Limited Child Support Agreement (LCSA)

Purpose of this Guide: Use this plan when parents or eligible non-parent carers wish to enter into a private agreement to manage child support payments without the high expense of mandatory independent legal certificates. A Limited Child Support Agreement allows parties to define their own child support rates and non-periodic expenses, such as private school tuition or medical fees. Open this plan at intake when a client wants to formalise a flexible, private child support arrangement and has an active administrative assessment in place.

Jurisdiction: Federal: governed by the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth) and administered by Services Australia. This plan family contains two forks: one for administrative objections and tribunal reviews through the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), and another for court litigation in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) to set aside or enforce an agreement.

The Process at a Glance: Conduct a conflict check and obtain financial disclosure from both parties. Verify that a formula-based child support assessment is active and that the agreed annual payment rate equals or exceeds this assessed rate. Check that the receiving parent meets the shared care threshold of at least thirty-five percent care. Draft the custom contract, annex it to the official registration form, and ensure both parents sign the documents. Submit the application to Services Australia and monitor the registration. Conduct a final review of the subsequent Notional Assessment and advise the payee on how it affects their family tax benefits.