Departure Orders

In certain circumstances the Child Support Assessment Act allows parents who are dissatisfied with decisions made by the Child Support Agency’s change of assessment process to apply directly to a court to have that decision reviewed.

The parties to court proceedings under the Child Support Assessment Act are the payer and payee.

A parent can apply to review a Child Support Agency assessment if one or more of a specified range of special circumstances apply to them, their children or the other parent. These special circumstances are the same as the reasons for an application for a change of assessment. Importantly however, the decisions made in such a (departure order) case are made by the court and not the Agency.

The Child Support Agency's assessment of child support continues to apply while the court deals with a parent's application. The Agency will continue to collect child support payable under the assessment. However, a parent can apply to the court for a stay order.