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.

4.1.5 Care determinations & changes in care

Context

When considering whether to make a new care determination, the Registrar will consider whether there has been a change to the existing pattern of care. If there has been a change to the pattern of care, the Registrar will need to identify the event that is relevant. The event is used to determine the commencement of the care period (4.1.3). The Registrar will need to determine the percentage of care that is likely to occur in the care period.

All of the care provisions discussed in this topic relate to relevant dependent children (1.1.R.60) as well as children of a child support assessment. See 2.5.4 for the rules that identify the date to be used when first adding a relevant dependent child (1.1.R.60) to an assessment.

On this page

When can a new percentage of care be determined?

A new percentage of care (1.1.P.70) can be determined whenever the care of a child has changed (section 54F to section 54HA). The Registrar will not give effect to future expected care changes until either of the parents advise the Registrar that the anticipated change has actually occurred. If neither parent advises the Registrar when the care subsequently changes, a new care percentage determination will not be made. The child support assessment will continue to be based upon the existing care percentage until one or both of the parents advise the Registrar that the actual care has changed, and the Registrar is able to make a new care percentage determination.

The Registrar can only give effect to a new care percentage determination after revoking the existing care percentage determination (section 49(1)(b)(i) and section 50(1)(b)(i)). The new care percentage determination takes effect the day after the existing determination is revoked. There are several circumstances in which the existing determination can be revoked:

  • where a new care percentage determination would affect the cost percentage (1.1.C.200) (section 54F)
  • where, under a new care percentage determination, one of the parties who was previously assessed to have at least regular care (1.1.R.50) of the child would now be determined to have below regular care (1.1.B.20) despite the child being made available by the other party (section 54G), and
  • where a new care percentage determination, if it was to be made, would affect the care percentage (but not the cost percentage) (section 54H).

Whether the Registrar revokes an existing care percentage determination under section 54H will depend on the circumstances of the case. If a party to an assessment advises the Registrar of a change in care that would not affect the cost percentage and seeks to have the change reflected on the Register, the Registrar should revoke the existing care percentage determination if there is evidence provided by each party, or evidence which is otherwise readily available, to allow the Registrar to determine new care percentages. This helps to ensure there is an accurate record of the care history on a case. However, if a party does not agree that a change has occurred or the readily available evidence is otherwise not conclusive as to the precise care percentages, the Registrar may decide not to revoke the existing determination and conduct no further investigations. This discretion enables the Registrar to decide to not proceed with unnecessary investigations to determine precise care percentages that would not make a material difference to the assessment.

Example: John and Sarah have one child, Michelle, for whom John has regular care of 14% and Sarah has primary care of 86%. John calls Services Australia to advise that his care percentage of Michelle has increased from 14% care to 25% care. Services Australia explains that this change, if confirmed, will not affect the amount of child support payable, but John wishes to have the change reflected on the Register. Services Australia contacts the other parent, Sarah, who confirms that John's care of Michelle has increased from 14% care to 25% care. Even though John's increased level of care of Michelle is still within the regular care range and will therefore not affect the cost percentage, the Registrar is satisfied that John's new care percentage of Michelle is 25% and decides to revoke the existing care percentage determination to enable a new care percentage determination to be made that reflects John's 25% care of Michelle.

Example: Melanie and Josh have one child, Amy, for whom Melanie has below regular care of 8% and Josh has above primary care of 92%. Melanie calls Services Australia to advise that her care percentage of Amy has increased from 8% care to 12% care. Services Australia explains that this change, if confirmed, will not affect the amount of child support payable. Melanie doesn't want the change reflected on the Register if it will not affect the assessment. Services Australia decides not to conduct further investigations, and makes a decision to not revoke the existing care percentage determination.

Example: Sally and Marco have one child, Lincoln, for whom Sally has regular care of 14% and Marco has primary care of 86%. Sally calls Services Australia to advise that her care percentage of Lincoln has increased from 14% care to 25% care. Services Australia contacts the other parent, Marco, who advises that Sally's care of Lincoln has only increased from 14% care to 20% care. Each parent has provided a statement of their care levels and Services Australia is satisfied on the basis of this evidence that Sally's level of care of Lincoln has increased from 14% care and remains within the regular care range. However, the current evidence does not enable Services Australia to be satisfied as to the specific new percentage of care. There would be no change to the cost percentage from a new care percentage determination. Services Australia decides not to conduct further investigations or seek further evidence, and makes a decision to not revoke the existing care percentage determination.

For the purposes of section 54F to section 54HA, where an interim period has been in place, revocation of the existing care determination can occur if:

  • the maximum interim period has ended, or
  • the maximum interim period has not ended, if there has been a change to the actual care of the child during a period where the interim period does not apply (see 4.2 for more information on disputed care).

Act reference: CSA Act section 54F Determination must be revoked if there is a change to the responsible person’s cost percentage, section 54FA Suspension of determination before the end of the maximum interim period if there is a change to the responsible person’s cost percentage, section 54G Determination must be revoked if there is less than regular care etc., section 54H Registrar may revoke a determination of a responsible person’s percentage of care, section 54HA Suspension of determination of a responsible person’s percentage of care before the end of the maximum interim period

Change in pattern of care

What constitutes a change to the pattern of care will depend upon the individual circumstances of the case. In cases where a person's care percentage would drop below 14%, the Registrar may make a below regular care (1.1.B.20) determination. The Registrar will consider all the information provided to determine if there has been a change in the pattern of care.

Example: Marissa and Ryan are the parents of 2 children. The children live mainly with Marissa. Ryan has care every Saturday night, some Friday nights and some holiday care, totalling 92 nights (or 25%) over the course of a year.

Ryan calls Services Australia on 22 March advising he now has more care of the children, as the children are spending every Friday night with him. Marissa confirms the children are staying with Ryan every Friday night so they can attend Little Athletics on Saturday mornings. The change happened about 6 weeks ago and is likely to continue for the rest of the school year.

The Registrar is satisfied there has been a change in the pattern of care from the first Friday when Ryan began to consistently have more care.

Not all changes in care will result in a change to the care percentage. Minor departures from the normal pattern of care for the child, such as missing a weekend of care due to illness or work, will not usually constitute a change to the pattern of care, and will not result in a new care determination.

Example: Jane and Gary are the parents of 3 children. The children live mainly with Jane. Gary has care every second Saturday night, some Friday nights and some holiday care, totalling 52 nights. This is a care percentage of 14%.

Jane calls Services Australia advising Gary did not have care as expected last Friday and Saturday. Jane states the parents have not made an agreement about the care, but, rather, the arrangements had evolved in line with their habits. Jane requests that the assessment be amended.

Gary advises he did not have care of the children due to an unexpected family situation. He anticipates the usual arrangements will resume with his next scheduled care. Jane advises she is uncertain of future care arrangements. She confirms the care arrangements have followed the same pattern for the last 2 years.

The Registrar determines that the pattern of care that was used to determine the current care percentages is likely to continue. The Registrar determines that Gary is likely to have a care percentage of 14% for the care period. As the care percentage has not changed, the assessment is not amended.

Example: Nic and Jo are the parents of 3 children. The children live mainly with Nic. Jo has care every Saturday night, some Friday nights and some holiday care, totalling 92 nights or 25%.

Jo calls Services Australia on 22 March advising that she now has more care of the children, as the children have spent the last 3 Friday nights with them. Based on these arrangements Jo will have significantly more care of the children.

Nic advises that the children have stayed with Jo for the last 3 Friday nights as Nic has been undertaking a course on those nights. There is only one more night of the course to attend and then the previous care arrangements will resume.

The Registrar is not satisfied that there has been a change in the pattern of care. The Registrar determines that the pattern of care that was used to determine the current care percentages is likely to continue. The Registrar determines that Jo is likely to have a care percentage of 25% for the care period. As the care percentage has not changed, the assessment is not amended.

No pattern of care - point of agreement

There may be situations where the Registrar is advised that the care of a child will change, or has changed, but no pattern of care exists that will assist in determining the care percentages for a new care period. In these situations, the Registrar will consider the information provided by the parents and non-parent carers to decide whether care percentages can be determined. If the information provided by all parties is consistent, then the Registrar will determine the care percentages based on that information.

If conflicting information has been provided by the parties, the Registrar will consider whether there is some common expectation about future care. If the information provided shows that a different care percentage would be calculated, and there is agreement to a certain point on what the new care arrangements will be, then the Registrar will use that 'point of agreement' to determine the new care percentage.

Example: Mel and Faraj are the parents of 3 children. The children live mainly with Mel. Faraj has care every second Saturday night and some holiday care, totalling 42 nights or 11%.

Faraj calls Services Australia on 27 May to advise that the care of his son, Ben, has changed. Ben has just started a part time job near Faraj's home and will be staying with Faraj after work. Faraj expects that Ben will be in his care for 2 nights per week during school terms and at least 3 nights per week during school holidays. This would be a care percentage of 31% (40 × 2 = 80 and 12 × 3 = 36, a total of 116 nights).

When contacted by Services Australia, Mel confirms that the care has changed and that Ben is now spending more time with Faraj. However, Mel advises that Ben will be working and staying with Faraj 2 nights per week during school terms and 2 nights every second week of the school holidays. This is a care percentage of 25% (40 × 2 = 80 and 6 × 2 = 12, a total of 92 nights).

As the new care arrangements have only recently commenced, there is no established pattern of care for the school holidays. Both parents agree that Ben will spend at least 92 nights with Faraj. The Registrar determines, based on that 'point of agreement', that Faraj will have a care percentage of 25% and Mel will have a care percentage of 75% for Ben. The assessment is amended using these care percentages.

No pattern of care - no change to the assessment

Where the information provided is insufficient for a pattern of care to be determined, and there is no common expectation about future care, the Registrar will assume that the percentage of care known at the time the assessment was made is continuing. As there is no change to the care percentages, the assessment will not be amended.

In making a determination, the Registrar will seek and consider information from all parties. If further information becomes available, the Registrar can consider making a new determination at that time.

One-off block of 100% care

Where a parent or non-parent carer unexpectedly and temporarily provides 100% care of a child, the Registrar may recognise that the person has 100% care although they are not expected to continue to have that level of care. In these situations, the Registrar will determine the care over a short care period related to the unexpected circumstance. When care returns to the normal pattern, a party may notify the Registrar of the change in care, and the Registrar will consider whether to make a new care percentage determination.

The period of unexpected care will generally need to be at least 4 weeks in length in order for the Registrar to make such a determination. However, shorter periods can be considered, especially where there is a possibility the period may be extended.

Example: Jason and Anita have one child, Robyn. Robyn usually lives with Jason 100% of the time. Jason needs to go to hospital for 3 weeks for an operation, and may require a further period of intensive rehabilitation where he will not be able to care for Robyn. Anita will look after Robyn during this time. The Registrar makes a one-off block of 100% care decision. When Robyn returns to Jason's care, Jason contacts Services Australia and the Registrar makes a new care decision based on the ongoing care of each parent.

Act reference: CSA Act section 49 Determination of percentage of care— … no pattern of care for a child, section 50 Determination of percentage of care— … a pattern of care for a child

Date of effect of a care change

If the Registrar is notified or otherwise becomes aware of a change of care within 28 days of the change, the assessment will be amended using the new percentage of care from the date the change of care occurred (section 54F(3)(a) and section 54H(3)(a)).

The Registrar can be notified or otherwise become aware of a change of care from sources other than the parents or non-parent carers, for example, information provided by the Secretary in relation to FTB, or by a parent's authorised representative.

The parties have an obligation to notify the Registrar of increases or decreases in care. If they fail to comply with that obligation, neither party should benefit from that failure. If the Registrar is not notified or does not otherwise become aware of a change of care within 28 days of the change, and:

  • the parent or non-parent carer's care has increased, the assessment will be amended using the new care percentage for that parent or non-parent carer from the date the Registrar was notified or otherwise became aware of the care change (unless care changes again prior to this date)
  • the parent or non-parent carer's care has decreased, the assessment will be amended using the new care percentage for that parent or non-parent carer from the date the change of care occurred (section 54F(3)(b) and section 54H(3)(b)).

Example: Soo-Min called Services Australia on 23 January 2023 to advise of a care change that occurred on 3 January 2023. The Registrar contacted the other parent, Hyun, who confirmed that the care changed on that date. As the Registrar was notified within 28 days of the care change, the Registrar changed the parents' percentages of care and amended the assessment from 3 January 2023.

Example: Fatima advised Services Australia on 16 December 2022 that a change of care had occurred on 15 September 2022, with Fatima's care increasing to 100% and Abdul's care decreasing to 0%. The Registrar received confirmation from the other parent, Abdul, that the care changed on that date. As the Registrar was notified more than 28 days after the care change, the Registrar amended the assessment with the changed care percentages from the date of notification for Fatima's increased care (16 December 2022) and from the date of event for Abdul's decreased care (15 September 2022).

For FTB purposes there are different date of effect rules (FA Guide 4.4.2.10).

Different rules apply to care changes that result in an interim care determination. See 4.2 for more information.

Different date of effect rules can apply to care changes where a person's care has fallen below 14% despite the child being made available to them and the Registrar is notified within a reasonable timeframe. See 4.1.7 for more information.

See 2.6.4 for rules on suspensions when notification has been delayed and made within 26 weeks. See 2.6.3 for rules on terminating events when notification has been delayed and made outside of 26 weeks.

Act reference: CSA Act section 54F Determination must be revoked if there is a change to the responsible person’s cost percentage, section 54H Registrar may revoke a determination of a responsible person’s percentage of care

Increased or decreased care percentage

When determining the date of effect of a care change, the Registrar must first determine if a parent or non-parent carer's care has increased or decreased (section 54F(3)(b) and section 54H(3)(b)). The Registrar will determine if a parent or non-parent carer's care has increased or decreased by comparing it to the care used in the child support assessment, for that parent or non-parent carer, on the day the care changed.

The date of the care change will be the point of comparison even if a later care change is used in the assessment prior to the Registrar being notified of the care change currently being applied.

Act reference: CSA Act section 54F Determination must be revoked if there is a change to the responsible person’s cost percentage, section 54H Registrar may revoke a determination of a responsible person’s percentage of care

Multiple care change notifications or care advised out of order

Where a parent or non-parent carer delays notifying a change in the percentage of care of a child to the Registrar, they may advise more than one change in care has occurred or advise of a care change that occurred earlier than one that is already used in the assessment. The Registrar will treat each care change as a separate event and determine the percentage of care for each care event as though subsequent care changes had not occurred.

When a care determination is made and it is one of multiple care changes or is a care change advised out of order it will have the following effect on the assessment:

  • decreased care percentages will apply to the assessment from the date of the care change, and
  • increased care percentages will apply to the assessment from the date of notification, if the care in the assessment doesn't change between the date of the care change and the date of notification.

When applying multiple care changes to the child support assessment, they are applied in order of event from oldest to most recent. The care percentages for the older care changes will be used when later care changes are compared to the care used in the assessment on the day the care changed.

Review of care decisions

If a parent or carer is dissatisfied with a decision concerning the percentage of care, they may object to that decision. See 10.2.8 for more information on objections to care percentage decisions.

When making a decision about an objection, the Registrar will either allow it, partly allow it or disallow it. If a person is dissatisfied with the objection decision, they may seek a review of the decision in the ART. See 10.3 for more information on applying to the ART.

Where the ART has made a decision on review of a care percentage decision a party dissatisfied with the decision may apply to the ART for second review of the decision.

Decisions on first review of a care percentage decision made by the AAT prior to 14 October 2024 may still be reviewed by the ART on second review, subject to application time limits and other requirements being met (ART (Consequential and Transitional Provisions No. 1) Act 2024 Schedule 16, Part 4).

Where a parent or carer also receives FTB the same care percentage will be used for both child support and FTB purposes but may have a different date of effect (10.2.8).

Act reference: CSRC Act section 80A Objections against care percentage decisions may be lodged, section 89 Application for ART review

Older children living away from home

Generally, older children who live independently and separately from their parents or carers provide for many of their own needs. This may include meeting their own ongoing daily needs (such as meal preparation, transport, socialising, etc.) as well as making their own decisions about their daily activities, schooling and health issues. Therefore, it may be difficult to establish whether a person provides care for an older child support child who lives separately from that person.

Where a person provides substantial financial support to an older child support child living away from home, the Registrar will generally consider that financial support as an indicator that the person is continuing to provide care for the child. The support can be in relation to daily costs such as food, accommodation and transport, and/or longer term costs such as school fees, paying for airfares home for holidays, clothing, health and dental care, etc.

While financial support is often a key factor in determining whether a person cares for a child who lives away from home, it will not always be the sole determinant. In cases where the financial support provided is limited, and other factors exist that suggest that the person continues to care for the child, the Registrar will consider whether the person is actively involved in major decisions relating to the child. For example, decisions relating to the child's health, schooling, relationships, career, etc. may be indicators that the person continues to provide care for the child.

Example: Rusty and Nichol have one child, Victoria, who is 16 and working part time after leaving school early. Rusty helps Victoria find a suitable flat and pays the bond so that Victoria can move closer to work. Rusty helps Victoria to pay for rent and utilities, and assists with other expenses such as buying work clothes and arranging and paying for medical appointments. Rusty also helps Victoria with decisions about things like finding alternative study options for further education. Every weekend Rusty does Victoria's laundry and provides cooked meals for the week. The Registrar would determine that Rusty continues to care for Victoria for child support purposes despite Victoria living separately from Rusty.

Example: Marian and Jaquie have one child, Judy, who is 17 and working as an apprentice. Judy decides to rent a room in a share house. Jaquie helps Judy move in and pays the cost of petrol on the occasions Judy comes back for a visit. Jaquie also makes deposits into Judy's bank account every now and then if Judy needs some extra cash to make ends meet. Judy pays for rent, utilities and any other expenses, and shares in household chores including meal preparation and cleaning. Unless there were other relevant factors, the Registrar would determine that Judy is living independently and Jaquie does not care for Judy for child support purposes.

Last reviewed: