Parents have a responsibility to support their children financially in priority to every other obligation they may have.
The Child Support Agency is the government department charged with ensuring that parents understand and meet their obligations to support their children after separation, and will assess the parents’ child support liability and if necessary recover child support from a parent. If you don’t agree with a child support assessment, there are processes for making a challenge within the Child Support Agency, through the Social Security Appeals Tribunal or through the Family Court.
Parents can also enter into child support agreements which can set the amount the parents agree will be paid by way of child support, together with the way in which the child support will be paid. There are strict rules that apply to the making and breaking of these agreements.
About Mark
Mark MacDiarmid is accredited as a specialist in family law by the Law Society of NSW, having become a lawyer in 1986 after graduating with degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma of Psychology from Charles Sturt University, a Graduate Diploma in Family Dispute Resolution from the Australian Institute of Social Relations, and is a member of the NSW Legal Aid Commission’s Independent Children’s Lawyer and Mental Health Advocacy Panels. He is a member of the Law Society of NSW, the Family Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, a practitioner member of LEADR and a member of the Australian Institute of Family Law Arbitrators and Mediators (AIFLAM). Mark is accredited by the Federal Attorney General’s Department to provide compulsory Family Dispute Resolution and to issue s60I Certificates under the Family Law Act for disputes involving children. He is also an Accredited Mediator under the National Mediator Accreditation System, a member of the Law Society of NSW's Mediator Panel and the NSW District Court panel of Mediators.
The information on this website is not intended to constitute legal advice and is not to be used or relied upon as such. The law can be very complex and we strongly recommend that you obtain the assistance of a qualified lawyer to help you with legal problems. Our links page provides information about a number of free legal services.
