3.2.4: Periodic amounts of maintenance payable to the payee

Context

A registrable maintenance liability must be either a liability to pay a periodic amount of maintenance for a child or a spouse, or a parentage overpayment order. The payee of a registrable maintenance liability is the person who would be entitled to collect the payments under the order if the liability were not registered with CSA for collection.

This chapter discusses liabilities to pay periodic maintenance to a payee. See chapter 3.2.6 for a discussion of registrable maintenance liabilities that are parentage overpayment orders.

Legislative reference

Sections 4, 17, 17A, 18 and 30 Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988

Explanation

Payee of a registrable maintenance liability

A court order or court-registered agreement for maintenance creates a liability for one person (the payer) to provide financial support to another person (the payee). The terms of the order or agreement will make it clear who is entitled to the payments under that order or agreement. The payee of a child maintenance order will usually be the parent or other person providing ongoing daily care for the child, or the child. The payee of a spousal maintenance order will usually be the spouse, or former spouse of the payer.

Amounts payable to the payee

A registrable maintenance liability must be in the form of periodic payments payable to the payee or a parentage overpayment order. An order may specify that payments be made to the payee's bank account and occasionally to a third party acting for the payee, such as a solicitor or trustee.

Example

'M is to pay F spousal maintenance of $120 per week. Such payment is to be deposited to F's account with the XXX Bank.'

'F is to pay M child maintenance for their child A in the amount of $74 per week, by depositing said amount into a trust account for A under F and M's joint control.'

A provision in a court order that specifies how child support is to be paid to the payee does not prevent CSA from registering the order. When CSA registers the liability, the amounts payable under the order become debts due to the Commonwealth (section 30). Once an order is registered with CSA for collection, the provisions of section 30 override any payment instructions in the order. Amounts payable under the order are payable to CSA in accordance with the particulars of the Child Support Register. CSA then transfers collected amounts to the payee.

Amounts that are not payable to the payee

A court order or court registered maintenance agreement that requires the payer to make payments to a third party on behalf of the payee is not a registrable maintenance liability.

Example

'F is to pay $850 per month to the Territories Bank in satisfaction of M's mortgage repayments, the first such payment to be made on 15 September.'

'M is to make contributions at the family rate to Allied Health Insurance for F and the children A and B.'

'F is responsible for payment of all fees associated with A's attendance at the Valley School until A completes secondary schooling.'

Periodic amounts

A periodic amount is an amount to be paid at a weekly, monthly, annual or other periodic interval (section 4 Registration and Collection Act). A periodic amount is expressed in terms that require payments of a regular amount on a recurring or cyclical basis.

These clauses clearly state periodic amounts:

• $200 for each fortnight
• $1,000 every 6 months
• $400 each quarter

A clause with instructions about varying a stated periodic amount is also acceptable:

• '$50 per week but subject to adjustment to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)'.

An order or court-registered agreement for a periodic amount does not have to specify the actual dollar amount of payment. CSA can give effect to an order or court-registered agreement that contains terms which would enable CSA to readily calculate an amount that will be unchanged for a reasonable period of time and paid on a recurring basis.

Orders or agreements which require the payer to make payments to the payee that are equivalent to the payee's mortgage or rent payments, house rates, health insurance or school fees are orders for periodic amounts. These are recurring payments at fixed amount that may vary according to changes in interest rates or when premiums increase. However, where an order or agreement requires the payer to meet these payments directly, the payee is not entitled to payments under the order, so they do not give rise to a registrable maintenance liability.

Parentage overpayment orders

Parentage maintenance orders are discussed in chapter 3.2.6.

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Version 1.1

Issued 1 January 2007

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