Glossary of terms for international customers

Administrative assessment
When your child support is calculated by an administrative formula not a court order, although a court may amend this amount.

Disbursement
An amount of child support collected by the CSA and sent to a receiving parent.

DPO
A Departure Prohibition Order is where the CSA can stop a paying parent with overdue child support from leaving Australia until an arrangement to pay is made.

Overseas default income
A determination of income when an actual overseas income is not available. This will be replaced with the customer’s actual overseas income when the CSA becomes aware of it, but in some circumstances it can not be replaced retrospectively with a lower actual income.

Overseas income
Income earned overseas by a parent who is a resident of a reciprocating jurisdiction that will be used to calculate your child support assessment.

Jurisdiction
This term can have two meanings:

  1. It can refer to the overseas authority e.g. reciprocating jurisdiction.
  2. CSA has to prove that Australia had 'jurisdiction' (as defined in US legislation) to register a child support case before the US authority will accept a transmittal.

Mail-pay
When you pay your child support by sending a cheque or bank draft to the CSA.

Non-reciprocating jurisdiction
A country or part of a country with which the CSA does not have an agreement or arrangement in relation to child support.

Reciprocating jurisdiction
A country or part of a country with which the CSA has an agreement or arrangement in relation to child support. In some cases the authorities in those jurisdictions can assist the CSA by collecting child support payments from the parent who resides in that jurisdiction.

Telegraphic transfer
When you pay your child support by transferring money from your overseas bank to the CSA.

Transmittal overseas
When the CSA sends a child support case to be managed by another country. In these cases the CSA has limited control over the collection process and is reliant on the co-operation of the overseas authority to collect a child support debt.

Transmittal to Australia
Where a case is sent to Australia by an overseas authority for collection of child support from a parent living in Australia.

Overseas authority/central authority
The organisation in a reciprocating jurisdiction that deals with child support issues.

International penalties/international additional amounts
A penalty or other additional amount charged by a reciprocating jurisdiction in addition to the child support payable. The CSA may or may not be required to collect that amount.

NZIRCS
New Zealand Inland Revenue Child Support – the central authority for New Zealand.

For more terms about the child support system, see Glossary of terms.