How does the care percentage affect a child support assessment?
Child support is calculated to recognise shared parenting and the contribution each parent makes towards the costs of the children through direct care. A parent or non-parent carer’s percentage of care is used to determine the parent’s or non-parent carer’s cost percentage, that is, the percentage of the cost of the child that the person is taken to be meeting directly as a result of the care they provide. Parents with regular care, that is, 14 to 34 per cent of the time (52 to 127 nights) are acknowledged as directly meeting 24 per cent of the costs of the children, with the remainder of their share of the costs being payable as child support. They won’t receive a share of Family Tax Benefit Part A or B or some other family assistance payments, but they may still be eligible to access other benefits such as rent assistance and a Health Care Card. They may also be able to receive a higher ‘with child’ rate of income support. Parents with shared care are also recognised in the child sup
