Private child support arrangements
Choose the agreement form after you understand the consequences.
A private arrangement can offer flexibility or certainty. The right legal form, its relationship to an assessment, and the way it can end all depend on the circumstances.
General information Reviewed Independent, non-government
Decision map
Four paths that should not be collapsed into “a private agreement”
Start by identifying what will establish the child support obligation. Decide how payments will be collected only after that.
Self-managed arrangement
The parents or carers decide the amount, timing and payment method without asking Services Australia to assess or accept the arrangement.
- No assessment or acceptance is required
- The parties manage records and missed payments
- Family Tax Benefit consequences may need checking
A private note or conversation is not automatically a statutory child support agreement.
Child support assessment
Services Australia applies the child support law to work out an administrative assessment.
- The formula establishes the amount
- Payments may use Private Collect or Child Support Collect
- Administrative review paths apply to eligible decisions
This page uses “Formal Assessment” only as shorthand for a child support assessment through Services Australia.
Limited agreement
A written, signed agreement accepted by Services Australia and built on an assessment already in force.
- No mandatory independent legal advice
- The applicable amount must be at least the assessed amount
- Specific review and exit routes apply
It is formal once accepted, but it is not a lighter version of a binding agreement.
Binding agreement
A written, signed agreement with prescribed independent legal advice and certificates for every party.
- Can set an amount above or below an assessment
- An assessment is generally not required first
- Change and exit routes are deliberately narrow
Each party needs separate, independent legal advice before signing.
Then choose how payment is handled
Private Collect or Child Support Collect
This choice does not create a third agreement type. It determines whether the parties transfer payments directly or Services Australia collects and transfers the payable amount.
Check Private Collect with Services AustraliaCompare
Limited and binding agreements create different commitments
Both are formal child support agreements once accepted. The important differences are the entry requirements, relationship to an assessment, and exit rules.
Limited agreement
Suits terms that meet the applicable assessed baseline and can operate within the limited-agreement rules.
- Assessment first
- Required when the acceptance application is received.
- Independent advice
- Not legally required, but either party may still seek it.
- Amount
- Must satisfy the applicable “at least the assessment” test.
- Change
- Cannot be varied; it must be ended through an available route and replaced.
- Exit
- Includes specific routes after three years and after certain notional assessment changes, as well as agreement or court pathways.
- Collection
- Private Collect or Child Support Collect may be chosen after acceptance.
Binding agreement
Can depart from an assessed amount, but requires prescribed advice and has deliberately narrow ways to change or end.
- Assessment first
- Generally not required; qualifying lump-sum provisions are an exception.
- Independent advice
- Required for every party before signing, with prescribed statements and certificates.
- Amount
- May be above or below an assessed amount if the legal requirements are met.
- Change
- Cannot be varied; changing the agreement requires a valid ending and replacement.
- Exit
- No general three-year unilateral exit. Termination and court set-aside routes are specific and conditional.
- Collection
- Private Collect or Child Support Collect may be chosen after acceptance.
Payment terms
What might an agreement deal with?
The law recognises particular kinds of child support provisions. The examples below are orientation, not a drafting checklist.
Regular payments
Periodic amounts paid to the other parent, carer, bank account or an agent.
Specified expenses
Non-periodic support such as school fees, with careful wording about whether and how it reduces the assessed annual rate.
Qualifying lump sums
A specialist binding-agreement provision with an assessment, minimum-value and crediting requirements.
Other support
Goods, services or benefits may sit in addition to an assessment and may not be collectible or enforceable by the Registrar.
Paying a school, insurer or other third party does not by itself reduce an assessed liability. The legal category and wording determine the effect. AusChildSupport cannot test proposed clauses or tell you how to draft them.
Before agreeing
Ask whether the arrangement still works when the facts change
A useful agreement conversation looks beyond today's amount and tests the mechanics, records and future pressure points.
Income
What happens if either person’s income becomes irregular or changes materially?
Care
How will a change in care be identified, recorded and reflected?
Expenses
Which costs are included, who approves them, and how are invoices handled?
Payment
What is due, when, by which method, and what records will both people keep?
Duration
When should the arrangement begin, end or be reconsidered?
Disagreement
What practical process applies if the wording or payment history is disputed?
Understanding
Does each person understand the consequences, including Family Tax Benefit effects?
Power and safety
Can each person decide freely, communicate safely and manage direct payments without pressure?
Practical pathway
Move from baseline to administration without skipping the legal choice
The order can differ by circumstances. This sequence identifies the decisions that usually need to be made, not a mandatory process for every family.
- 01
Understand the baseline
Work out whether you are comparing an informal arrangement, an assessment, or a statutory agreement. A private Estimate can help with the formula starting point, but it is not an assessment.
- 02
Choose the legal path
A limited agreement needs an assessment first. A binding agreement requires independent legal advice for every party before signing.
- 03
Test the future, not only today
Consider income, care, school costs, health costs, payment timing, duration, records and what should happen if circumstances change.
- 04
Document the intended effect
The legal category and precise wording determine whether a payment changes the assessed rate, is credited against it, or sits in addition to it.
- 05
Complete the required formalities
Sign the correct documents, keep identical copies and obtain the required advice statements and certificates for a binding agreement.
- 06
Apply for acceptance
Either party can ask Services Australia to accept a limited or binding agreement. Signing alone does not give it administrative effect under the child support legislation.
- 07
Choose collection and keep records
Private Collect and Child Support Collect are separate choices about payment handling. Report care and other relevant changes promptly.
Understand the formula baseline
Begin with an Estimate, then keep its limits visible
An AusChildSupport Estimate can show what the statutory formula may produce from the income, care and family details entered. That can make the starting point more concrete before a discussion.
An Estimate is not a child support assessment, a notional assessment, legal advice, or a view on whether an agreement is suitable.
Professional advice
Advice may matter before the document feels urgent
Independent legal advice is mandatory for a binding agreement. It may also be useful where there is a power imbalance, unusual payment structure, disputed facts, significant assets, uncertain care, overseas circumstances, or concern about enforcement or exit.
Check when legal advice may helpOfficial sources
Inspect the law and administrative guidance behind this page
Reviewed 29 July 2026 against legislation and official guidance current from 1 July 2026. Rules and administrative processes can change.
What this page cannot decide
This page does not create an agreement, assess whether proposed terms are valid, decide disputed facts, calculate Family Tax Benefit effects, recommend an outcome, or provide legal or financial advice. Services Australia must accept a limited or binding agreement before it has effect under the child support legislation.
For family-law firms
A clearer starting point for a child support conversation
AusChildSupport for Firms provides a maintained, firm-branded Estimate-first client journey. A prospective client can understand a formula baseline and structured guidance before choosing whether to request contact with the firm.
It is not a referral marketplace, generic calculator widget, CRM or legal-advice service. The firm retains the legal relationship and professional decisions.
See AusChildSupport for FirmsFocused FAQs
Questions that change the path
Short answers to the distinctions most likely to affect the next step.
01Is Private Collect a type of child support agreement?
No. Private Collect is a collection method. The amount must first be set by a child support assessment, an accepted child support agreement or a registered court order. The parents then transfer payments directly.
02Do I need a child support assessment before making an agreement?
A limited child support agreement needs an administrative assessment to be in force when Services Australia receives the acceptance application. A binding agreement generally does not, although special rules apply to lump-sum provisions.
03Can an accepted child support agreement be changed?
Limited and binding child support agreements cannot simply be varied. The agreement may already contain terms that respond to a future event, but changing the agreement itself generally requires ending it through an available legal route and replacing it.
04Can an agreement cover school fees or health insurance?
An agreement may address non-periodic expenses and other benefits. Whether a payment reduces the assessed liability depends on the legal category and the wording used. Paying an expense directly does not automatically create a credit.
05Does AusChildSupport prepare or review agreements?
No. AusChildSupport provides general information and a private formula Estimate. It does not draft agreements, assess their validity, advise either parent or provide a lawyer-matching service.