For individuals & families: As a parent
Common questions and answers about child support for custodians
Child support is money paid by parents who are not living with their children to help support those children financially. This page applies to you if you are parent (or other caregiver) receiving child support.
What if my circumstances change?
If any of the following change for you, please let Child Support know:
- if you start living with the person who pays your child support payments
- if a dependent child comes into or leaves your care
- if you change your address, other contact details or bank account
- if you start or stop receiving a benefit.
It could affect how much you get paid. You will need to contact us - complete and send the Change of circumstances (IR116) form online or you can print it out, complete it and post it to us. Please let us know about any change in your circumstances within 28 days of the change.
When and how do I get paid?
Custodians already on a benefit only receive child support where the amount collected from the paying parent is more than the benefit entitlement. If this is the case the custodian will receive the difference between the two amounts on the 7th of the month following the month in which the payment was received.
Custodians who are not on benefits get all the child support collected from the paying parent (not including penalties). Payments received from the paying parent by the due date will be direct credited to the custodian's bank account on the 7th of the following month. You will only receive the amount collected by us for a particular month.
We will not be able to pay you until the overdue amount has been paid by the paying parent if the paying parent:
- pays late, or
- does not pay at all.
I have applied for child support. When can I expect to receive my first payment?
Approximately eight weeks after we receive your application.
How can I check what money to expect and when it will be paid?
Custodians can use the Look at Account Information service or INFOexpress to find out how much child support they will receive and the date that the money will be paid into their bank accounts. For INFOexpress you will need a touch tone phone and an INFOexpress PIN. To access this system call freephone 0800 257 777.
What happens if a paying parent does not pay?
If the paying parent does not pay child support when it is due, the custodian will not receive any payments. Any amount not paid by the due date will have a penalty added of:
- 10% of the outstanding amount, or
- $5 (whichever is the greater).
A further penalty of 2% of the total overdue amount (including penalties already incurred) will be added for each month that the amount is overdue. All penalties collected are paid to the Crown and are not paid to the custodian.
If a paying parent does not pay by the due date, we can order that all future payments must be made by the paying person's employer. The employer will be required to deduct child support from the paying person's salary or wages each payday.
We are able to make automatic deductions from accident compensation payments and bank accounts to recover any overdue amounts.
When can I get a late payment made by the paying parent?
Extra payments to custodians for child support received late are made on the 14th, 20th and 28th of every month.
I have been expecting a child support payment and have not yet received anything. Where is it?
There are several possible reasons why you may be waiting for a payment of child support:
- We are only able to pay you money that the paying parent has paid to us. If we receive no payments, then we cannot pay any money on to you.
- If you are receiving a benefit at the sole parent rate, any money from the paying parent goes first towards the cost of the benefit paid to you. If the paying parent is assessed to pay more than the amount of the benefit paid to you in a month, then you receive the excess (ie the difference between the benefit and the child support payment).
- There is a delay in your payment for each month as it goes through the various stages of payment. For example, the paying parent must make your payment for April to Inland Revenue Child Support by 20 May, then Child Support pays it to you on or about 7 June.
I used to receive more child support than this. Why has the amount I receive changed?
The amount may have changed because of a change in one of the three parts that we use in the formula to assess the amount of child support to pay:
- Paying parent's income: If the paying parent's income drops by more than 15% of the income that we based our assessment on, then the paying parent may apply for a reassessment based on his or her estimated income for the current year.
- Living allowance: The living allowance is based on how many dependants (a partner and/or children) are living with the paying parent. It reduces the amount of child support that the paying parent must pay; the more dependants a paying parent has, the higher the living allowance and so the lower the assessment will be. Therefore if a paying parent notifies us of a new dependent person living with him or her, the amount of child support the paying parent is required to pay usually decreases.
- Child support percentage: The child support percentage is based on the number of children for whom the paying parent must pay child support. Your child support payments will decrease if one or more of these children no longer qualifies for child support, eg, because they leave your care or become financially independent.
Any part of the assessment may also be changed by an administrative review, exemption review or Commissioner initiated review decision or court order. You should receive a copy of any decision or order that alters the formula.
I have remarried. Will this alter the child support assessment that my former husband or wife has to pay?
No. Child support assessments will not be affected by the custodian's personal circumstances, even if the custodian has their own income and/or is living with a new partner.
What is Inland Revenue doing about collecting my money from the paying parent?
If the paying parent is not paying voluntarily then it is our job to collect the money for you. Sometimes paying parents do not pay voluntarily and in these cases the law gives Inland Revenue powers to enforce collection.
We can make deductions from the paying parent's salary, wages or bank account. If these options are unsuccessful then Inland Revenue can consider several forms of legal action. Normally, before taking legal action, we would consult you as the parent receiving child support.
Inland Revenue Child Support can give you some general information about what we are doing and what we believe the prospects of future payments are. However, we are restricted from giving many of the details you might like, because of the risk of breaching the paying parent's privacy.
Why do I owe Inland Revenue money?
It is infrequent, but sometimes custodians can be overpaid. For example, a paying parent may pay too much child support because it was based on the incorrect income (perhaps because of an income tax reassessment).
Overpaid child support has to be repaid to us. However we recognise that this could cause difficulties where you received the money in good faith and therefore we are open to discuss repayment arrangements with you. If you are still entitled to receive ongoing payments, we will usually arrange with you to reduce those payments by an agreed amount until the debt is recovered.
If you were no longer entitled to receive child support at the time of overpayment, different rules and options apply. Please contact us to discuss them.
I think the paying parent should be paying a lot more. How can I get the payments increased?
We use a formula set by legislation to work out how much child support a paying parent needs to pay. We are not able to change the way we calculate it. As a result, paying parents with similar income and living circumstances are required to pay similar amounts.
However, if you believe that special circumstances in your case make the standard assessment unfair, then you may apply for an administrative review or an exemption review depending on the circumstances.
How does living in Australia affect my child support entitlement?
There is a reciprocal agreement with Australia that explains how child support is administered when one parent lives in Australia and one lives in New Zealand.
Other pages in: As a parent
- Common questions and answers about child support for paying parents
- Tax credits (formerly rebates) for working parents
- Paid parental leave
- Nominate someone to act on your behalf
- Common questions and answers on working for families tax credits
- What are Working for Families Tax Credits?
- Young children
- Parental tax credit
Date published: 15 Oct 2004
Back to top
