Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

CHILD SUPPORT (REGISTRATION AND COLLECTION) ACT 1988 - SECT 71AA

  (1)   If:

  (a)   2 persons each have a debt that is either:

  (i)   a child support debt arising from a liability referred to in section   17 or 17A; or

  (ii)   a carer debt; and

  (b)   the Commonwealth would (apart from this section) be required for each debt, under subsection   69B(3) or section   76, to pay the amount paid by one of the persons to the other person; and

  (c)   for a debt that arose from a liability referred to in section   17 or for a carer debt--the liability provided for, or related to, child support for a child of the 2 persons;

the Registrar may offset the debts by deducting the amount, or part of the amount, of the debt of the person who owes the lesser amount from the amount of the debt of the person who owes the greater amount.

  (2)   If the amount of the debts is the same, the Registrar may offset one debt against the other. In this case, the Commonwealth is taken to have recovered both of the debts.

  (3)   If the amount of the debts is not the same, the Commonwealth is taken to have recovered:

  (a)   so much of the amount of the smaller debt as is offset against the larger debt; and

  (b)   so much of the amount of the larger debt that equals the amount of the smaller debt as is offset.

  (4)   Any amounts recovered by the Commonwealth by way of offset are taken to be:

  (a)   paid by the payer to the Registrar under the registered maintenance liability or carer liability concerned; and

  (b)   paid by the Commonwealth to the payee as provided for in this Act.

Example:   Offset of part of a debt

  Helena was previously the payer of a registrable maintenance liability. Helena's children have now come to live with her. Helena has the greater debt of $3,000 from the period when she was a child support payer. Even though the children are no longer living with Theo, he is entitled to $3,000 in child support when Helena pays it.

  Theo has now been assessed as having a child support liability. Under that liability, Theo has a debt of $150 in respect of a calendar month.

  The Registrar offsets $100 of the debt (part of it only) that became due and payable by Theo against the amount owed by Helena. The effect of the offset is that Helena is taken to have paid $100 per calendar month. Theo is taken to have paid $100 of his liability to pay $150. Under the liability, Theo must pay $50 for that calendar month.

  Each time a debt incurred by Theo under the liability becomes due and payable it may be offset against the remainder of Helena's debt.