The Child Support Agency and Family Assistance Office alignment of care
Alignment of Care
The Child Support Agency (CSA) and the Family Assistance Office (FAO) now use the
same rules to work out the percentage of care you provide your child or children.
Why are the CSA and FAO aligning care?
By aligning the rules for determining care percentages, parents will only have to
tell one agency about a change in care – not both.
What do I need to do?
If you receive or pay child support and are in receipt of Family Tax Benefit, you
will only need to have your percentage of care assessed once by either the CSA or
FAO. The other agency will then be notified of any changes in your percentage of
care and will update your details automatically.
It’s important you tell the CSA about changes to your care as soon as they happen. If you do not tell us within 28 days of the change, your child support assessment may only be able to be changed from the day you tell us. This 28 day time limit does not apply for family assistance purposes.
You can also apply to have your percentage of care worked out under the new rules,
even if the care arrangements have not changed.
Note to parents of children who live in Western Australia: Different rules may apply
if a child and the receiving parent live in Western Australia, and the parents were
never married. This is expected to change when the Western Australian Parliament
adopts the Australian Government legislation containing the most recent changes
to the Child Support Scheme and Family Assistance.
Where can I get more information?
Call the CSA on 131 272*. Alternatively, you can contact the FAO
on 136 150* or visit the website
www.familyassist.gov.au.
More information on the Alignment of Care can also be found on the
Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs website.