Relevant period for maintenance for Maintenance Income Test (MIT) 277-51080040

This is the period in the financial year that the customer (or their current partner) is entitled to child support from a person.

The relevant period does not include any period when the customer is not entitled to receive maintenance.

For example, if a couple separates part way through the financial year, the relevant period would not include the period before separation.

If no maintenance income is received in a financial year for Child Support collect customers, even if a liability exists, there is no relevant period.

If voluntary child support is received in a year where no child support liability exists, the relevant period starts when the voluntary child support is received and ends when the last payment is received.

Generally, the relevant period starts from the beginning of the financial year or the date the child support entitlement commences, whichever is later.

For example, if a Child Support entitlement continued from the previous financial year, the relevant period would start from 1 July. If a Child Support assessment or Court Order started from 1 February, this would be the start of a customer's relevant period.

If an initial Child Support assessment is backdated, the start day of the assessment is used to work out the customer's relevant period. Voluntary maintenance received before liability commences will start the relevant period and will continue until the liability commences, but only if in the intervening period the customer remains entitled to child support for example, they did not reconcile or child did not leave care.

If voluntary maintenance is received in a year where no child support liability exists, the relevant period starts when the voluntary maintenance is received and ends when the last payment is received.

During the financial year, to work out a customer's annual child support amount, it is assumed the customer's relevant period will continue until the end of the financial year.

It ends earlier if the customer ceases to be entitled to child support from the payer.

If voluntary maintenance is received in a year where no child support liability exists, the relevant period starts when the voluntary maintenance is received and ends when the last payment is received.

The following events end the relevant period:

• case ended by Child Support
• death of last child in child support case
• last child turns 18 if the child completed year 12 or equivalent prior to turning 18
• last child is aged 18 or over and reaches the last day of school in the year the child turns 18 (as determined by Child Support)
• last child leaves the customer's care
• last child in actual care less than 35%
• payee request to end case because payee and payer reconcile
• payee request to end case because they no longer believe the payer is a parent of the child
• death of payee or payer

A payment received under child support liability after 1 of the above events will extend the relevant period. Exception: the relevant period is not extended (and maintenance income is not assessed) after the payee and payer reconcile or after the death of the payee or payer.

If none of the above events occur in the financial year, the relevant period ends on 30 June.

Where the customer receives child support from more than 1 paying parent, there is a separate relevant period for each entitlement group. Each entitlement may start and finish at different times. The annualised maintenance income for each entitlement group is added together and the result is used to assess FTB Part A entitlement.

To work out a customer's correct FTB Part A rate at reconciliation, maintenance income in respect of each entitlement group is annualised according to the formula:

Annualised amount = total maintenance income from payer x 365 / days in relevant period or periods.

This annualised amount is then used to assess the rate of FTB Part A payable to the customer.

If there is more than 1 entitlement group, the annualised maintenance income for each entitlement group is added together and the result is used to reduce FTB Part A entitlement for days in the financial year where the relevant periods overlap.

The relevant period ends when the last child in the group turns 18 if that child completed year 12 or an equivalent course before their 18th birthday.

If the child is in full-time secondary study when they turn 18, the relevant period ends on the child's last day of school in the year the child turns 18 (as determined by Child Support).

A new relevant period commences if voluntary child support is paid after the last day of school in the year the child turns 18.

When the last child leaves the customer’s care, the relevant period ends. If the child returns to the care of the customer within the same financial year, a new relevant period commences. In this circumstance, although there are 2 relevant periods, there is no need to do a separate calculation for each period.

Maintenance income in respect of the entitlement group would be annualised according to the formula:

Annualised amount = total maintenance income from payer x 365 / number of days in the relevant periods.