Child support questions, answered clearly.

It is a private, indicative calculation based on the details you enter. It can help you understand how income, care, children and case structure may shape a result.

It is not a Services Australia Formal Assessment, legal advice or financial advice, and it cannot decide disputed facts or evidence. Compare an Estimate with a Formal Assessment ↗.

No. AusChildSupport is an independent service, not a government service. Services Australia makes and administers Formal Assessments using the information and evidence available to it.

An AusChildSupport Estimate does not create, replace or change a Formal Assessment. For official action, visit Services Australia’s child support assessment information ↗.

Start with the parents’ relevant income information, each child’s age and the care pattern for each child. Other dependent children or child support cases can also matter.

The quality of the Estimate depends on the quality and completeness of those inputs. If you are unsure which figures belong in the calculation, read how child support is calculated ↗ before relying on a scenario.

No login, name or direct contact details are required for the ordinary public calculator. Its income, care and family inputs are processed in your browser.

Features that send, save or share information have separate privacy and consent details. Review those before choosing them. See the calculator’s privacy model ↗.

Income, care, the children’s ages and relevant family or case structure all matter. The formula works from both parents’ child support incomes, each parent’s care percentage and the costs of the children.

Services Australia applies the formula in Australian law and may use verified or administratively determined information. Read the official assessment overview ↗.

Adjusted taxable income, often called ATI, is the income measure used for child support. It starts with taxable income and can include specified adjustments.

It is not always the same as salary, take-home pay, business turnover or the amount shown on one payslip. Check how Services Australia uses income ↗.

A person’s percentage of care affects the share of a child’s costs attributed to them. Care is more than a label: Services Australia generally determines it from the actual care arrangements and available evidence.

An Estimate can model the care information entered but cannot determine disputed care. Read the DSS basics of care ↗.

Yes. The number and ages of children can affect the costs used by the formula. Relevant dependent children, children in other child support cases and non-parent carers can change which formula pathway applies or how income and costs are shared.

Use complete case details in an Estimate and treat complex or overlapping cases cautiously. See what the calculator covers ↗.

You can update an AusChildSupport scenario to understand the possible effect, but that does not update your case. Tell Services Australia promptly if you have a Formal Assessment.

Services Australia says some income changes cannot be backdated and an official income estimate is accepted only in certain circumstances. Check the current official options ↗.

Model the new pattern if you want to understand it, then report a real change to Services Australia promptly if it may affect a Formal Assessment.

Services Australia decides the care percentage for official purposes and may consider actual care, agreements, plans, orders and evidence. Read about changing care arrangements ↗.

Self-employment does not make business turnover, company revenue, drawings, retained profits, cash flow or assets automatically equal to child support income. The formula generally starts with adjusted taxable income.

Services Australia may examine income, property, financial resources or earning capacity through a case-specific process where special circumstances are raised. Read the official special-circumstances guidance ↗.

Sometimes. Services Australia has a Change of Assessment process for defined reasons in special circumstances. It considers evidence and whether a change would be fair to both parents and the child.

A calculator cannot decide whether the process applies or predict its outcome. Services Australia recommends contacting it before applying. Review the official process ↗.

For a formula assessment, Services Australia makes the Formal Assessment. An accepted child support agreement or court order can also set an amount in the circumstances allowed by law.

AusChildSupport only provides an indicative Estimate and cannot create or enforce a liability. Go to Services Australia for an assessment ↗.

With Private Collect, parents arrange and keep records of payments themselves. With Child Support Collect, Services Australia manages collection and transfers money it receives.

The collection choice is separate from how the amount was set, and it can affect practical responsibilities and Family Tax Benefit. Compare the official collection options ↗.

Parents may be able to use a child support agreement or other permitted arrangement, but the legal requirements and effects depend on the type. An Estimate is only a comparison point; it does not create an agreement.

Binding child support agreements require independent legal advice for each party. See when legal advice may help ↗.

Check the assessment notice and contact Services Australia promptly. If you disagree because information was wrong or old, facts were missed or the law was not applied correctly, an objection may be available.

Time limits can apply, so use current official guidance rather than relying on a calculator result. Read about your child support rights ↗.

No. An objection asks Services Australia to review a decision it has made. A Change of Assessment asks it to consider defined reasons in special circumstances. A complaint or feedback is different again.

The right pathway depends on the issue and a calculator cannot choose it for you. Start with Services Australia’s disagreement overview ↗.

Legal advice may help where an agreement, court process, parentage issue, disputed evidence, overseas arrangement, enforcement question or significant financial complexity could affect your rights.

Routine assessment, collection and account questions can often begin with Services Australia. Review the legal-help pathways ↗.

Put safety before the process. You do not need to disclose sensitive circumstances here. Services Australia says you can ask a social worker for support if seeking or collecting child support creates risk.

For confidential support, contact 1800RESPECT ↗ on 1800 737 732, by text on 0458 737 732 or online. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

Potentially. Under Child Support Collect, Services Australia manages payment collection and you can speak with it about child support rather than arranging each payment directly.

Services Australia also offers social work support where risk or family violence makes collection difficult. Compare collection options safely ↗.

Not when you use the ordinary public calculator. Making an Estimate does not require the other parent’s contact details and does not contact them.

If you later choose a separate feature that sends, saves or shares information, read the displayed recipient, privacy and consent details before continuing. Inspect the privacy model ↗.

Use Services Australia for a Formal Assessment, case management, collection, official decisions or account-specific action.

Use AusChildSupport Contact Support ↗ for help using the calculator or understanding the service—not for managing a Services Australia case or receiving legal advice. You can also browse the Reference Library ↗.