s 1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Child Support Legislation Amendment (Reform of the Child Support Scheme-New Formula and Other Measures) Act 2006.
This Act may be cited as the Child Support Legislation Amendment (Reform of the Child Support Scheme-New Formula and Other Measures) Act 2006.
Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
Provision(s) Commencement Date/Details
1. Sections 1 to 6 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. 6 December 2006
2. Schedule 1 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
3. Schedule 2, items 1 to 91 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
3A. Schedule 2, items 92 to 96 1 January 2008. 1 January 2008
3B. Schedule 2, items 97 to 116 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
3C. Schedule 2, item 116A 1 January 2008. 1 January 2008
3D. Schedule 2, item 117 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
4. Schedule 2, item 118 The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. 6 December 2006
5. Schedule 3 1 January 2007. 1 January 2007
6. Schedule 4 Immediately after the commencement of Schedule 3 to this Act. 1 January 2007
7. Schedule 5, Part 1, Division 1 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
8. Schedule 5, Part 1, Division 2 Immediately after the commencement of Schedule 1 to this Act. 1 July 2008
9. Schedule 5, Part 1, Division 3 Immediately after the commencement of Division 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 5 to this Act. 1 July 2008
10. Schedule 5, Part 2 The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. 6 December 2006
11. Schedule 5, Part 3 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
12. Schedules 6 and 7 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
13. Schedule 8, items 1 to 5 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
14. Schedule 8, item 6 The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. 6 December 2006
15. Schedule 8, items 7 to 13 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
16. Schedule 8, item 14 The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. 6 December 2006
17. Schedule 8, items 15 to 19 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
18. Schedule 8, item 20 The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. 6 December 2006
19. Schedule 8, items 21 to 157 1 July 2008. 1 July 2008
This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by both Houses of the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.
Column 3 of the table contains additional information that is not part of this Act. Information in this column may be added to or edited in any published version of this Act.
Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
The Registrar may, where it is reasonably necessary for the purposes of this Act, by written notice, require a person:
to give to the Registrar, within a reasonable period (being a period of not less than 7 days), and in a reasonable manner, specified in the notice, such information as the Registrar requires; and
to attend before the Registrar, or before an officer authorised by the Registrar for the purpose, at a reasonable time and place specified in the notice, and then and there answer questions; and
to produce to the Registrar, at a reasonable time and place specified in the notice, any documents in the custody or under the control of the person.
The regulations must prescribe scales of expenses to be allowed to persons required to attend under this section.
A person commits an offence if the person fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (1).
Penalty: 60 penalty units.
Subsection (3) is an offence of strict liability.
For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.
In this Act:
Assessment Act means the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989.
Registration and Collection Act means the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.
The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters of a transitional nature (including prescribing any saving or application provisions) relating to the amendments or repeals made by this Act.
Schedule 1-The formulas (commencing on 1 July 2008)
Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989
Repeal the Part, substitute:
Part 5-Administrative assessment of child support
Division 1-Preliminary
The following is a simplified outline of this Part:
• This Part includes the formulas used for assessing the annual rate of child support payable by a parent for a child for a day in a child support period (other than in cases where that rate is worked out in accordance with a child support agreement, a Registrar's determination under Part 6A or a court order).
• The Costs of the Children Table published by the Secretary each year (based on the table in Schedule 1 to this Act) sets out the costs to parents of raising children in various age ranges.
• Those costs are to be met by both parents (by paying child support or by caring for their children) according to each parent's capacity to meet the costs.
• To determine each parent's capacity to meet those costs, the parents are assessed in respect of the costs of the child.
• Generally, both parents' income is taken into account in determining each parent's capacity to meet the costs of their children.
• The formulas also allow child support payable to non‑parent carers of children to be worked out.
Division 2-The formulas
Subdivision A-Preliminary
The following is a simplified outline of this Division:
• The Costs of the Children Table published by the Secretary each year (based on the table in Schedule 1 to this Act) sets out the costs to parents of raising children in various age ranges.
• These costs are to be met by both parents (by paying child support or by caring for their children) according to each parent's capacity to meet the costs.
• To determine each parent's capacity to meet the costs, the parents are assessed in respect of the costs of the child.
• Formulas 1 and 2 apply if both parents' incomes are taken into account in determining each parent's capacity to meet the costs of their children, and each parent only has one child support case.
• Formulas 3 and 4 apply if both parents' incomes are taken into account in determining each parent's capacity to meet the costs of their children, and at least one of the parents has multiple child support cases.
• Formulas 5 and 6 apply if only one parent's income is taken into account in determining the parent's capacity to meet the costs of his or her children (such as because the other parent is not a resident of Australia).
• Formulas 2, 4, 5 and 6 also allow child support payable to non‑parent carers of children to be worked out.
• In some cases, the annual rate of child support payable by a parent is assessed under Subdivision B of Division 8 (low income parents and minimum annual rates of child support).
This Part applies in relation to the assessment of child support payable by a parent for a child, subject to:
any determination made by the Registrar under Part 6A (departure determinations); and
any order made by a court under Division 4 of Part 7 (departure orders); and
any provisions of a child support agreement that have effect, for the purposes of this Part, as if they were such an order made by consent.
Subdivision B-Working out annual rates of child support using incomes of both parents in single child support case
The annual rate of child support payable for a child for a day in a child support period is assessed under this Subdivision if:
both parents of the child are to be assessed in respect of the costs of the child; and
both parents are to be assessed only in respect of the costs of:
that child; and
any other child in the child support case that relates to that child.
This is how to work out the annual rate of child support payable for a child for a day in a child support period if no non‑parent carer has a percentage of care for the child for the day.
Method statement
Step 1. Work out each parent's child support income for the child for the day (see section 41).
Step 2. Work out the parents' combined child support income for the child for the day (see section 42).
Step 3. Work out each parent's income percentage for the child for the day (see section 55B).
Step 4. Work out each parent's percentage of care for the child for the day (see section 48).
Step 5. Work out each parent's cost percentage for the child for the day (see section 55C).
Step 6. Work out each parent's child support percentage for the child for the day (see section 55D).
Step 7. Work out the costs of the child for the day (see sections 55G and 55H).
Step 8. If a parent has a positive child support percentage under step 6, the annual rate of child support payable by the parent for the child for the day is worked out using the formula:
If a parent's percentage of care for a child is more than 65%, the parent's annual rate of child support for the child is nil (see section 40C).
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