There are different reasons for child support ending.
Child support stops when the child:
- goes to live with someone else who is not a parent and has not applied for child support
- turns 18 or if they stay in school after they turn 18 - 31 December of the year they turned 18
- becomes financially independent, that is - aged 16 or older and working 30 hours a week or more on average or receiving a benefit or student allowance
- marries, or is in a de-facto relationship or civil union (this only applies to children over 16 - if the child is 16 or 17, they'll need consent from a Family Court judge)
- passes away.
It also stops if the liable parent and receiving carer get back together.
You need to tell us about any of these situations as soon as you can. If you do not, you might be paying or receiving or paying the wrong amount of child support.
You can tell us by:
- updating your child support details in myIR
- calling us.
Update my child support details
Cancelling child support
If you are the receiving carer you can choose to cancel child support. Only the receiving carer can ask for this. If there is recognised care in place, all carers must agree to cancel.
You can cancel your child support in myIR or by calling us.
Child support cannot be cancelled if the receiving carer gets a sole parent rate of benefit or the Unsupported Child’s Benefit for the child
If you're owed child support money and do not want it collected, you can let us know. This is only an option if you were not receiving a sole parent rate of benefit or an Unsupported Child's Benefit at the time the child support is owed. You can talk to us if you're unsure.
If you change your mind
If you change your mind after you have stopped child support, you’ll need to reapply. We'll restart your child support from the date we get the new application.
If you have asked us not to collect child support that was owed to you, you cannot later ask us to collect it. However, you can apply through the family court to have it collected.
