Child Support collection customer advises Centrelink of direct payments from paying parent (Non-agency payment) 277-51130100

FTB customers who have asked Child Support to collect their ongoing child support payments, or who are private collect and have arrears owing for a previous Child Support collect period, may need to advise Child Support when they receive a direct payment from the same paying parent. These are known as Non-agency payments (NAP).

FTB customers need to advise details of any NAPs to Child Support. Child Support encourages customers to make their own arrangements for receiving child support and a NAP may be assessed as part of the paying parent's child support liability.

Child Support will decide whether or not to record the child support separately to the customer's existing child support entitlement. Any amount recorded by Child Support will be transferred to Centrelink electronically and assessed as part of the customer’s annual maintenance income.

For FTB purposes, maintenance income is assessed in the financial year it is received.

For ongoing FTB payments, a NAP is included as maintenance income under the Disbursement Method for a Child Support collection customer. It is included in the year to date amount and in the amount for the current/ previous month to estimate annual maintenance income for the rest of the financial year. At FTB reconciliation, the NAP is included as annual maintenance income.

Generally, the NAP amount should not be recorded manually by Service Officers. However, if the value of the NAP is greater than $1,500 and it is to be credited towards future child support liability, it may be treated as capitalised maintenance. Capitalised maintenance (a lump sum payment or transfer of asset over $1,500 in value) must be assessed and recorded by Centrelink.

NAPs can be described as direct payments or prescribed payments. FTB customers need to advise both of these to Child Support. For FTB, they are both treated the same.

These can only be credited if both parents agree that the payment was made in lieu of child support. They can be either:

• a direct payment such as cash, clothes, transfer of property rights, or providing a service such as lawn mowing or bookkeeping
• third party payments made to parties on behalf of the other parent. Examples include payments for a holiday, sports and recreation, music and dance lessons

• These are certain payments that can be credited as child support even if the parent receiving child support doesn’t agree that the payment was in lieu of child support
• As long as the paying parent pays 70% of their normal monthly child support payment on time, a maximum of 30% of the monthly payment can be credited in this way
• Child Support will only credit prescribed payments if the paying parent has less than 14% care (Regular Care Child)
• They can be for child care costs, school fees, school uniform and book fees, essential medical and dental items, and other parent’s share of rent, mortgage, utilities and rates, or some motor vehicle costs

NAPs are assessed in the financial year they are received based on the information received from Child Support via the data exchange. Occasionally, a NAP may show on the Centrelink system as a lump sum when it was actually received over several financial years. As the Centrelink system reflects what has been recorded by Child Support, the NAP will be assessed based on the received date as advised by Child Support.

If a customer advises that a Non-agency payment was actually received over more than 1 financial year, or the customer advises that a NAP has been cancelled by Child Support, a Fast Note should be sent to the Child Support Unit (region 'CSJ') for follow-up.