The Guides to Social Policy Law is a collection of publications designed to assist decision makers administering social policy law. The information contained in this publication is intended only as a guide to relevant legislation/policy. The information is accurate as at the date listed at the bottom of the page, but may be subject to change. To discuss individual circumstances please contact Services Australia.

3.5.2 Post-separation income special circumstances

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Whether there are special circumstances to justify backdating the exclusion of additional income will depend on the facts in each particular case. Generally the Registrar will be satisfied special circumstances exist where the parent (1.1.P.10) was prevented from applying earlier but did apply in a timely way once they were able to, generally within 28 days.

The following are the circumstances in which a parent will be considered to have been prevented from applying earlier:

  • The income was not yet used in the assessment.
  • The parent was not aware of the existence of the
    • child support assessment (1.1.C.70).
    • provision because it was not discussed in their initial contact with Services Australia after the application for administrative assessment (1.1.A.30) was accepted.
  • The parent was a victim of family violence.
  • The parent (or a family member) was ill or had an accident that stopped the parent from applying.
  • The parent suffered a personal trauma such as a death in the family, or a natural disaster that caused damage to their property.
  • The parent had communication difficulties because of, or including, isolation, illiteracy or poor English-language skills.
  • The parents were involved in negotiations over child support (1.1.C.60) and/or other matters and applying may have compromised those negotiations.
  • There are other exceptional circumstances.

The exclusion will remain in place until the end of the CSP (1.1.C.150) in which the application is lodged. However, it will end sooner if the 3-year time limit (since separation) expires within that CSP.

A new application can be lodged for the next CSP if the other requirements are met and the 3-year time limit has not expired.

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