Stupid Child support :(

[LizzardLover]

Just have to vent here, sorry.

I'd really love to know what the hell the CSA/government is on about.

They have in all their wisdom recalculated the costs of raising a child to get new rates and decided to make it fairer on both parties etc..

Well according to them somehow it's GOTTEN CHEAPER?? to raise a kid? What with rent going up, petrol going up, groceries going up, everything else going UP... they reduce the child support??

But it gets better. Not only do they reduce what he has to pay me by $40 a fortnight, they then INCREASE the FTB payment by almost the same amount.

So they are letting the DAD"S off the hook in paying for their own kids and making the other tax payers pay for it instead? I dont get the wisdom in that?

Why not leave it alone, and give the extra money that will be in the raise in FTB payment and give THAT to the old age pensioners?

At least I wont be losing out "too" much, probably $10 a fortnight or so... but it's the whole way they've gone about it that just sucks.

Did this change in assessments actually make things BETTER for anyone? :confused:

[cocobambino]

yeah the dads:banghead:

[Little Gorilla]

We are in a different boat - the new calculations mean that my DP's child support payments to his ex have increased per month by about $350 per month - excessive increase in my opinion.

Our family tax benefit in no way has increased by $350 a month.

Everyone's situation is different.

[supa_star323]

Well I have been told my ex has to give me $0 from july even though he only has DS one night a week and works (not sure if they know that). Which means that he has now told me he won't help with medical bills either which are about $100 a week. My ftb hasn't changed and I am just peeved. i don't open my csa letters now. there are like 3 sitting on the tavble.

[Benji]

:crying: Mine has gone down almost $40 a week!

I don't understand this new system. I am on the lowest of the low income, and I get told that I deserve less :confused:

100% of my wage already goes to the cost of raising DS.

[punkbaby]

For my oldest my ex has to pay 70% less :( he sees her 10 days a year if that. He will be paying $140 less a month, i know thats not alot but that helped pay her schooling and a few other things, it in no way really supported her as much as i do. DH has to pay double to his son, even though his sons working and they supposingly take into account your other children. Its done us no good at all :(

I know for some its been a positive result but i think thats quite a minority. Sitting on both sides of the fence as a payee and recipient, if thats the word to use, it really didnt make things easier for anyone

[LizzardLover]

We are in a different boat - the new calculations mean that my DP's child support payments to his ex have increased per month by about $350 per month - excessive increase in my opinion.


I agree that is excessive. I bet the mum is just over the moon with that assessment!

I guess it just peeves me because I have been getting $190 a fortnight and now it's going to be $150. Meanwhile he just took a 14 night cruise with his new girlfriend and I got my phone cut off because I couldnt pay the bill (fixed up now though).

I cant help but think that no-one is happy about this new system and hopefully it wont be long and they will realise it and CHANGE it. I say just put it back how it was, that seemed to be more fair!

[LizzardLover]

Well I have been told my ex has to give me $0 from july even though he only has DS one night a week and works (not sure if they know that). Which means that he has now told me he won't help with medical bills either which are about $100 a week. My ftb hasn't changed and I am just peeved. i don't open my csa letters now. there are like 3 sitting on the tavble.

Thats not fair!! and if you want a review apparently HE will get to see every little detail of your finances (the stuff you tell them, loans, cc's etc...) but you dont get to see his :(

[LizzardLover]

:crying: Mine has gone down almost $40 a week!

I don't understand this new system. I am on the lowest of the low income, and I get told that I deserve less :confused:

100% of my wage already goes to the cost of raising DS.

We're in the same boat. I worked for 9 months last year before being made to resign (long story) but otherwise i've been studying. I only get centrelink. He works full time, doesnt make "heaps" but is on $45K a year and lives at home with his mum. He never has our daughter over night so I have 100% of the costs. Hardly seems fair!!

[LizzardLover]

I know for some its been a positive result but i think thats quite a minority. Sitting on both sides of the fence as a payee and recipient, if thats the word to use, it really didnt make things easier for anyone

I'm really starting to see that and I feel for people like your DH who have to pay SO much more.

I wasnt wanting *more* money from the changes, what I was getting was ok, but for it to drop like that just seems stupid.

[supa_star323]

Thats not fair!! and if you want a review apparently HE will get to see every little detail of your finances (the stuff you tell them, loans, cc's etc...) but you dont get to see his :(




Oh I wouldn't care if he saw all my finances, all I get is centrelink cause DS has special needs and I don't feel like putting him into care to work would be the right thing for him at this time. I think I am going to ask for a assessment again and I am going to tell them what I know abut him working.

[LizzardLover]

Oh I wouldn't care if he saw all my finances, all I get is centrelink cause DS has special needs and I don't feel like putting him into care to work would be the right thing for him at this time. I think I am going to ask for a assessment again and I am going to tell them what I know abut him working.

I hope they are able to help you and get you some money, every dollar makes a difference!

[werdxela]

Mine has gone down a $100 a month. They are disregarding an extra $8000 of his income cause he has three kids all with different mums (my son is the eldest). Lets reward him cause he can't keep it in his pants.

[HunterzMummy]

I cant help but think that no-one is happy about this new system and hopefully it wont be long and they will realise it and CHANGE it. I say just put it back how it was, that seemed to be more fair!

:rolleyes:pffftt isnt the the absolute truth. Defiantly not fairer on our family. Now we will go with out some groceries per week while the X gets to live in a 3 bdroom house on the beach brand new car child in dance, swimming, gym and other classes. While we live in a 1 bd room house and have to pay a hell of alot of money to her. And we and MY CHILD misses out dramatically:( This "new fair" system is defiantly not fair well not to us atleast :hissy:

[bell n d]

I have work out the the new system pretty much only works if you are a dead ****! My ex only has to pay $33 a week! It does not even cover my daycare fees, and i would not care if he spent some real time with his son not just enough time so he can get away with paying less!

[MM80]

Well, my ex is a painter and becuase of that all his tools, petrol and material is tax deductable theirfor even though he earns $1000-$1200 pw CSA have told him he only has to pay a wopping $6.90 per week for both children a 1.5 yr old and 2.5 yr old and thats because after all his tax deductions his taxable income last year was inly $230000 even though he actually brought in over $45000 GRRRRRRRRRR, I have not seen a cent from him since we broke up January this year, and they say fathers deserve rights makes me soo MAD

[sopolicha]

Oh, I am very happy with the new assessment for my eldest daughter. The assessment has increased by 3 and half times!!!!


I should say that it goes from $230pa to $1200 a year :laughing:.

[LizzardLover]

:rolleyes:pffftt isnt the the absolute truth. Defiantly not fairer on our family. Now we will go with out some groceries per week while the X gets to live in a 3 bdroom house on the beach brand new car child in dance, swimming, gym and other classes. While we live in a 1 bd room house and have to pay a hell of alot of money to her. And we and MY CHILD misses out dramatically:( This "new fair" system is defiantly not fair well not to us atleast :hissy:

That doesnt make sense at all :( I'd really like to meet some of these people who are suddenly getting what they deserve in reguards to child support. Seems to me like there are 3 groups. Those getting WAY too much child support, Those getting NOT enough child support and those like me getting less/more but not enough to be really noticeable I guess. I tell you though if the FTB payment wasnt going up as well i'd be in deep S**t financially at losing $80-$100 a month!

I'd be up for a road trip, perhaps we should all take our kids and bills etc... and rally out the front of parliment about how unfair this all is and demand some answers. Would be interesting to have payers/payees BOTH claiming the new system SUCK! Not often both sides dont like something... :yes:

[LizzardLover]

I have work out the the new system pretty much only works if you are a dead ****! My ex only has to pay $33 a week! It does not even cover my daycare fees, and i would not care if he spent some real time with his son not just enough time so he can get away with paying less!

Did you know you can ask for a revision based on the childcare fee's?? There is a section on it on the CSA website saying if your childcare fee's are high you can ask for more money.

Also have you looked at getting JET childcare through Centrelink to pay childcare costs? You can get it for 6 months for working or the duration of any course you might take or even for job searching. Each time it runs out if you change your "activity" they will keep paying! I used JET childcare for the past 4 years for a combination of study/work/looking for work/study etc and paid on average just $1 a day for childcare!!!

Wouldnt you love to turn the tables sometimes and give THEM the kid and make them do it all with only $30 a week assistance?? LOL. I will be getting $70 a week. Yeah, that's a great help *sigh*

[LizzardLover]

Well, my ex is a painter and becuase of that all his tools, petrol and material is tax deductable theirfor even though he earns $1000-$1200 pw CSA have told him he only has to pay a wopping $6.90 per week for both children a 1.5 yr old and 2.5 yr old and thats because after all his tax deductions his taxable income last year was inly $230000 even though he actually brought in over $45000 GRRRRRRRRRR, I have not seen a cent from him since we broke up January this year, and they say fathers deserve rights makes me soo MAD

Surely he cant write off half his income EVERY year as tax deductions can he? Thats just crazy if he can get away with that, and I think i want the name of his Tax agent too LOL ;) They might be able to get me more back too :laughing:

[LizzardLover]

Oh, I am very happy with the new assessment for my eldest daughter. The assessment has increased by 3 and half times!!!!


I should say that it goes from $230pa to $1200 a year :laughing:.

Well, for people like you i'm glad your going to be getting more LOL. $100 a month is pretty pathetic though, wonder how he would cope bringing up a kid on that much ? :confused:

I always try to remind my ex that the CSA assessment is the MINIMUM amount he MUST pay me. He can always CHOOSE to pay more. It's his daughter we're talking about not some strager he's never met or something. If we lived with him he'd be spending a hell of a lot more on her! I remind him the money is for our daughter NOT for me. I hardly go out buying clothes/shoes for myself with his money or whatever.

[Freya]

I haven't had any letters saying it's changed, but don't think they could get any lower considering im on the minimum and he doesn't pay it anyway.:rolleyes:

[bell n d]

Did you know you can ask for a revision based on the childcare fee's?? There is a section on it on the CSA website saying if your childcare fee's are high you can ask for more money.

Also have you looked at getting JET childcare through Centrelink to pay childcare costs? You can get it for 6 months for working or the duration of any course you might take or even for job searching. Each time it runs out if you change your "activity" they will keep paying! I used JET childcare for the past 4 years for a combination of study/work/looking for work/study etc and paid on average just $1 a day for childcare!!!

Wouldnt you love to turn the tables sometimes and give THEM the kid and make them do it all with only $30 a week assistance?? LOL. I will be getting $70 a week. Yeah, that's a great help *sigh*

I have heard of JET but i did not think i could get because i was working, but i will look in to it. Thank you!
And there is no way he could look after him on such little money, i send clothes for him because he has stuff all and what he does have is normaly to small :mad:! And he told our son that he could not buy him any this month because i have all his money!

[Issey]

mine has gone down $26 per week which i think is unfair. :ecomcity:

[GraceUnhearing]

mine has gone down by over 1000 a year

its the stupidest thing i have read!

i have no idea how they have come up with these insane figures when we are paying a fortune more for everything!

[Amberlea]

I have two assessments - the one for my daughter has gone from $0 p/a to $700 p/a (provided her dead beat father stays working - I guess he kinda has to when he is also claiming SPP and shes about to turn 6)

The one for my son - has actually gone down - because his dads on the dole (ummm yeah so he says - have they thought about how he is living on $14,000 a year and buying a new car every year - I dont think so)
I get a whopping $420 a year from him.

So I get $1100 all up for two kids.. a grand old less than $100 a month for both.

Wow - theres their bread and milk for the month paid for - not.

Nevermind the fact that I pay all expenses in the raising of them, OHSC, school uniforms, school fees, doctors, medicines, shoes, clothes, and the rest.
Always have, always will I guess.

[scorpio83]

Mine's gone from $8.50 per month to $25.00 per month.....yehah!
BUT her daycare fees are $45 per WEEK......not gonna help much.
How do you go about applying for JET assistance?

[~*clairesmum*~]

when me n my dp were not together all he had to pay was 24.95 a mth but he was nice to pay me 100 a fortnite

i forgot to tell child support me n dp are back together(centrelink nos) n i got a letter saying he only had to pay 1.24 a day for claire so i no wat u mean it sucks n as i told him 24.95 a mth pays for 2 tins of formulla a mth n thats it

[RmumR]

i don't have a new assessment yet, so not sure if i am getting one? but no matter what it is i am lucky that at the moment DD's dad is willing to pay more than the assessment plus buy her nappies and formula. If he keeps that up we'll be fine i just worry that in the future he'll meet someone else and not want to pay us extra and buy her stuff.

[LizzardLover]

Mine's gone from $8.50 per month to $25.00 per month.....yehah!
BUT her daycare fees are $45 per WEEK......not gonna help much.
How do you go about applying for JET assistance?

JET is through centrelink so just call them up and ask if you would meet their criteria for getting assistance.

You have to tell them lots of information about the childcare centre but the centre will help you with all the information you need :) It's not that difficult.

Also remember you can apply to get more child support due to the costs of daycare being so high.

[mythreelittlemonkeys]

Some of your assessments sound really wrong...we are one of the few that 'benefit' and yes we are the payers...but the ex has admitted with her FTB going back up she is actually not much worse off (plus DH pays her alot a month compared to you guys) ...however there were some discrepancies when we got the assesment and the ex rang CSA and pointed them out (to our favour) apparently alot of the assessments that were issued were incorrect esp when it came to time spent with other partner...they actually ignored or didnt process alot of the care information sent back to them...
dont know if that would improve any of your situations...worth ringing to find out...

[jen023]

My Dh pays child support to his ex, and it has gone down, we were told it went down because of the number of nights we have him, apparently that has a lot to do with it.
We have a child together bills to pay etc all the rest just like everyone else, DH works 6 days a week, I work part time to make ends meet so i'm on the other side here, I can see both sides, before everyone attacks the dads for paying less speak to centrelink to make sure it's right, and remember everyones situation is different, and
there is two sides to EVERY story :yes:

[goingmad]

Okay so my CS payments that I supposedly recieve from my ex have nearly halved. He never sees the girls, informed me the other day that he is coming to see them in July (first time since early January. He doesn't have any other children either and I know that all of his income is reported to the CSA, I was so wild when I found this out.

[3boys1girl]

Mine is going up $150 per month :yelclap:
FINALLY CSA is getting it right with my situation!!!
My ex has only been paying $200 a month for 2 kids who are 9 and 13. Thats $25 a kid per week, what does that get them??? Hardly pays for their little lunch at school!!!

Sorry to hear that some of u are getting a cut :(

[MummaBear03]

At the risk of being attacked here, I just have to say that while I agree that rent, fuel and groceries should be taken into consideration, it should also be taken into consideration how much a single person with no kids would be paying in rent, and just base it on the difference so not the total cost of housing, same with fuel and food, take off what they would be getting then only take into account the extra for the kids. I mean, honestly, it doesn't cost me much extra feeding 2 of us than it would have if I was on my own no kids. Unless you buy those lunchbox snacks or other snack or party foods, treats, juices and so on as they add up. But living on my own with no kids and living with a child really doesn't change things so it should only be taken on the extra amount it takes to feed a child, run a child around in the car (considering most people would be going through fuel even with no kids anyway) and the cost difference between where a person is living and where they would be living without a child. As it is, what I'm paying here now is less than what I would be paying for little 2brm unit, but I'd have been sharing a unit so halving the cost but even that would have not been much cheaper than living here. The cost of raising kids is a good thing to consider but I do think that it should also be taken into account what would have been the living cost of people before they had kids. But it also needs to be taken into account the drop in income when a person has a child. For some, they may go from a $26,000/year job to being a single SAHM living on $18,000, for others they may be dropping from a $80,000/year job to a $20,000/year job so that's a huge drop, then also the cost of childcare. But as for fuel, groceries and housing it would cost me almost as much without kids as it does with kids. The biggest change for me is the drop in income and the expenses of childcare.

Then again, I don't get CS so haven't kept up with it, this is just my thoughts on it, but it should also be a case by case basis. Also, their education should be considered. If a child is attending a private school for instance when the parents are together, then the child should remain at that school and CS be taken into account with that cost as well. Same with any sports the child is doing, if the parents put the child into a sport the child support should be based on the cost of that also.

:flowerz:These are my views only, as someone thinking about the interests of a child, and also as someone who has nothing to do with the CSA or child support in general :flowerz:

[merlottes]

sorry guys i deleted this

[LizzardLover]

But as for fuel, groceries and housing it would cost me almost as much without kids as it does with kids.


To some degree I agree with you on your thoughts. I went from a job paying $55k a year to only $18K. I also had to move out of home to be on my own due to issues with parents smoking habbits (chain smoking in house).

It would be nice if it took into account the change in lifestyle for say the first 2 years and then adjusted, to help those like me who suddenly lost ALOT of money and had to take on rent/utilities/groceries etc...

I guess there is no way to ensure everyone is happy, but I still say i'd like so see some of these dad's have the responsibility we have and get by on the same $$ without complaining!!

[LeighC]

my new assessment dropped my CS by a whopping $300 per month. I called them up to find out why and apparently they used last year's taxable income to calculate it so the figures are almost a year out of date. In my case I have had a baby since then (so not working now) and separated. They took an income estimate from me for this year and I've now got a new assessment which leaves the payment as it was but it took over an hour on the phone to get that far.

Sad thing is though that if he has the kids more than 14% of the time the CSA will reassess us. He takes them packed and ready to roll when he takes them out so am I supposed to send them naked and hungry now so he can meet the costs when he has them?? Should he also pay pro rata child care costs if he drops them off that day?? We all know who pays the bills in single parent families so how can this possibly work in practice?

What I see happening is mothers limiting access to fathers to less than the 14% so they don't lose their child support which can't be good news for anyone. Good on you CSA, what a great plan.

[MummaBear03]

:hugs: to everyone having issues with the CSA and all I can say (again) is that I'm grateful for the situation I'm in where there's no child support to interfere with anything because it can't be stable income so it would make it hard to budget, not to mention the comments from the exes and their new partners every time you get a hair cut or buy a new pair of jeans :rolleyes:

[Dadandtwo]

Hi. As a paying father, who pays for the petrol, accommodation, food etc at my end, I will tell you my story. I earn nearly $110,000 a year!!! My ex earns $65,000. I did all the work when we were together, she got the money on settlement and even though we have the kids 50/50, I pay $600 a month. I don't know your situation exactly, but I don't agree with the fathers having to pay child support simply because the mother chooses to stay at home, go to uni, work part-time etc. I would be called a 'deadbeat dad' for doing that.

My ex has just moved in with her new boyfriend, bought a big house and car and I'm stuck in a tiny house, working my butt off. She is now pregnant and will stop working in December. But for some reason, I will be required to pay a lot more in child support because of that. That means basically that I will have to borrow to give my precious ex the opportunity to start another family.

I know some women are unhappy with the new system, but think of the fathers like me who have been working our butts off, just to pay for the ex who thinks that she has the right to have a casual life of part time or casual work while she rakes in the Centrelink/CSA money. I know there are many women who are in ****ty situations and not by choice, and I feel very sorry for them, but as a father, I'm sick of being a money bank.

[Benji]

Mummabear - I really think that children, even young ones are incredibly expensive.

As of July 1, I will only be receiving $58 per week whereas I was receiving $98 per week. It has gone down almost half!!!!

I have to pay for DS' nappies (approx $30-$40 per week), his food (he eats a lot of fruit, I'm not much of a fruit fan approx $20 a week), toys (I really don't see those as a luxury as they are how children learn and grow and develop), books, clothes, shoes and as you know they are always growing out of those like there's no tomorrow.

[ashleerose]

Everything was as per normal or should have been then the other day they sent me an email saying that i had a letter (csa online) so i popped on (unfortunately they had already closed their call centre by that time) and basically they were saying that my ex and i earnt the same amount of money (almost $37,000).

I was dumbfounded:

a) my ex has never worked and most probably will never work the only work he has ever done is filling in his dole forms.

b) i didnt earn that much last year (i wish).

and so despite just recently getting the new letter for the new changes stating that i would be getting a whole $27 per month for two kids it now said that i would be getting $200 a month for two kids.

I freaked out as i knew it was wrong. So i rang them up and told them that a) my ex would never work and they could check with centerlink as he would never bother responding to anyones mail and b) contact ATO in regards to my last years taxable income (they said that they had access to both the centerlink info and ATO) turns out that although they have access to the ATO there is no info there regarding me??? and as for my ex being on centerlink well (why the hell didnt they check that first).

And so i had to declare what i earnt last year and the operator said yep ill fix it for you.

Come today i get online there is no email from them regarding a new letter, i call them and the operator says it takes about 24 hours to show blah, blah, blah.

This afternoon (i got home around 5ish) i check again and now the new estimate shows my ex and my correct taxable income but is still showing a rather large amount that he has to pay $160 per month.

I wouldnt worry normally except a) it will affect my FTA and FTB (somehow never received enough cs before but i know it affects something and b) it will also affect my rent (as my rent goes on all of my income.

I do not want to be penalised for something that i know is wrong and that i am not receiving (i will be worst of) i once again tried to call the idiots and they are closed (why they are not open until at least 8pm like centerlink is beyond me - dont they realise that people work?). And so i have sent them of an email explaining everything as clearly as possible.

It just makes me so mad that i explained everything clearly twice and said to both operators the min/max i can get in my circumstances is $27 per month and they both said yes it had been changed to that amount............................................ ............................

arrrrrgh.

[mythreelittlemonkeys]

ashleerose that sucks...I think the whole system is flawed and guess what this week when speaking to someone at CSA she said...feel free to call anytime, and if the person you speak to doesnt seem to give you the right info, or doesnt seem to know the new laws call back and ask to speak to someone else!?! SO they have people who dont know what they doing on phones, stands to reason they have people inputting incorrect info...

[jen023]

Hi. As a paying father, who pays for the petrol, accommodation, food etc at my end, I will tell you my story. I earn nearly $110,000 a year!!! My ex earns $65,000. I did all the work when we were together, she got the money on settlement and even though we have the kids 50/50, I pay $600 a month. I don't know your situation exactly, but I don't agree with the fathers having to pay child support simply because the mother chooses to stay at home, go to uni, work part-time etc. I would be called a 'deadbeat dad' for doing that.

My ex has just moved in with her new boyfriend, bought a big house and car and I'm stuck in a tiny house, working my butt off. She is now pregnant and will stop working in December. But for some reason, I will be required to pay a lot more in child support because of that. That means basically that I will have to borrow to give my precious ex the opportunity to start another family.

I know people some women are unhappy with the new system, but think of the fathers like me who have been working our butts off, just to pay for the ex who thinks that she has the right to have a casual life of part time or casual work while she rakes in the Centrelink/CSA money. I know there are many women who are in ****ty situations and not by choice, and I feel very sorry for them, but as a father, I'm sick of being a money bank.


Me and my DH are in the same situation.
It's good to hear the other side of the story once in a while, so often we only hear one side!!:yelclap:

[MummaBear03]

Dadandtwo: I don't get child support, never have and never will, but if I choose to work just 3 days a week to spend 4 days a week raising the child I gave birth to, how does that make a mother a dead beat? Sure if the kids were not in her care (ie: always with other people and she wasn't looking after them) and she was the one getting all the money when she wasn't the one caring for them or paying their way then it's a different story. But if the mother is with her child teaching the child and raising the child and giving them the type of care they deserve how is that bad? Woud you rather the children be raised in an institution so the mother could go out and work long hours so she too could earn $110,000/year and you wouldn't have to pay so much? What kind of a life is that for kids? Come next year I'll only be working 25 hours/week to avoid having to use after school care, and won't be working at all over school holidays so she can have a lovely relaxing time over school holidays. Who cares where the money comes from if the kids are well cared for, with a parent being their primary caregiver rather than some underpaid childcare worker?

[OneNowOneLater]

Sorry I just have to say this ...

Anyone who thinks single mothers are RAKING in the centrelink payments is seriously deluded.

It's $900 a fortnight - hardly a fortune and barely enough to live on. After I pay rent I have exactly $300 to live on for the next of the fortnight. Let's remove Private health care payments, things for baby payments, other regular payments and there is NOTHING left.

Fathers should pay child support.

The money is not for the mother - it's for the child.

It puts a roof over their head, keeps them clothed, keeps them fed, keeps electricity in the home.

I find it weird when fathers begrudge paying and say things like 'the ex is living it up'. Single mothers do not live it up - they struggle to get by on the limited funds they have.

:iagree: :smiliedance: :iagree: :smiliedance: :iagree:

[millismum]

mine has nearly halved, now we'll be getting $69 a month or something ridiculous...and he has never even met her. Yep it sucks

[sara_lou]

I'd like to know what other mum's child support is calculated at? I have to be on some kind of record here, as Jack's "father" is only being asked to pay $14 (rounded up) a month. And I haven't even seen any of that for the last year and a bit... :confused:

[confusd]

i wouldnt know if anything has changed!!
I get nothing from my ex.
i also wouldnt know if my pay has changed as they cut it for months because my ex wasnt paying me (make sense, not to me!!)
so now it has gone back to the normal rate of pay.
in a way i feel lucky as i dont have to deal with the CSA anymore;)

[Eboniesmum]

Mine has gone down a $100 a month. They are disregarding an extra $8000 of his income cause he has three kids all with different mums (my son is the eldest). Lets reward him cause he can't keep it in his pants.


Hi,

i have lost $70 a month in child support because under the new supposedly better, fairer system the x gets a multi case allowance because he has 2 kids to 2 different mothers, it takes $4000 a yr of his cs income, i don't see how thats fair because as you all know for 1 child its 18%, for 2 its 27% and so on well i don't get the full 18% i share the 27% with the mother of his other child which means i get 13.5% of his wage a yr, my new monthly amount is $300 also my FTB has stayed the same. Nice work CSA, the system is so much better and fairer now - not :banghead:

[OneNowOneLater]

J's father has never met her either, but still pays luckily...

[missie_mack]

I'd like to know what other mum's child support is calculated at? I have to be on some kind of record here, as Jack's "father" is only being asked to pay $14 (rounded up) a month. And I haven't even seen any of that for the last year and a bit... :confused:

This came from the CSA website


Most payers will have a child support assessment of at least $339* a year. However, it may be less than this because:

the payer has substantial, major, divided or shared care of the children
a court-varied assessment is in place
an agreement is in place.
It must be really hard on everyone with your ex being the way he is with his payments :( Have you thought about asking for a hold to be placed on his superannuation or taking his tax cheque (if he lodges one :rolleyes:) For him not to be paying it and not having money garnished from somewhere it must mean he isn't on the books if in employment and/or not getting centrelink benefits :thumbsdown:

[cinnamonbear]

BronnyGrace

Sorry I just have to say this ...

Anyone who thinks single mothers are RAKING in the centrelink payments is seriously deluded.

It's $900 a fortnight - hardly a fortune and barely enough to live on.

wow $900 a fortnight.. i dont even get that!

as for child support dd father is currently being assed after along drawn out court case.

I am expecting it to be piddly all..so its not going to come as a shock to my system.. the poor boy may have to give up his coffee for the week..big whoop.

[RaryGirl]

Here is a laugh for you ..... my daughters sperm donor was paying (through garnished wages as he just wouldn't pay) a huge $22 a fortnight.

Well the new assessment came through and it seems in the last 12 months another 2 children (over the age of 5) have appeared! Wow ... he's been out spreading his seed. :rolleyes:

So it's now down to about $15 a month .... and as for intercepting the tax return, hmmm ... he'll have to put one in first. :rolleyes:

I have friends on both sides of the system .... so I understand both sides .... but I will say it gets up my nose when people whinge about their ex's moving in/marrying a new partner who earns decent money and the paying ex, expect their child support to go down. The children are still yours, you bought them into the world, you need to support them, if your ex moves on with her life why is it expected that her new partner will financially raise your children? :confused:

I'm lucky, my husband is financially, emotionally and physically raising my daughter even though he isn't her biological father - but that isn't the norm and men shouldn't expect to shirk their responsibilities just because their ex has moved on with her life.

** hops off soapbox now ** :)

[MummaBear03]

With Centrelink payments alone, before I started working, I was on around $700/fortnight, but that didn't include rent assistance, maybe BG was including rent assistance? I have been working for a few years now and don't get rent assistance so it may have gone up from what it was then. I would hope so since everything else has gone up.

As for the comment about the Pumpkin Patch outfits, I bought a 3 piece PP outfit for DD when she was about 18 months old for $4 from Vinnies, also bought her PP pjs from there at the end of winter the year before last for $4.95, she got use out of them last year and again this year, since they were a little big last year still. You never know what people have actually paid for things. Also when she was about 12 months old I won a $30 PP voucher through the ABA for a local competition. She fed for the entire 2.5 hours that we were out for! They had prizes for the oldest, the youngest, tandem feeders, and the child who fed the longest on the day. PP donated the vouchers to the ABA. So she got a pair of jeans with a matching hat, and she wore different shirts. Maybe I was judged at the time too since we were barely scraping through, there were times I used EBM in my own coffee due to the fact that I couldn't afford milk. I often went without food but my child never went without food. I feel a little upset that people may have judged and thought that I would spend $50 to $80 on an outfit then not be able to buy food, making it my own fault :(


ETA: It could also be that someone else has bought the outfit for the child as a gift??? I've hardly bought any clothes for my girl and she has PP, Osh Kosh, Fred Bare, Mini Minor, Mini Mango, all sorts of things, all really nice clothes and all I've bought is a couple of things at Vinnies and a tracksuit from the Warehouse.

[cinnamonbear]

MummaBear03
As for the comment about the Pumpkin Patch outfits, I bought a 3 piece PP outfit for DD when she was about 18 months old for $4 from Vinnies, also bought her PP pjs from there at the end of winter the year before last for $4.95, she got use out of them last year and again this year, since they were a little big last year still. You never know what people have actually paid for things. Also when she was about 12 months old I won a $30 PP voucher through the ABA for a local competition. She fed for the entire 2.5 hours that we were out for! They had prizes for the oldest, the youngest, tandem feeders, and the child who fed the longest on the day. PP donated the vouchers to the ABA. So she got a pair of jeans with a matching hat, and she wore different shirts. Maybe I was judged at the time too since we were barely scraping through, there were times I used EBM in my own coffee due to the fact that I couldn't afford milk. I often went without food but my child never went without food. I feel a little upset that people may have judged and thought that I would spend $50 to $80 on an outfit then not be able to buy food, making it my own fault

thanks for leaping to my defence, its true others have no idea of the circumstance.

[sherri]

My child support amount has gone from $27 per month to $185 a month. Yippee. Finally, an amount that will help somewhat to paying things. I have been told by CSA that this is the minimum amount that he has to pay so if he loses his job he can still make the payments from the Disability pension.

Seeing as he is quite capable of paying that amount I am also looking into getting assistance with half of my travel costs on the school holidays (he is 10 hours away) and half of my DD's school fees (He was in agreement that she go to a private school - the fees are $1200 per year)