Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 141 — General powers of court
(1) In exercising its powers under this Act, a court may do all or any of the following: (a) order payment of a lump sum, whether in one amount or by instalments; (b) order payment of a weekly,…
Section 142 — Cessation of orders under Act
(1) Where an order made under this Act is in force in relation to a child and: (a) a child support terminating event happens in relation to the child; or (b) if there is a carer entitled to child…
Section 143 — Amounts paid where no liability to pay exists etc.
(1) An amount may be recovered from a person (the payee) in a court having jurisdiction under this Act if: (a) both of the following apply in relation to the amount: (i) the amount was an amount of…
Section 143A — Simplified outline
The following is a simplified outline of this Division: • A court may dismiss, or make orders in respect of, a frivolous or vexatious proceeding. • A decision of a court becomes final at the end of…
Section 143B — Frivolous or vexatious proceedings
(1) A court having jurisdiction under this Act may, at any stage of a proceeding instituted in the court under this Act, if it is satisfied that the proceeding is frivolous or vexatious, do one or…
Section 144 — Determining when decision of a court becomes final
For the purpose of determining when a decision of a court becomes final: (a) if the decision is not a decision of a Full Court of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) and an…
Section 145 — Registrar may intervene in proceedings
(1) The Registrar may intervene in, and contest and argue any question arising in, a proceeding under this Act. (2) If the Registrar intervenes in a proceeding under this Act, the Registrar is to be…
Section 146 — Copies of orders to be forwarded to Registrar
(1) Where a court having jurisdiction under this Act makes an order under this Act, the registrar or other responsible officer of the court must, within 28 days after the day on which the order is…
Section 146A — Simplified outline
The following is a simplified outline of this Part: • If the Registrar accepts a certain kind of child support agreement, or the court makes a certain kind of order, the Registrar must make a…
Section 146BA — Application of Part 5 to provisional notional assessments
(1) In making a provisional notional assessment, Part 5 applies as if: (a) subject to this section, a reference in the Part to an assessment, or an administrative assessment, were a reference to a…
Section 146EA — Amendment of notional assessment
(1) The Registrar must amend a notional assessment of the annual rate of child support that would be payable for a child (the first child) for a particular day in a child support period if: (a)…
Section 146B — Provisional notional assessments
(1) The Registrar must make a provisional notional assessment in accordance with this section if: (a) the Registrar makes an assessment under section 34B or section 93; or (b) a court makes a…
Section 146C — Variation of provisional notional assessments
(1) A liable parent or carer entitled to child support (the applicant) may seek a variation of a provisional notional assessment within 14 days of receiving a notice under section 146B in respect of…
Section 146D — Departure determinations in respect of provisional notional assessments
(1) A person may, by written application, ask the Registrar to make a determination under Part 6A (departure determinations) if: (a) a provisional notional assessment has not yet become a notional…
Section 146E — Notional assessments
(1) A provisional notional assessment becomes a notional assessment: (a) 14 days after the notice of the provisional notional assessment is received by all the parties under section 146B; or (b) if a…
Section 146F — Later provisional notional assessments
The Registrar must make a new provisional notional assessment under section 146B: (a) if the relevant child support agreement or court order continues in force for more than 3 years—at the end of the…
Section 146G — Estimating adjusted taxable income for purposes of notional assessments
(1) Before a provisional notional assessment relating to a child becomes a notional assessment under section 146E, a parent of the child may elect that, for the purposes of making the provisional…
Section 146H — Registrar may refuse to accept election
(1) The Registrar may refuse to accept the parent’s election if the Registrar is satisfied that the amount the parent estimated under subsection 146G(1) is likely to be less than the actual amount…
Section 146J — Effect of election
(1) If a parent makes an election under subsection 146G(1) relating to a child, then, for the purposes of making the provisional notional assessment, the parent’s adjusted taxable income is the…
Section 146K — Revocation of election
(1) Before a provisional notional assessment becomes a notional assessment under section 146E, a parent who has made an election under subsection 146G(1) in relation to a child may, by notice given…
Section 146L — Effect of revocation
(1) If a parent who made an election under section 146G relating to a child revokes the election and substitutes a new election before the provisional notional assessment becomes a notional…
Section 147 — Secretary has general administration of Act
The Secretary has the general administration of this Act.
Section 148 — Annual report
(1) The Secretary must, as soon as practicable after 30 June in each year, give to the Minister a report on the working of this Act. (2) The Minister must cause a copy of the report to be laid before…
Section 149 — Delegation
(1) The Registrar may, in writing, delegate all or any of the Registrar’s powers or functions under this Act to an officer or employee of the Department or the Human Services Department. (1AA) The…
Section 150 — Secrecy
(1) In this section: court includes any tribunal, authority or person having power to require the production of documents or the answering of questions. person to whom this section applies means a…
Section 150A — Applications, notices, elections and replies to be in the manner specified by the Registrar
(1) The Registrar may specify the manner in which an application, notice, election or reply required or able to be made or given under this Act is to be made or given. (2) Without limiting subsection…
Section 150AA — Offence of unauthorised use of information
(1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person: (i) makes a record of information; or (ii) communicates information to a person; or (iii) otherwise makes use of information; and (b) at the time…
Section 150DA — Registrar’s jurisdiction to cease in certain circumstances
If the Registrar receives notice, in accordance with an article that is prescribed by the regulations, of an international treaty that is so prescribed, that a carer entitled to child support is…
Section 150B — Registrar’s power to request tax file numbers
(1) This section applies to a person in Australia if: (a) the person has applied for an administrative assessment of child support; or (b) another person has applied for the person to be assessed in…
Section 150D — Registrar may require Commissioner to provide information
(1) The Registrar may require the Commissioner to provide the Registrar with information about people, including tax file numbers, being information that: (a) is in the possession of the…
Section 150E — Suspension of liability to pay child support where parents reconcile
Child support not payable if parents reconcile (1) The Registrar must make a determination (a suspension determination) that child support is not payable for a child by a liable parent to the other…
Section 150F — Suspension of liability to pay child support if notification delayed when persons have swapped eligible carer roles
(1) The Registrar must make a determination (a suspension determination) that child support is not payable for a child by a liable parent to another person if: (a) the Registrar or Secretary is…
Section 151 — Election to end administrative assessment
(1) A carer entitled to child support for a child may, by notice given to the Registrar, elect that the liability of a liable parent to pay or provide child support for the child to the carer…
Section 151B — Application for assessment/agreement to continue beyond child’s 18th birthday
(1) If a child turns 18 during a year in which the child is in full-time secondary education, a carer entitled to child support for the child may apply for an administrative assessment, or a child…
Section 151C — Application for assessment/agreement to continue—Registrar’s decision
(1) The Registrar must either accept or refuse to accept an application under section 151B. (2) The Registrar must accept the application if, and only if, the Registrar is satisfied that: (a) the…
Section 151D — Application under subsection 151B(1) for assessment/agreement to continue—consequences of acceptance
Child support terminating event (1) If the Registrar accepts an application under subsection 151B(1) in relation to a child, then, in spite of section 12 (which deals with child support terminating…
Section 151E — Applications under subsection 151B(1A) in respect of administrative assessments—consequences of acceptance
Registrar to take necessary action (1) If the Registrar accepts an application under subsection 151B(1A), the Registrar must immediately take such action as is necessary to take account of the change…
Section 152 — Court order etc. to cease to have effect where child support becomes payable
(1) If: (a) at any time an amount of child support for a child becomes payable by a liable parent to another person under an administrative assessment; and (b) immediately before that time, a court…
Section 153 — Evidentiary certificates by Registrar
A certificate by the Registrar stating: (a) that a specified person was, on a specified day, a resident of Australia; or (b) that a specified person ceased, on a specified day, to be a resident of…
Section 153A — Indexation of amounts
(1) This section applies for the purposes of the following provisions: (a) subsection 65A(2); and (b) subsection 66(5). (2) For the purposes of this Act, the amount specified in those provisions in…
Section 155 — Publication of figures
(1) Before the end of each calendar year, the Registrar must publish in the Gazette for all child support periods starting in the following calendar year: (a) the minimum annual rate of child…
Section 156 — Rounding of amounts
(1) If an amount that is calculated or worked out under or for the purposes of this Act is not, apart from this section, a number of whole dollars, the amount is to be rounded to the nearest whole…
Section 157 — Appearance by Registrar in proceedings etc.
(1) In any action, prosecution or other proceeding under, or arising out of, this Act, the Registrar may appear personally or may be represented by: (a) a person enrolled as a barrister, solicitor,…
Section 158 — Judicial notice of signature of Registrar etc.
All courts and tribunals, and all judges and persons acting judicially or authorised by law or consent of parties to hear, receive and examine evidence, must take judicial notice of the signature of…
Section 159 — False or misleading statements
(1) A person who: (a) makes a statement to an officer that the person knows is false or misleading in a material particular; or (b) omits from a statement made to an officer any matter or thing…
Section 159A — Statements made recklessly etc.
(1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person makes a statement to an officer; and (b) the statement: (i) is false or misleading in a material particular; or (ii) omits any matter or thing…
Section 159B — Failure to notify required information
(1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is required to notify information to the Registrar; and (b) the requirement is a requirement under section 63A; and (c) the person fails to notify…
Section 160 — Notification requirements
(1) The Registrar may, by written notice given to a person to or by whom child support is payable, require the person to notify the Registrar, within 14 days and in the manner specified in the…
Section 161 — Obtaining of information and evidence
(1) The Registrar may, where it is reasonably necessary for the purposes of this Act, by written notice, require a person: (a) to give to the Registrar, within a reasonable period (being a period of…
Section 162 — Order to comply with requirement
(1) Where: (a) a person is convicted before a court of an offence against subsection 161(3); or (b) a court makes an order under section 19B of the Crimes Act 1914 in relation to a person in relation…