After divorce or separation, Australians who need to pay child support have a couple of options as to how they make the payments to the other parent.
The first option is self-management, where you simply deposit the periodic payments into the bank account of the parent who has primary care of your child.
If you choose the private collection option, we strongly recommend that you keep accurate records so that if there are any disputes later on you have documentary evidence to fall back on.
Choosing the self-management option will also affect your Family Tax Benefit (FTB) rate.
The other option is to get a child support assessment, which will determine the child support rate that the payer needs to contribute until the child turns 18. After you’ve had a child support assessment you can choose to enter into a limited child support agreement or a binding child support agreement.