Child Support Mediation — resolve it privately, fairly.

Child support: the basics

Child support in Australia is administered by Services Australia — Child Support, using a formula that takes both parents' taxable incomes, the cost of children at different ages, and the percentage of care each parent provides. For most families the standard assessment works fine — a number gets calculated, payments flow, and life moves on.

Where it doesn't work fine is where mediation comes in: disputes about the assessment, special expenses the formula doesn't capture, complex or shared care, or where parents want a private arrangement better tailored to their situation.

When mediation helps

• Disputes about income — particularly with self-employed parents
• Special expenses — private school, medical, extracurriculars — above the standard formula
• Care percentage disputes — which directly affect the payment
• Significant change in circumstances — job loss, new family, relocation
• Building a private agreement instead of going through Services Australia
• Where child support and parenting arrangements are entangled — better resolved together

The formula — and where it falls short

The standard formula is administrative and broad-brush. It captures:

• Both parents' taxable incomes (with a self-support amount set aside)
• The cost of children, based on research-derived figures
• The percentage of care each parent provides
• The number and ages of children

What it doesn't capture well: special expenses, unusual care patterns, the realities of self-employment, contributions in kind, and the parties' own preferences. That's why private agreements exist. See the full child support guide →

How the mediation process works

1. Initial consultation — understanding the dispute or what you want to agree.
2. Financial disclosure — income, expenses, special costs for the children.
3. Pre-mediation intake — separately with each parent.
4. The session — working through the assessment, special expenses, and any care arrangements.
5. Agreement — either a Child Support Agreement (registered) or a private arrangement.
6. Implementation — registered with Services Australia if agreed, or self-managed.

Private vs agency-collected

Parents have three main options for how child support runs:

• Self-management — you agree, you pay, no agency involvement.
• Private collection — Services Australia assesses but doesn't collect.
• Agency collection — Services Australia assesses and collects.

Mediation often produces self-managed or private arrangements where the relationship supports it.

Special expenses

The formula covers ordinary costs of raising children. Above-formula expenses — private school, orthodontics, expensive extracurriculars, special medical needs — are exactly where parents most often disagree. Mediation lets you agree:

• Which expenses count as special
• How they're shared (50/50, in proportion to income, otherwise)
• How they're paid — directly to providers, reimbursed, or pooled
• How decisions about new expenses get made

Child support and parenting

Care percentages feed the formula, which means disputes about parenting time can become disputes about money — and vice versa. Mediating them together produces a coherent outcome where both pieces fit. See child custody mediation →

Getting started

The first step is a free initial consultation. We'll understand what's in dispute, whether the standard formula is working, and what would actually help. Many child support matters resolve in a single session.