Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsWhat is a child support period?
(1) A child support period is a period that:
(a) starts at a time described in subsection (2); and
(b) ends at the time described in subsection (3) that occurs soonest after the start of the period.
Note: Subsections (5) to (8) provide some examples of child support periods. The examples are not exhaustive: see section 15AD of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .
When does a child support period start?
(2) Each of the following times is the start of a child support period:
(a) the beginning of the day on which an application for an administrative assessment of the child support payable for a child is properly made under Part 4;
(b) the beginning of the day mentioned in paragraph 93(1)(g) (child support payable under a child support agreement accepted by Registrar);
(c) the start of the first day for which a child support agreement described in section 34B is to affect the rate of child support payable for a child;
(d) immediately after the end of the preceding child support period that relates to child support payable for the child (whether it was a period starting as described in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) or this paragraph).
Note: Despite paragraph (2)(a), a child support period might not start if a non - parent carer applies for an administrative assessment of child support during a child support period (see section 40B).
End of the child support period
(3) The child support period ends at whichever of the following times occurs soonest after the start of the period:
(a) the time 15 months after the period started;
(b) the end of the calendar month during which the Registrar makes an assessment relating to the annual rate of child support payable for the child as required by section 34A (assessment when new tax figure is available);
(c) the time immediately before the day mentioned in paragraph 93(1)(g) (child support payable under a child support agreement accepted by Registrar);
(d) the end of the day immediately before the first day for which a child support agreement described in section 34B is to affect the rate of child support payable for the child.
Examples
(4) Subsections (5), (6), (7) and (8) merely give a series of examples of the operation of the rules in subsections (1), (2) and (3). The examples involve Mary and Peter. Mary cares for their child and, on 8 June 2000, makes an application under Part 4 and receives a child support assessment for Peter to pay her child support for the child.
Example--initial child support period resulting from application under Part 4
(5) On 20 October 2000, the Registrar makes a new administrative assessment based on an assessment under the income tax law of Peter's taxable income for the 1999 - 2000 year of income (as required by section 34A). The first child support period starts on 8 June 2000 and ends at the end of 31 October 2000, and the second starts on 1 November 2000.
Example--end of child support period if new taxable income not available within 15 months
(6) If no assessment of the taxable income of Mary or Peter for the 1999 - 2000 or the 2000 - 2001 year of income had been made under the income tax law before the end of 7 September 2001, the first child support period would start on 8 June 2000 and end at the end of 7 September 2001 (15 months after it started).
Example--child support agreement ends existing child support period and starts a new one
(7) If Mary and Peter make a child support agreement to influence the annual rate of child support on and after 15 September 2000:
(a) the child support period that started on 8 June 2000 ends at the end of 14 September 2000; and
(b) a new child support period starts on 15 September 2000.
Example--child support period for child support agreement setting child support rate lasts 15 months
(8) If the child support agreement set the rate of child support payable for the next 2 years (so section 34A did not require the Registrar to make an administrative assessment on 20 October 2000 as described in subsection (5)), the child support period that started on 15 September 2000 would end 15 months later at the end of 14 December 2001 (unless Mary and Peter made another child support agreement to affect the rate of child support payable for a day before 15 December 2001).