Child Support Legislation Amendment (Reform of the Child Support Scheme - New Formula and Other Measures) Act 2006 (146 of 2006)

Schedule 5   Amendments relating to child support agreements and court orders (commencing on 1 July 2008)

Part 1   Main amendments

Division 3   Notional assessments

A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999

63   After clause 20A of Schedule 1

Insert:

20B Working out amounts of child maintenance using notional assessments

(1) If:

(a) an individual receives child maintenance for an FTB child of the individual under a child support agreement or court order; and

(b) there is, in relation to the agreement or order, a notional assessment of the annual rate of child support that would be payable to the individual for the child for a particular day in a child support period if that annual rate were payable under Part 5 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 instead of under the agreement or order;

then the amount of child maintenance that the individual is taken to have received in an income year under the agreement or order for the child for a period is worked out in accordance with this clause.

Note: The amount worked out in accordance with this clause is annualised under clause 20A.

Individual taken to have received notional assessed amount

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the amount of child maintenance that the individual is taken to have received under the agreement or order for the child for the period is, subject to this clause, the amount (the notional assessed amount ) that the individual would have received if the individual had received the annual rate of child support for the child for the period that is included in the notional assessment.

Underpayments

(3) If the amount received in an income year by the individual under the agreement or order for the child for the period is less than the amount that is payable to the individual under the agreement or order for the child for the period (such that a debt arises for the period under the agreement or order), then, for the purposes of this Act, the amount of child maintenance that the individual is taken to have received under the agreement or order for the child for the period is the following amount (the notional amount paid ):

(Amount received by the individual under the agreement or order for the child for the period / Amount payable to the individual under the agreement or order for the child for the period) * Notional assessed amount for the child for the period

Note: This subclause only applies in respect of enforceable maintenance liabilities (see subclause (7)).

Arrears

(4) If the amount received in an income year by the individual under the agreement or order for the child for the period exceeds the amount that is payable to the individual under the agreement or order for the child for the period, then, for the purposes of this Act, the amount of child maintenance that the individual is taken to have received under the agreement or order for the child for the period is:

Notional assessed amount for the child for the period + Total of the notional arrears amounts in respect of each debt arising for a previous period under the agreement or order

Note: This subclause only applies in respect of enforceable maintenance liabilities (see subclause (7)).

(5) The notional arrears amount , in respect of a debt arising for a previous period under the agreement or order, is:

((Notional assessed amount for the child for the previous period - Notional amount paid for the child for the previous period) / The amount of the debt that arose for the pervious period under the agreement or order)) * Amount of the debt that is paid off

(6) For the purposes of subclause (5), if:

(a) an individual has more than one debt that arose under an agreement or order for previous periods; and

(b) the amount received in an income year by the individual under the agreement or order for a child for a period exceeds the amount that is payable to the individual under the agreement or order for the child for the period;

then:

(c) the individual is taken to have received the excess to pay off each debt in the order in which the debts arose; and

(d) each debt is reduced by the amount of the debt that is paid off.

(7) Subclauses (3) and (4) only apply in respect of enforceable maintenance liabilities (within the meaning of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988).

20C Working out amounts of child maintenance in relation to lump sum payments

(1) This clause applies if an individual receives in an income year child maintenance for an FTB child of the individual under:

(a) a child support agreement, containing lump sum payment provisions (within the meaning of paragraph 84(1)(e) of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989), to which clause 20B does not apply; or

(b) a court order made under section 123A of that Act;

in the form of a lump sum payment that is to be credited under section 69A of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 against a liability under an administrative assessment.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the amount of child maintenance that the individual is taken to have received in an income year under the agreement or order for the child for a period is the amount that is credited under section 69A of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 against the liability under the administrative assessment for the child for the period.

Note: The amount worked out under this clause is annualised under clause 20A.