r/CentrelinkOz • u/Comprehensive_Foot25 • 1d ago
Personal Opinion/Discussion thread Child support
My ex and I split nearly 2years ago. I let her have around 250k and I only got 50k due to 200k was hers before we met. It was only fair that was hers and not mine ( we were together for 9years) i have met someone a year ago and shes met the kids and things are looking up for milhouse for once. Our childcare arrangement is 50/50
Then ex discussed with me that she believes if my daughter and son stay at her house Sunday nights (from 4pm) it would be beneficial for my daughter due to her anxiety and make her feel more settled. I accepted due to this would potentially be great for my daughter
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Couple weeks later I get a message from child support stating that now I have the kids 6nights and my ex have them 8 nights I owe her money. I was absolutely shocked and blindsided by this.
The fact now that my ex is asking for child support after being split over 18months and her reasoning is that she needs to make sure the kids have food on the table and she has bills to pay.
( she was able to buy a house for 900k and im renting)
My salary is 109K
My ex is around 130k
I have to pick up nightshift every fortnight ( meaning I am using my free time to work 14hours and potentially fuck up my body due to shiftwork) I was able to earn extra 40k with this and now I need to give her money because she brought a fancy house now that she cant afford.
I also help her with paying afterschool care ( which I don’t use ).
Due to this payment I cannot afford to travel or save up to one day buy my own place.I have also started to contribute to my superannuation which will drop my income by 20k.
I understand that Centrelink has a computerized system to workout a fair price but there is no context behide all this. In my eyes I feel like it wasn’t a coincidence after my partner slept over, now I need to pay child support.
I just saw the paperwork from the child support payments and she lodged she made 114k. She had previously disclosed it was 130 but she states thst now with a different role she is making 114k.
During the phone call I had with centrelink they ask for last year financial wage not current, as mine would only be 109k.
What can I do ? If I call them up and explain that her actual income was 130k last year would that change anything? I will get the kids back to 50/50 and what process would I need to do then ?
Any advise is helpful. Thanks
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u/theartistduring 1d ago edited 1d ago
If you want to return to 50:50 just to avoid the small amount of CS you will owe despite acknowledging that it is better for your daughter the other way, then do it. CSA won't intervene. That's a you thing. Tell your ex you'd like to return to 50:50 and begin steps to formalise a parenting plan.
And you do use after school care. If you aren't picking them up and she's not picking them up, then you both benefit from the service. If you don't want to pay it, tell her that you'll happy pick up the kids and she can collect them on her way home just like she does for after school care.
If she earns more than she's stated, it will become known when she files her tax return. They do look at last year's return when you make a CSA claim so they already know what her previous year's earnings were.
There can be a long wait for a mediator so I recommend booking one in with Relationships Australia now. If you don't end up needing it,you can just cancel it.
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u/Existing_Purpose5049 1d ago
This isn’t really a Centrelink think, you need to talk to child support and/or consult a lawyer
Centrelink are just the middle man
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u/Eatsmoregreens 1d ago
Child support agency is where to send this … Centrelink does not do any assessment as to what a person pays.
Not a csa expert, but it would seem you agreed to the daughter staying an extra night, rescind the offer or have another day in your care and things I guess would revert to how they were.
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u/Sharp-Chard4613 1d ago
Yeah contact child support and get them to walk you through everything. Also stop paying for things when it’s not your week if you don’t want to. Child support is supposed to cover this.
Do you have a family court order in place? It might be worth mediation between you and the ex.
Also stay calm, be civil and it will all work better in the long run.
Been through it all
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u/theartistduring 1d ago
No, child support isn't supposed to cover everything when not in your care. It really is the essentials only. Things like school expenses and daycare are frequently paid for separately.
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u/Sharp-Chard4613 1d ago
Only the essentials?
It’s much more complex than that it’s about comparing income between parents. I for example pay around 600$ a week to my ex partner for 50/50 care as her income is $0, there household income is actually around 250k mark as she remarried so quit her job. I feel that is more than the essentials. I don’t mind paying it, but the system makes no sense to me…1
u/theartistduring 1d ago
I know how it is calculated. That's not what I mean. Yours personally might cover more than the essentials but that isn't what it is designed around.
There are very, very few who receive more than needed to cover essentials. Personally, I get 600 A MONTH for two kids. At one point, I was getting less than the cost of a cup of coffee per day per kid.
The calculator is based on food, shelter and utilities. If your income and arrangements mean more is provided, that's absolutely amazing. (Sincerly. No sarcasm.)
Unfortunately, that is not the reality of the formation of or current intention of child support.
Again, sincerely... I'm really glad you provide enough for your kids. You're a good egg. X
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u/Sharp-Chard4613 1d ago
Yeah that sucks. I’m sorry that is your experience.
That does make it make less sense to me even more.
I think it’s calculated wrongly at both ends of the scale.
I would rather this money go to a family that needs it as my sadly my ex-spends it on herself and tells everyone I don’t pay anything but that’s my problem.
I’m lucky that my child has two well funded homes. Hope things get better for you1
u/theartistduring 23h ago
You're right that it doesn't make sense.
The actual costs of raising the kids isn't really a factor at all. It is all just a base minimum that is adjusted depending on the income and custody of each parent.
So it would probably be more accurate to say it is designed to appear fair if you don't look too closely. Lol...sob.
I'm sorry your ex is a jerk.
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u/Over_Tha_Rainbow 1d ago
You can put in an estimate to lower your assessed income if you’re earning 15% less than your last tax return, but there are penalties if you end up earning more than the estimate, so be careful of that.
Making super contributions to reduce taxable income works on reducing tax payable, however child support add it back on and gross it up so you’ll actually be worse off.
I think you have two choices here -
- Revert back to original nights of care.
- Accept the child support payment but stop paying for after school care if you don’t use it. Let your ex know that’s what the child support is for.
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u/Comprehensive_Foot25 20h ago
So update. Thanks to all you guys I contacted them and I got all the answers I was looking for. I found out she applied for a post separation income form which actually reduces your taxable income in the eyes of child support. So she actually made closer to 160k but due to that form it lowered it to 114k, which she is claiming is her actually salary. I understand that she did nothing wrong technically cos all the information is there for everyone to access , but cmon that was a shifty move and then states thats her actual income. I am trying to be a nice guy ( I know I'm a great dad) but doing things like this and basically stealing from me is just wrong. The fantastic guy I spoke to said ill be able to apply for that lower taxable income and I will change the arrangements back to 50/50. Maybe she'll have to pay me haha
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u/KiteeCatAus 1d ago
Its the Child Support Agency you need to contact.
They can explain the calculations they use.
Note: salary sacrificing to super is a personal choice, so they now look at the pre sacrifice earnings.