International child support in Australia The collection of child support from a parent living overseas can be extremely challenging. It can be difficult to collect international child support in Australia from someone living overseas. If the other parent lives outside … Read More
When parents separate, there are a number of options to consider when arranging the financial support of the children. As experienced family lawyers, we often see that the payment of child support and the financial support of children can be … Read More
When does an obligation for child support arise? A legal obligation to pay child support arises when: 1. The Child Support Agency issues an administrative assessment for one parent (or party) to pay child support to the other. An administrative … Read More
In parenting cases where Orders have been made about the time children spend with a parent (or other person), great care needs to be taken in drafting the Orders to ensure that each party understands what they are agreeing to. … Read More
Binding Financial Agreements (BFAs – sometimes colloquially known as “pre-nups”), are usually designed to protect assets owned by one member of a couple from a claim by the other member of the couple in the event of separation. Typically, BFAs … Read More
Members of the Federal Parliament and their staff from all political parties will tell you that they receive numerous queries and complaints about family law matters, and in particular about the operation of the child support system, from those in … Read More
The breakdown of a relationship and changes to families are stressful for parents and children. These experiences are even more acute and distressing when a parent is told that the children will not spend time with them.
The Attorney-General recently released three Reports on family law. The “Family Courts Violence Review” makes recommendations for changes to the Family Law Act, while the other Reports agree that the family law system needs to respond more effectively to allegations … Read More
Usually the parties to family law proceedings are a husband and a wife, or former de facto partners, or the parents of a child or children. Spouses and parents are inevitably enmeshed in other family relationships and commercial arrangements which … Read More
Support of adult “children” There are some circumstances where the Family Law Courts have the power to make Orders for maintenance for “children” over the age of eighteen. This is sometimes referred to as “adult child maintenance”.
Children may express strong views about who they want to live with, following separation. But how does a Court take these views into account?
A person can apply to the Child Support Agency for an assessment of child support payable by a natural or adoptive parent of a child. The Agency must be satisfied that a person assessed to pay child support for a … Read More
The festive season can be exhausting, especially when you feel obliged to divide yourself between family members and their respective houses. Children of separated parents can feel this too. For separated parents, the challenge for the season is to focus … Read More
Generally, parents who cannot reach agreement about financial support for their children apply to the Child Support Agency for an administrative assessment. The Agency calculates the assessment using a specific formula. If you receive or pay child support and you … Read More
Australia is a party to the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The Convention aims to ensure that children who are wrongfully taken from, or retained in, another country are quickly returned.
Where one parent lives and works overseas and the other parent lives in Australia with the children, the rules about collecting child support vary and depend on whether the other country is a “reciprocal” jurisdiction. Here we discuss some aspects … Read More
The Child Support Agency administers the Child Support Scheme to enable separated parents to financially support their children. The amount of child support payable is calculated by using a specific formula. However, in some circumstances, the Family Court can make … Read More
As we approach the winter school holidays, some separated parents find themselves in conflict about what arrangements should be in place for their children over the holidays. Here, Dobinson Davey Clifford Simpson addresses some common questions.
Major changes to many areas of the law have been made giving same sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples.
Child support is a complex matter often causing anxiety and upset for those involved. Last year’s major changes to the Child Support Scheme affect everyone paying or receiving child support.
Child support is a complex matter that can cause anxiety and impact negatively on parents and children. Major changes to the Child Support Scheme came into effect last year and affect everyone paying or receiving child support and, in some … Read More
If a parent wants to apply for a Court order relating to children’s matters arising from a parenting dispute, they generally need to obtain a certificate from a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner. This certificate provides evidence that a genuine effort … Read More
The law requires parents to make a genuine effort to resolve disputes in relation to their child before resorting to the Courts. Here, Dobinson Davey Clifford Simpson outlines a process available to parents which gives their children a voice—child inclusive … Read More
Child support is often a bone of contention between parents. It can be a complex matter that can cause anxiety and impact negatively on parents and children. Major changes to the Child Support Scheme, designed for more fair and equitable … Read More