CSA logo

CMD
Child support or maintenance changeYou can tell CSA about the changes over the phone


CSA 1969–11.2004

This form can be submitted online

Use this form If you have a child support assessment, court order, court registered assessment, maintenance order or an agreement, and there has been either a change in personal details or changes which affect the amount of child support or maintenance payable, you must tell the Child Support Agency (CSA).

Do not use this form to apply for a child support assessment.

1. Your name
Title
Surname
Given names

2. CSA reference number

3. Your phone numbers
Home Is this a silent number?
Work   Mobile 
Email address
Best time to contact you

4. Below is a list of changes that you can use this form to tell CSA about. Please read these information notes before completing the question.
Type of change Complete question number
Change of personal details of payee or payer
Change of name 5  
Change of address 6  
Change of bank account details 7  
New employer (payer only) 8  
Now receiving a Social Security payment (payer only) 9 Read note A
Your Social Security payment was increased (payer only) 10 Read note A
No longer receiving Social Security payment (payer only) 11 Read note A
 
Change because of a court order or court registered agreement or child support agreement
Amount payable varied by a court order or agreement 12  
Amount payable has changed because of a special condition in the court order or agreement now exists 13  
 
Change in contact or residence details – if you have a court order or court registered agreement  
Child no longer lives with the payee – suspend collection 14 Read note B
Child has resumed living with the payee – restart collection 15 Read note B
 
Change in contact or residence details – if you have a child support assessment or agreement  
Child no longer in care of either parent 16  
Change in daily care arrangements 17 Read note C
Child from another relationship now in your care 18 Read note D
Child from another relationship no longer in your care 19 Read note D
Child now married 20  
 
Death of a parent or child
Death of a parent 21  
Death of a child 22  

Change of personal details of payer or payee

5. Change of name – your new name
Title
Surname
Given names
The name you want used in CSA letters    

6. Change of address
Your new postal address
State   Postcode  
Your new home address
State   Postcode  

7. What bank account do you want your child support paid into?
Name of bank, building society or credit union
Branch where your account is held
Branch number (BSB)
Account number
Account name
(you must be a party to the account)

8. New employer (payer only)
Employer name
Employer address
State   Postcode  
Employer phone number

9. Now receiving a Social Security payment (payer only) Date commenced (dd/mm/yyyy)

Do you wish to suspend collection?  
This can only be done in certain circumstances. Please read note A before completing this question


10. Your Social Security payment was increased (payer only) Read note A before completing this question

Date increased (dd/mm/yyyy)


11. No longer receiving a Social Security payment (payer only) Read note A before completing this question

Date stopped (dd/mm/yyyy)


Change because of a court order or court registered agreement

12. The amount payable has been varied by a court order or court registered agreement.Please attach a copy of the order/agreement or provide the following details:
Location of the court where the order or agreement was made
Type of court (e.g. Family, Magistrates)
Date of the order or agreement
Is it:      
Children for whom new amount of child support is payable New amount now payable for this person Date from which the new amount applies
$ per
$ per
$ per
$ per
$ per

Person for whom new amount of maintenance is payable
$ per

13. The amount payable has changed because a special condition in the court order, court
registered agreement or child support agreement now applies
Date the change in circumstances began or will apply (dd/mm/yyyy)
Do the circumstances still apply?
If no, date circumstances ceased to apply (dd/mm/yyyy)

Please attach a copy of the order or agreement or complete the following details:
Date of the order or agreement (dd/mm/yyyy)

Describe the change in circumstances or special conditions

If you have a court order or court registered agreement you must complete the following details:
Location of the court where the order or agreement was made

Type of court (e.g. Family, Magistrates)

Change of contact or resident details

If this question applies to you, this form needs to be printed, filled in and sent to the CSA

14. Change in residence
child no longer lives with payee named in the court order or court registered agreement. Please read Note B in the Information Notes.
Do you wish to suspend collection?      Payer:       Payee:
Name of each child Date of birth Date of change

For a change in contact, both the payee and the payer must sign and date
I agree to suspend collection of the maintenance payable to the child/ren shown above.

Payer‘s signature Date Payee‘s signature Date

15. Change in residence
child has resumed living with the payee named in the court order or court registered
agreement. Please read Note B in the information notes
List the child/ren who have returned to the care of the payee that you want the CSA to once again collect maintenance for.
Name of each child Date of birth Date of change

16. Child no longer in the daily care of either parent (only if you have an assessment or CSA agreement)
Name of each child Date of birth Date of change

Name of the person who now has the daily care of the child

Surname
Given names
Phone number (if known)

17. Change in daily care arrangements between parents Please read Note C in the Information Notes

A Have the care arrangements for the child/ren that you receive or pay child support for changed?
  Complete details below
    Do not complete this question

B Do you have a parenting plan or court order concerning the children for whom you receive or pay child support?
  Please attach a copy

C What is the start date of your current child support period?
(This information is shown on your notice of assessment)

D What is the date 12 months after the start of your child support period?

E What date did the care arrangements change?

Note: The care arrangements for the children in the first 12 months of the child support period will be used to calculate your child support.

Child 1
F Name of the child
Surname
Given names
Date of birth

G Will the parents share the care of this child more or less equally?

H Estimate the number of nights this child will stay with the paying parent in the first 12 months of the child support period

- Go to I
– the payer has substantial contact
– the payer has shared care
– the payer has major care
– the payer has sole care

I Do the parents agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with this child?
Note: Parents can agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with the child even if the child stays with the paying parent less than 110 nights.

Child 2
F Name of the child
Surname
Given names
Date of birth

G Will the parents share he care of this child more or less equally?

H Estimate the number of nights this child will stay with the paying parent in the first 12 months of the child support period

– Go to I
– the payer has substantial contact
– the payer has shared care
– the payer has major care
– the payer has sole care

I Do the parents agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with this child?
Note: Parents can agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with the child even if the child stays with the paying parent less than 110 nights.

Child 3
F Name of the child
Surname
Given names
Date of birth

G Will the parents share the care of this child more or less equally?

H Estimate the number of nights this child will stay with the paying parent in the first 12 months of the child support period

– Go to I
– the payer has substantial contact
– the payer has shared care
– the payer has major care
– the payer has sole care

I Do the parents agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with this child?
Note: Parents can agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with the child even if the child stays with the paying parent less than 110 nights.

Child 4
F Name of the child
Surname
Given names
Date of birth

G Will the parents share the care of this child more or less equally?

H Estimate the number of nights this child will stay with the paying parent in the first 12 months of the child support period

– Go to I
– the payer has substantial contact
– the payer has shared care
– the payer has major care
– the payer has sole care

I Do the parents agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with this child?
Note: Parents can agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with the child even if the child stays with the paying parent less than 110 nights.

Child 5
F Name of the child
Surname
Given names
Date of birth

G Will the parents share the care of this child more or less equally?

H Estimate the number of nights this child will stay with the paying parent in the first 12 months of the child support period

– Go to I
– the payer has substantial contact
– the payer has shared care
– the payer has major care
– the payer has sole care

I Do the parents agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with this child?
Note: Parents can agree that the paying parent has substantial contact with the child even if the child stays with the paying parent less than 110 nights.


18. Child from another relationship in your care Please read Note D in the Information Notes
Name of the new dependent child Date of birth Your relationship to this child Date the child became your dependent
Natural parent Legally adopted Legal duty to maintain

19. Child from another relationship no longer in your carePlease read Note D in the Information Notes
Name of each child Date the child ceased to be dependent

20. Child now married
Name of child Date married

21. Death of a parent
Which parent died?
Name of parent Date of death

If the payee died, who has daily care of the child/ren
Surname Given names

If the payer died, give the name of the person who is the executor of the estate
Surname Given names
Phone number of the executor or new carer

22. Death of a child
Name of child Date of death

Declaration
I declare that the information I have given is complete and correct.
Date

Your privacy
The information requested in this form is needed for child support purposes and is required by child support law. Some information may be passed to the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink or to a law enforcement officer. The CSA reference or file number requested may in some cases also be your Tax File Number. It is not an offence if you choose not to quote your Tax File Number.

CSA cannot guarantee the security of personal information sent via the Internet.

Important There are penalties for deliberately giving false or misleading information

Please detach and keep this page

Information Notes

Note A

Suspension of collection of payments by the CSA where there is a court order or court registered agreement, and the payer receives Social Security payments

Many court orders and court registered agreements do not allow for amounts of child support to change with changes in the circumstances of the parents. They often do not make provision for the paying parent becoming unemployed, or suffering a substantial drop in income.

If you are a receiving social security pension or benefit and are paying child support under a court order or court registered agreement that does not make allowances for when you are unemployed you can ask CSA to suspend collection of child support.

Please note: If you are paying child support under a child support assessment this option is not available to you. You should contact CSA to find out what your options are.

If you request that CSA suspend collection, CSA will ask Centrelink to verify that you receive a Social Security Pension or a Social Security Benefit. Centrelink will also check that your Social Security payment plus your ordinary income is not greater than the maximum basic rate of pension. The CSA can only suspend collection of your child support if your income is less than or equal to this amount. When CSA suspends collection of child support, the period of suspension is called a ‘low income non–enforcement period’.

When does a non–enforcement period end?
A low income non–enforcement period ends either when you no longer receive a Social Security payment or your income is more than the income threshold.

When is a payer not able to have collection suspended?
Suspension of the payments cannot occur if the court order or court registered agreement already makes provision for the periods of unemployment or low income. The collection of spousal maintenance payments cannot be suspended.

Note B

Suspension of collection of payments by CSA when there is a court order or a court registered agreement and the payee ceases to be the main provider of daily care

Currently, many court orders and court registered agreements do not make provision for a change in the circumstances of the parents, for example, changes in the care arrangements for the child.

You can ask the CSA to suspend collection of child support payments whenever the payee ceases to be the main provider of daily care for one or more children.

Suspension of collection of payments by CSA when daily care changes
Both the payer and the payee must make a joint election to have the collection of the maintenance by CSA suspended for the child/ren.

The period the collection is suspended for is called the ‘overall non–care period’.

During the ‘overall non–care period’, the terms of the court order or court registered agreement are still enforceable. While the amounts are not being collected by the CSA, the payee may take action to collect through the courts.

When does suspension of collection during an overall non–care period end?
The suspension of collection may be ended by the payee or the payer making an election for CSA collection of the maintenance for the child to restart. Collection by CSA will resume on the day the non–care period ended if you lodged the application within 28 days of that date. Otherwise, it resumes on the day you make the application.

Important Note:
If you have become the main provider of daily care for the child and you want the child‘s other parent to pay you child support, then you must apply to the court for a court order.

Note C

How daily care arrangements affect the assessment

Shared daily care
Shared daily care occurs where the parents share care, or agree they share care, of the child/ren for approximately the same amount of time. For example, if Sara lives with Mum 4 days a week and lives with Dad 3 days a week, this may be considered shared care.

CSA calculates the amount of child support each parent would pay the other based on the time Sara is in each parent‘s care. Under the formula assessment parent‘s income is subject to the exempted income provision which is based on the unpartnered rate of Social Security pension plus an allowance for each child (shared or sole) in their care. The percentage is also reduced to recognise the time the child lives with that parent, For example, for one child in shared care, the percentage is 12%. If CSA calculates that the parents have to pay an amount to each other, the amounts are offset and the balance is payable by the parent who had to pay the higher amount.

Substantial contact
Substantial contact occurs when a parent has a child for more than 30% of the nights in the first 12 months of the child support period, but less than 40% of the nights. For example, 2 nights a week plus 4 weeks at Christmas.

Where parents agree that the contact is substantial CSA will reflect that agreement in the assessment regardless of the actual nights the child stays with the paying parent in the child support period.

For substantial contact calculation, the payer‘s child support percentage is reduced, and the exempted income is based on the unpartnered rate of Social Security pension. Due to the higher level of care, the payee‘s exempted income is the partnered rate plus an allowance for the children in their care.

Daily care in future assessments
The figure you give in this form for the number of nights the children stay with their paying parent will be used in assessments for the current child support period and future child support periods unless you tell CSA about a change.

Factual and lawful care
CSA generally considers factual care, that is the actual care that each parent provides. However, if there is a court order or parenting plan made under the Family Law Act 1975 concerning the care of the child/ren, CSA must also consider this when making an assessment.

If the court has ordered that one parent should have a certain level of care of a child and the other parent denies that care, the assessment may be based on the care the other parent is entitled to have under the court order/parenting plan.

Note D

How children from another relationship affect an assessment

If you are the payer (or if there are shared or divided care arrangements), your children from another relationship can be included in your assessment as relevant dependent children. The children must be under 18 and unmarried, you must be their parent (either natural, by adoption or a step–child whom you have a legal duty to maintain) and the main provider of their daily care. When you have relevant dependent, your exempt income to be used in the child support assessment is reduced according to the number and age of your dependents.

When do I have a legal duty to maintain a step child?
You only have a legal duty to maintain a step child when a court makes an order under section 66M of the Family Law Act 1975 or the equivalent provision of the Family Court Act of Western Australia 1997.

Important
Always keep records of your child support payments as you may need to supply this information to the CSA at a later date.

Where to send this form
You can submit this form online or send it to the address shown on CSA letters to you or to the nearest CSA office. Centrelink customers can lodge this form at a Centrelink Customer Service Centre.

CSA office addresses:

NSW Sydney GPO Box 9815 Sydney 2001
         
VIC/TAS Melbourne GPO Box 9815 Melbourne 3001
         
QLD Brisbane GPO Box 9815 Brisbane 4001
         
SA/NT Adelaide GPO Box 9815 Adelaide 5001
         
WA Perth PO Box 9815 Perth 6848

Need help to complete this form?
Telephone CSA on 131 272 (local call charge excluding mobile and public phones).

If you have a complaint