Applying for Child Support collection and effect on Family Tax Benefit (FTB) 277-51040010

Customers can ask Child Support to collect child support payments from the paying parent if they:

• have a current child support assessment
• have a registered child support agreement
• have a court order or court registered agreement for child support or spousal maintenance

Customers are to contact Child Support directly, either online or by phone, to apply for a child support assessment. Refer the customer to Child Support.

A customer may apply for a child support assessment or register a court order or court registered agreement at the same time. Customers need to have registered a child support agreement before applying for collection in relation to the agreement.

FTB customers may apply for Child Support collection if they are unable to collect their full child support entitlement privately. Customers are not obliged to apply for collection if they are privately collecting their child support entitlement. For further information, see Family Tax Benefit (FTB) customer not receiving full child support entitlement privately.

Child Support will contact the paying parent to arrange payment of child support.

If a customer is owed child support arrears, they may ask Child Support to collect the amount owed at the same time they apply for collection. Generally, Child Support will only collect arrears in respect of the 3 month period immediately before they transfer to Child Support collect. If Child Support accepts the customer's request to collect arrears for a private collect period, the customer should contact Centrelink as the arrears period needs to be manually updated to show it is a Child Support collect period. This will prevent maintenance income from being 'double counted' for the arrears period. See Centrelink action when a Child Support collection customer is owed or receives child support arrears.

For FTB instalment customers that are Child Support collect, annual maintenance income is estimated during the financial year using one of two methods, the:

• Modified Entitlement Method - this is the default method
• Disbursement Method - customers not receiving their full child support entitlement may want this method to be used so their ongoing FTB Part A rate is not based on their child support entitlement amount

Child Support collect customers may change the assessment method being used to estimate their maintenance income at any time.

At FTB reconciliation after the end of the financial year, child support disbursements are used to work out maintenance income for Child Support collect period. The customer may benefit from the Maintenance Income Credit (MIC) during FTB reconciliation.