- Parents and carers
About you- Your child support
- Child support agreements
- Child support and the Family Courts
- Paying child support
- When things change
- When your circumstances change
- If you decide to give your relationship another chance
- Is your child turning 18 and still at school?
- Changing your child support in special circumstances
- If your income changes or is wrong
- Making care arrangements for your children
- Second families
- Estimating child support payments
- Our services for you
- Meeting your child support responsibilities
- Support for separated families
- The Parent's Guide to Child Support
CSA's online guide to administration of the new child support scheme
Access 2,400 support services for separated families
Subscribe to CSA media releases
Making direct payments
If we collect and transfer payments for you, parents can make direct, third party or prescribed payments at any time.
If both parents agree a direct payment was made in lieu of child support
Direct payments (often referred to as non-agency payments ) are payments such as cash, clothes, transfer of property rights, or providing a service such as lawn mowing or bookkeeping.
Third party payments are payments made to parties on behalf of the other parent. Examples include payments for a holiday, sports and recreation, music and dance lessons.
We can only credit direct payments if both parents agree that these payments were made in lieu of child support. If you have made a direct payment to the other parent call us on 131 272.
If parents don't agree about a direct payment
Prescribed payments are certain payments that can be credited as child support even if the parent receiving child support doesn't agree that the payment was in lieu of child support.
As long as the paying parent pays 70 per cent of their normal monthly child support payment on time, a maximum of 30 per cent of the monthly payment can be credited in this way.
Prescribed payments can be for child care costs, school fees, school uniform and book fees, essential medical and dental items, the other parent's share of rent, mortgage, utilities and rates, or some motor vehicle costs.
We will only credit prescribed payments if the paying parent has less than 14 per cent (regular) care. This is because if you have more than 14 per cent care, the direct costs you incur when you care for the children are recognised in the child support formula. Learn more about care levels and direct costs.
If both parents agree the prescribed payment was made for the purpose of child support, then the payment can be credited regardless of your level of care.
If you have made a prescribed payment call us on 131 272.
