liable to pay child support;
  3. for leave to change an administrative assessment for a period that was over 18 months ago but less than seven years ago;
  4. for child support to be paid in a form other than periodic amounts;
  5. to set aside a binding child support agreement if the agreement was obtained by fraud, undue influence or duress or there are exceptional circumstances;
  6. to set aside a limited child support agreement if there has been a significant change in circumstances of one of the parties or the annual rate of child support is not proper or adequate to support the child;
  7. for the payment of child support (in urgent circumstances);
  8. for a stay order (to suspend or reduce the amount of child support payable while an alternate application or court case is pending);
  9. for adult child maintenance (where a child is over eighteen) or overseas child maintenance orders (where one party is overseas); and
  10. to recover a child support debt (these applications may only be made to the Child Support Registrar or the parent who is owed the child support);

We can help you?

If you think that you may be eligible to apply to the Court in relation to your Child Support Assessment, you should make an appointment to obtain legal advice.  We encourage you to contact our office on 07 4963 2000 or via our online contact form.