Child Support Objections 277-09170000

An objection is a formal review for customers who believe Child Support made a mistake or applied the law incorrectly. Customers must lodge most objections in writing.

An Objection Officer not involved in the original decision conducts the review. The Objection Officer will:

• reconsider the facts, law and policy aspects of the original decision, and
• determine the correct and/or preferable decision

There are 3 possible outcomes of an objection:

• Disallowed
• Allowed, or
• Allowed in part (also known as partly allowed)

A customer can object to decisions made by a Child Support officer but cannot object to the Child Support legislation.

For example, a customer can object to a decision to accept or not accept an estimate from either party. However, they cannot object to a decision about presumption of parentage. In these cases, the Registrar may be able to correct the error without using the objection process.

Since 1 July 2010, customers can object to any care percentage decision made by Child Support or Family Assistance. For WA ex-nups the relevant date is 3 March 2011. The customer can lodge the objection over the phone or in writing. If a customer raises multiple issues, they can only lodge the objection to a care percentage decision over the phone.

Objections to care percentage decisions where the notification date was before the relevant date follow the same process as for other objections.

A customer must lodge their objection within 28 days of being notified of the decision. Customers living in a reciprocating jurisdiction have 90 days to lodge an objection. To apply outside this period, the customer must apply for an extension of time. They must give reasons why they didn’t lodge the objection in time.

The objection process can take up to 60 days. The time frame is 120 days for customers in reciprocating jurisdictions. It requires the open exchange of information between all parties to the objection.

A different section of legislation (Part 6A) applies to objections to Change of Assessment decisions. A different team within Child Support processes Part 6A applications.

If the objection relates to a liability issued by an overseas authority, transmit the objection to the relevant overseas authority.

General Objections Service Officer (SO4)

• to consider and either grant or refuse applications for extensions of time to object to decisions
• to consider and allow (in whole or part) or disallow an objection to a decision

General Objections Service Officer (SO5)

• to consider - and either grant or refuse - applications for extensions of time to object to decisions
• to consider and allow (in whole or part) or disallow an objection to a decision
• allow or disallow an objection in relation to a care percentage determined pursuant to s52 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act

Part 6A Objections Service Officer (SO6)

• as per Service Officers (SO4) and (SO5) above
• to consider and disallow an objection to a COA decision
• to consider and allow (in whole or part) an objection to a COA decision
• to make a new Part 6A decision when allowing (in whole or part) an objection to a COA decision (where all parties were involved prior to the original decision being made)