The Legal Practitioner's Guide
4.4.3(c) Varying a parent's self-support amount
An order or agreement can vary either parent's self-support amount. This type of clause may be
appropriate if, for example:
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either parent has a legal duty to maintain another person who is not otherwise taken into
account in the assessment, for example a child over 18 years of age who is still receiving
full-time education (court order under section 66L of the Family Law Act 1975)
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a parent has a recognised financial responsibility for a resident child (subsections 117(2)
and 117(10))
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a parent has high self-support expenses, such as medical costs
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a parent has necessary high child care costs that can be recognised in a child support
assessment, and which are not recognised as a tax-deductible expense.
This clause allows CSA to take into account the latest taxable income for each parent when
they lodge their tax returns, as well as other income information, and to make any changes to
the care percentage or other formula components, if necessary. The self-support amount can
either be fixed at a set amount, or increased by an amount or by the allowance that would be
made for a relevant dependant for that parent. Increasing the self-support amount, rather than
fixing it, allows normal periodic increases in the self-support amount to occur.
Departure order
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That pursuant to section 117 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, there be
a departure from the administrative assessment of child support payable by [parent's
name] for the child(ren) [child(ren)'s names] as follows:
-
For the period from [start date] to [end date] [parent A's name]'s
self-support amount is increased by [only one of the following] [the sum
of $x*] or [the relevant dependent child amount that would be calculated
for the children according to the child support formula if they were relevant dependent
children].
OR
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For the period from [start date] to [end date] [parent A's name]'s
self-support amount is set at $x.
*The amount $x could be specified and be equal to the person's annual
recognisable child care costs or a portion of a parent's costs of supporting the child who is
over 18 years of age during the period. Alternatively, increasing the self-support amount by
what would be the parent's allowance for a relevant dependant as used in the child support
formula may be appropriate (section 46).
Child support agreement
[Parent A's name] and [Parent B's name] agree that
[Parent A's name]'s self-support amount will be increased by
[only one of the following] [the sum of $x*] or [the relevant dependent child
amount that would be calculated for the children according to the child support formula if
they were relevant dependent children] when calculating child support payable for
the child(ren) [child(ren)'s names] for the period from [start date]
to [end date].
*The amount $x must be specified and can be equal to the parent's annual recognisable child
care costs or a portion of a parent's costs of supporting the child who is over 18 years of
age during the period. Alternatively, increasing the self-support amount by what would be the
parent's allowance for a relevant dependant as used in the child support formula may be
appropriate (section 46).