Paying or receiving child support

In Australia, parents have a legal responsibility to financially support their children, whether they are biological, adoptive or same sex parents.

Parents can make an agreement about child support or they can apply toServices Australiafor an administrative assessment.

When you need legal advice

Get legal advice if you:

  • have a dispute about child support payments
  • are caring for a child, you aren’t the parent and you want to claim child support.

How to get legal advice

Parental responsibility to financially support children

The law says parents must financially support their children, no matter what might have happened between the parents. This responsibility applies to biological, adoptive or same-sex parents. Even if a parent has no contact with their child, they are still financially responsible for them.

This financial responsibility has priority over any other commitments the parents have other than those needed to support:

  • themselves
  • their other children
  • anyone else they are looking after.

If there is a dispute about who a child’s father is, see proof of parentage.

Child support for same-sex parents

Same-sex parents have the same financial obligations for supporting their children as heterosexual couples.

A same-sex couple will usually be considered a child’s parents if:

  • they have adopted the child
  • the child was born from an artificial conception procedure while the parents were married or in a de facto relationship
  • the child was born from a surrogacy arrangement and a court had made an order declaring the couple are the parents.

You may be entitled to child support payments or be required to pay child support if you have children from a same-sex relationship.

Child support for non-parent carers

Sometimes children live with or are cared for by people other than their parents, such as a legal guardian, grandparent or other family member.

If you care for a child and you’re not the parent, you may be able to claim child support from both parents of the child.

How to get legal advice

We can give legal advice about child support matters.

Contact us

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Related information

Disclaimer: This content is for general purposes only and not legal advice. If you have a legal problem, please contact us or speak to a lawyer. View our full disclaimer.

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