Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989

Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.

Section 55G — Working out the costs of the children

(1) If an annual rate of child support for a day in a child support period is assessed for a child under section 35 or 36 (Formulas 1 and 2), identify the column in the Costs of the Children Table…

Section 55H — Working out the costs of the child

For the purposes of section 55G, the costs of a child for a day in a child support period is: (a) if there is only one child support child—the costs of the children; and (b) otherwise—the costs of…

Section 55J — Simplified outline

The following is a simplified outline of this Division: • A parent’s taxable income is generally the amount of taxable income that is assessed under an Income Tax Assessment Act. • The Registrar may…

Section 56 — Taxable income is as assessed under Income Tax Assessment Act

Meaning of taxable income (1) For the purposes of assessing a parent in respect of the costs of a child in relation to a child support period, if the parent’s taxable income has been assessed under…

Section 57 — Taxable income for child support purposes where taxable income determined to be nil under Income Tax Assessment Act

(1) This section does not apply to a parent for a year of income if the parent has a component of adjusted taxable income mentioned in paragraphs 43(1)(b) to (f) for the year of income.…

Section 58 — Determination by the Registrar of a parent’s adjusted taxable income

(1) This section applies if a parent is to be assessed in respect of the costs of a child in relation to a child support period (the relevant period) and either of the following apply: (a) the…

Section 58A — Subsequently ascertaining components of a parent’s adjusted taxable income

(1) The Registrar must immediately amend an administrative assessment of child support payable by or to a parent in relation to a child support period if: (a) the assessment was made on the basis of…

Section 58AA — ATI indexation factor for determinations under section 58

(1) The ATI indexation factor is: where: AWE amount for a December quarter of a year of income means the amount published for the reference period in the quarter by the Australian Statistician in a…

Section 58B — Inclusion of overseas income in working out a parent’s adjusted taxable income

For the purposes of working out a parent’s adjusted taxable income for a child for a day in a child support period if the parent is a resident of a reciprocating jurisdiction, a reference in this…

Section 58C — Determination of overseas income if information and documents in Registrar’s possession are sufficient

(1) This section applies if the Registrar possesses sufficient information and documents to determine a parent’s overseas income (whether as a result of seeking information or documents under section…

Section 58D — Determination of overseas income if information and documents in Registrar’s possession are insufficient

(1) This section applies if: (a) the Registrar does not possess sufficient information and documents to determine a parent’s overseas income; and (b) despite requesting, under section 162A,…

Section 60 — Parent may elect to estimate his or her adjusted taxable income for a year of income

(1) A parent may, before a year of income starts or during a year of income, elect that the parent’s adjusted taxable income for the year of income is to be the amount that applies under subsection…

Section 61 — Effect of election

(1) If: (a) a parent makes an election under subsection 60(1) relating to a year of income; and (b) the parent is to be assessed in respect of the costs of a child of the parent for a day in a child…

Section 62 — Revocation of income election

(1) A parent who has made an income election relating to a year of income may, by notice given to the Registrar, revoke the income election. Note: If the application period for the income election…

Section 62A — Parent must elect a new estimate of his or her adjusted taxable income for a year of income

(1) If: (a) under subsection 62(1), a parent revokes an income election (the earlier election) relating to a year of income; and (b) at the time of the revocation, the application period for the…

Section 63 — Effect of later election

(1) If: (a) a parent makes an election under subsection 62A(1) relating to the year of income; and (b) the parent is to be assessed in respect of the costs of a child of the parent for a day in a…

Section 63A — Amendment of assessment based on income election if event affecting accuracy of estimate occurs

(1) This section allows the Registrar to amend an assessment of child support payable by or to a parent for some days in a child support period if: (a) those days occur in the application period for…

Section 63AA — Registrar may refuse to accept an income election

(1) If: (a) a parent makes an income election to which subsection 60(2) applies; and (b) the Registrar is satisfied that the amount worked out under that subsection is less than the amount that the…

Section 63AB — Notice to be given if Registrar refuses to accept an income election

(1) If the Registrar refuses under section 63AA to accept an income election, the Registrar must give written notice of the decision to the parent who sought to make the income election. (2) The…

Section 63B — Amendment of assessment based on income election if Registrar asks for information supporting estimate

Section 63AC — Parent may elect a new year to date income amount

(1) If: (a) either of the following apply: (i) a parent has made an election relating to a year of income under subsection 60(1) to which subsection 60(3) applies; (ii) a parent has made an election…

Section 63C — Amendment of assessment in minimum rate cases

(1) This section allows the Registrar to amend an assessment of child support payable by a parent for all the children in a child support case for some days in a child support period if: (a) those…

Section 63AD — Registrar may refuse to accept an election of a new year to date income amount

Refusal to accept election (1) The Registrar may refuse to accept an election made by a parent under subsection 63AC(1) if the Registrar is satisfied that the amount specified under paragraph…

Section 63AE — Registrar may determine a new year to date income amount

(1) If: (a) any of the following apply: (i) a parent has made an election relating to a year of income under subsection 60(1) to which subsection 60(3) applies; (ii) a parent has made an election in…

Section 63AF — Parent’s applicable YTD income amount

(1) If: (a) a parent has made an election relating to a year of income under subsection 60(1) to which subsection 60(3) applies; and (b) subsection (2) of this section does not apply in relation to…

Section 64 — Reconciliation using a parent’s actual adjusted taxable income—single income election

(1) This section applies for the purposes of assessing a parent in relation to the costs of a child of the parent for a day in a child support period if: (a) the day occurs in the application period…

Section 64A — Reconciliation using a parent’s actual adjusted taxable income—more than one income election

Section 64AA — Action by Registrar following reconciliation

The Registrar is to take such action as is necessary to give effect to section 64 or 64A in relation to a parent (whether by amending any administrative assessment that has been made in relation to…

Section 64AB — Registrar to determine a parent’s adjusted taxable income for the purposes of reconciliation

(1) If: (a) a parent made an income election relating to a year of income; and (b) at the end of the period ending 12 months after the end of the year of income, the Registrar has not ascertained the…

Section 64B — Simplified outline

The following is a simplified outline of this Division: • In making an administrative assessment, the Registrar may act on the basis of the documents and information in his or her possession. • In…

Section 64AC — Reconciliation using a parent’s determined ATI—single income election

(1) This section applies for the purposes of assessing a parent in relation to the costs of a child of the parent for a day in the child support period if: (a) the day occurs in the application…

Section 64AD — Reconciliation using a parent’s determined ATI—more than one income election

Section 64AE — Action by Registrar following reconciliation

The Registrar is to take such action as is necessary to give effect to sections 64AC and 64AD in relation to a parent (whether by amending any administrative assessment that has been made in relation…

Section 64AF — Penalty if a parent underestimates an income amount

(1) A parent is liable to pay the Registrar a penalty if: (a) the parent made an income election relating to a year of income; and (b) the parent’s actual adjusted taxable income for the year of…

Section 64AG — Amount of penalty

(1) If a parent is liable under subsection 64AF(1) to pay a penalty, the amount of the penalty for each income election made by the parent relating to the year of income is 10% of the difference…

Section 64AH — Remission of penalty

(1) The Registrar may remit the whole or a part of a penalty that a parent who made an income election is liable to pay under subsection 64AF(1) if: (a) the parent underestimated an income amount in…

Section 65A — Annual rate of child support for low income parents not on income support

Assessment of annual rate (1) The Registrar must assess an annual rate of child support payable by a parent for a child for a day in a child support period as the rate specified in subsection (2) if:…

Section 65B — Application for section 65A not to apply

(1) If the Registrar makes an assessment of an annual rate of child support payable by a parent for a day in a child support period under section 65A: (a) the parent may apply to the Registrar for…

Section 66 — Minimum annual rate of child support

Assessment of annual rate (1) The Registrar must assess the total of the annual rates of child support payable by a parent for all the children in a child support case for a day in a child support…

Section 66A — Registrar may reduce an assessment to nil in certain cases

(1) If the Registrar has made an assessment under section 66 in respect of the annual rate of child support payable by a parent for all the children in a child support case for a day in a child…

Section 66B — Amendment of assessment made under section 65B or 66A

The Registrar may amend an assessment at any time if: (a) either: (i) under section 65B, the Registrar has determined that section 65A does not apply to a parent; or (ii) under section 66A, the…

Section 66C — Notice to be given to unsuccessful applicant

(1) If the Registrar refuses to grant an application under section 65B or 66A, or amends an assessment in accordance with section 66B, the Registrar must serve written notice of the decision on the…

Section 66D — How assessment is to be made

In making an administrative assessment, the Registrar may act on the basis of the documents and information in his or her possession, and is not required to conduct any inquiries or investigations…

Section 67 — Assessment to relate to all children for whom child support is payable by parent

(1) If child support is payable by a parent to a person for 2 or more children for a day in a child support period, any administrative assessment of the child support payable by the parent in…

Section 67A — Offsetting of child support liabilities

The annual rate of child support that would, apart from this section, be payable for a child or children in a child support case, for a day in a child support period, by one parent to the other…

Section 68 — Assessment to relate to whole or part of single child support period

(1) An administrative assessment of child support is to relate to all the days, or some of the days, of a single child support period. (2) Subsection (1) does not prevent a single notice of…

Section 69 — Conversion of annual rates into daily rates of payment

If the Registrar assesses the annual rate of child support payable by a parent for a child or children in a child support case, for a day in a child support period, the Registrar must, in accordance…

Section 70 — Evidence relating to assessments

(1) The production of a notice of administrative assessment, or of a document signed by the Registrar that appears to be a copy of a notice of administrative assessment, is prima facie evidence: (a)…

Section 71 — Assessment for part of a child support period

In making an administrative assessment of the annual rate of child support payable for days in a period (the part period) that is not a whole child support period, the Registrar may apply this Act as…

Section 72 — Validity of assessments

Except in an ART review within the meaning of the Registration and Collection Act, or an appeal under Part 7 of the ART Act in relation to such a review, the validity of an assessment is not affected…