Child support and spousal maintenance
These are two separate things that people often run together. Child support is money for a child, worked out by Services Australia under a formula. Spousal maintenance is money for an adult who cannot support themselves, and it is decided under the Family Law Act.
You can be entitled to one and not the other. They are assessed differently, claimed differently and argued differently, and a matter that goes wrong usually went wrong because the two were treated as one.
What we help with
Situations we act in
We are commonly asked to help with:
- A child support assessment that does not reflect what the other parent actually earns
- Applying for a change of assessment where there are special circumstances
- Negotiating a limited or binding child support agreement
- Independent legal advice on a binding child support agreement someone else has drafted
- School fees, medical costs and other expenses the formula does not cover
- Maintenance for a child over 18 who is still studying or who has a disability
- Spousal maintenance after separation, including where one partner left work to raise children
- Urgent maintenance where someone has been left with no income at all
How we approach it
How Ben and Troy run a child support and spousal maintenance matter
Most of the value here is in knowing which route to take before you start.
- Services Australia or the court, not both at random
- Child support is administrative. Spousal maintenance and adult child maintenance are court applications. Bringing the wrong one is a common and avoidable expense, and we will tell you at the first conversation which forum your problem belongs in.
- An assessment reflects the income it is given
- The formula runs on each parent’s adjusted taxable income and on the care each provides. Where reported income does not match how someone is living, the answer is usually a change of assessment application rather than an argument, and it needs evidence rather than suspicion.
- Spousal maintenance is a threshold, not an entitlement
- The question is whether one person cannot adequately support themselves and whether the other has the capacity to help. There is no formula and no automatic payment. We will be straight with you about which side of that line you are likely to fall.
- Agreements trade flexibility for certainty
- A binding child support agreement locks in an amount and takes the formula out of the picture, which is useful when income is unpredictable and painful when circumstances change. Ending one is deliberately difficult. That is worth understanding before signing, not after.
Typical process
What usually happens, step by step
Every matter differs, but the shape is usually this.
- 01
Working out which claim you actually have
We separate the child support question from the maintenance question, and identify which is worth pursuing and in which forum.
- 02
The financial picture
Income, tax returns, business structures, living expenses and, for maintenance, what you reasonably need. For a change of assessment or a maintenance application this evidence is the case.
- 03
Application or agreement
That may be a change of assessment through Services Australia, a child support agreement negotiated between you, or an application to the court for spousal or adult child maintenance.
- 04
Review when things change
Care arrangements shift, incomes rise and fall, children finish school. Assessments follow those changes; agreements often do not. It is worth revisiting either when something significant moves.
Questions
Common questions
What is the difference between child support and spousal maintenance?
How is child support worked out?
The other parent’s income does not reflect how they live. What can I do?
Does child support cover school fees and orthodontics?
Am I entitled to spousal maintenance?
Can I get support for a child who has turned 18?
Do we need lawyers for a child support agreement?
Is there a deadline for spousal maintenance?
Who acts for you
Ben Vincent
Family lawyer and co-founder
Accredited Specialist in Family Law
Ben@vincentbroussard.com.auFull profile
Related
- Property settlementsDividing property, superannuation and debt, and working out what a fair split looks like.
- Parenting and childrenWhere the children live, how time is shared, and what happens when you cannot agree.
- Divorce and separationThe formal steps of ending a marriage, and the decisions that need to be made alongside it.
Reviewed by Ben Vincent on .
This page is general information about family law in Victoria. It is not legal advice and it does not take your circumstances into account. Speak with a family lawyer before acting on it.