Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator the Hon Jocelyn Newman)Chapter 2 - Information Disclosure On Assessment Notice
Overview
2.1 Schedule 2 of the Bill will amend the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (the Assessment Act) to modify the requirement to disclose detailed information relating to children of a paying parent on the notice of assessment.
Summary of the amendments
2.2 The proposed amendments will reduce the intrusion into the privacy of a paying parent in relation to information about their children from another relationship.
2.3 On the day on which the Act receives Royal Assent.
Background to the legislation
2.4 An allowance is made in calculating the child support payable under the administrative formula for the natural or adopted children of the paying parent who are from another relationship and are in the daily care of the paying parent. The amount of the allowance varies according to the age of the child. Disclosing information about any children of that relationship intrudes on the privacy of the paying parent.
Explanation of the amendments
Modified information to be shown on notice of assessment
2.5 The names and dates of birth of the children in the daily care of the paying parent are currently required to be shown on the notice of assessment in order to identify how the paying parent's exempted income was determined.
2.6 The proposed amendments will modify the disclosure requirements on the notice of assessment so that only the number of children in each age group will need to be shown. As the amount of child support payable under the administrative assessment varies depending on the age of a child, the number of children in each age group will continue to be required to be shown on the notice of assessment. [Item 1 - repeal paragraph 76(2)(d) and insert new paragraph 76(2)(d); Item 4 - insert new subsection 76(2A)]
Parents who share care of a child
2.7 Where parents share the care of a child, they may both be considered to be paying parents. Therefore the names and dates of birth of children in the daily care of the paying parent, in this case both parents, are required to be shown on the notice of assessment.
2.8 The proposed amendments will modify this requirement so that the information required to be shown on the notice of assessment will be confined to the number of children in each age group that have been taken into account in arriving at the amount of child support payable. [Item 2 - amend paragraph 76(2)(f)]
Children where there are two paying parents
2.9 A carer who is not a parent of a child may receive child support from the parents of the child. The information on the notice of assessment provided to the non-paying carer will disclose the names and dates of birth of children of either or both parents.
2.10 The proposed amendments will ensure that information relating to the names and dates of birth of the children of either paying parent will not be disclosed to the carer. Instead only the number of children in each age group will be shown on the notice of assessment. [Item 3 - repeal subparagraph 76(2)(g)(iii) and insert new subparagraph 76(2)(g)(iii)]