Support and money
Child support for receiving and paying parents
Find assessment, collection, care-change and review routes without confusing child support with parenting arrangements.
Start with the official pathway
Child support helps separated parents share eligible children's costs. The amount payable depends on the assessment and relevant circumstances. Services Australia can explain applying for an assessment, recognised agreements and collection choices. Paying parents and receiving parents both need to keep information current.
Child support does not decide where children live, parenting orders or a property settlement. Get legal advice about those matters. If there is violence or fear of abuse, ask the agency about safer contact and exemption options before negotiating directly.
Understand collection choices
Under Private Collect, you and the other parent arrange payments under the assessment. For FTB, Services Australia normally assumes the assessed amount was received in full. Missing payments do not automatically produce extra FTB. Contact Child Support if you cannot collect the amount.
Under Child Support Collect, the agency collects and transfers payments. Different FTB calculation methods can apply. A method based on money received must be requested; it is not automatically used for every case.
Self-management is another arrangement, with different FTB consequences. It may fail the maintenance action requirement for Part A above the base rate. Before switching, ask about future transfers, FTB, existing arrears and what the agency can recover. Recovery of every unpaid amount is not guaranteed.
Report care changes promptly
Tell Services Australia about changed care straight away. Reporting later than 28 days can affect when the change starts and may lead to a debt, overpayment or other assessment changes.
If you have both a Child Support case and FTB, you can tell either Child Support or Centrelink about this care change. The agency says you only need to notify either service for that change. Medicare and sensitive personal-record updates can still require separate steps.
- Keep an accurate care record and relevant evidence, where safe.
- Tell the agency about income changes and ask how estimates or reassessment apply.
- Use agency advice when a parent disputes care; this site does not calculate liability.
If an assessment or decision seems wrong
Read the decision and contact Child Support for an explanation. A formal objection or change-of-assessment route may apply, depending on the issue. Deadlines and review rights differ. Before submitting evidence, ask what information will be shared with the other parent and explain any safety concern.
Your next step
Use the official links above, or find local services in your state.
Sources for this guide
- Services Australia: care changes and child support (external website) Reviewed 5 October 2026
- Services Australia: child support and FTB rates (external website) Reviewed 5 October 2026
- Services Australia: child support and FTB maintenance action (external website) Reviewed 5 October 2026
- Services Australia: child-support objections (external website) Reviewed 5 October 2026
Related guides
Wording reviewed 5 October 2026. Numerical rules have separate verification dates on Sources and updates.