Child Support (Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1) 2001 No. 204
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 2001 No. 204
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Community Services
Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989
Child Support (Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1)
The two purposes of the Regulations (which are made under section 164 of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (the Act)) are to amend the Child Support (Assessment) Regulations 1989 (the Assessment Regulations) to:
• prescribe payments that are excluded from the income of a person liable to pay child support for the purposes of determining whether the usual minimum child support liability applies to the person; and ,
• make two consequential amendments to reflect the fact that the Child Support Registrar is no longer the Commissioner of Taxation.
Income for minimum child support
Since 1999, a person liable to pay child support has generally been subject to a $260 pa ($5 pw) minimum child support liability. The only exception to this (other than in certain shared or divided care assessments) applies if the Child Support Registrar is satisfied that the income of the person for the first 12 months of the child support period will be less than $260. Schedule 7 to the Child Support Legislation Amendment Act 2001 (the Amendment Act) recently inserted into subsection 66A(4) of the Act provision for payments to be prescribed that will be excluded from income for the purpose of determining whether the usual minimum child support liability of $260 pa should apply.
Two payments are prescribed by the Regulations as being excluded from income for this purpose:
• Payments to a prisoner by the person in charge of a prison, to the extent that the payments are not for work, approved study or participation in another approved program, inside or outside the prison. The payments thus excluded from income are often known as amenity allowance or gratuity, and are generally to allow prisoners to make minor purchases such as toiletries. Payments for work, etc, will continue to be regarded as income.
• Payments of disability support pension to a person, or payments of pension to a totally and permanently incapacitated veteran, if the Registrar is of the opinion that the pension is substantially used to support the person or veteran.
Child Support Registrar
The child support function has been part of the Family and Community Services portfolio, rather than the Treasury portfolio, for more than two years. However, this move has only recently been reflected legislatively, by Schedule 5 to the Amendment Act. Because of this legislative change, the Child Support Registrar is no longer the Commissioner of Taxation but the General Manager of the Child Support Agency. Therefore, two existing references in the Assessment Regulations to information held by the Registrar "(whether as Registrar or Commissioner)" are no longer appropriate. Accordingly, these references to the former dual role of the Registrar/Commissioner are omitted by the Regulations.
The Regulations commenced on gazettal.
Overview
The Child Support (Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1) were enacted to address specific gaps in the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, particularly in the context of determining minimum child support liability and the role of the Child Support Registrar. Issued under the authority of the Minister for Community Services, these regulations aim to ensure clarity and consistency in the application of child support laws. The primary policy objectives include excluding certain payments from income assessments for minimum child support liability and updating references to the Child Support Registrar to reflect legislative changes that separated the child support function from the Treasury portfolio. These amendments facilitate a more precise application of child support obligations and align the regulations with the current administrative structure.
Scope and Application
The Child Support (Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1) amends the Child Support (Assessment) Regulations 1989 to address specific aspects of child support income assessments, particularly in relation to minimum child support liability. These Regulations apply to individuals who are liable to pay child support, particularly those whose income might be affected by certain prescribed payments that are excluded from the calculation of their income. The geographic scope of the Regulations is national, affecting all individuals subject to child support assessments across Australia. Notably, the Regulations exclude certain payments, such as amenity allowance or gratuity payments to prisoners and disability support pensions, from the income calculation if they are not for work, approved study, or other approved programs. The Regulations also make amendments to reflect the change in the role of the Child Support Registrar, who is now the General Manager of the Child Support Agency rather than the Commissioner of Taxation. These Regulations commenced upon their gazettal, ensuring that the amendments are immediately applicable to all relevant parties.
Key Provisions
The Child Support (Assessment) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1) (the Regulations) amend the Child Support (Assessment) Regulations 1989 to achieve two primary objectives. Firstly, they establish which payments are to be excluded from a person's income when determining if they are subject to the usual minimum child support liability of $260 per year (section 1). This exclusion is significant for individuals whose income might otherwise be insufficient to meet the minimum liability threshold, thus ensuring that certain payments, such as amenity allowances or disability support pensions, do not unfairly increase their assessed income. Secondly, the Regulations update references to the Child Support Registrar to reflect the legislative change that now designates the General Manager of the Child Support Agency as the Registrar, rather than the Commissioner of Taxation (section 2).
Entities and individuals governed by these Regulations are required to ensure that the prescribed payments are correctly identified and excluded from income assessments where applicable. This means that when a person liable to pay child support receives certain payments such as disability support pension or payments to a prisoner that are not for work or approved study, these must be excluded from their income for the purpose of determining their child support liability (section 1(1)). Additionally, these entities must adjust their records and processes to reflect that the Child Support Registrar is now the General Manager of the Child Support Agency and not the Commissioner of Taxation, ensuring that communications and data sharing occur with the correct authority (section 2(1)).
Failure to comply with the provisions of these Regulations could potentially result in incorrect assessments of child support liabilities. While the Explanatory Statement does not explicitly outline specific offences or penalties for non-compliance, it is reasonable to infer that any inaccuracies in child support assessments could lead to enforcement actions under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989. These actions might include corrective payments or, in severe cases, legal action against the party responsible for the incorrect assessment. The penalties for such breaches could include financial penalties, as stipulated under the primary Act, but these are not detailed within the scope of the Regulations themselves.