TAS Access to super and CSA debt

Australia's #1 for Law
Join 150,000 Australians every month. Ask a question, respond to a question and better understand the law today!
FREE - Join Now

Lisajs

Member
29 June 2020
2
0
1
Hi there

We are hoping for clarification please on if CSA will garnish/take all of my husbands superannuation for a csa debt, if he accesses it early due to covid 19?

thankyou.
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
6 February 2019
2,011
294
2,394
I recommend that upon receiving the money, it be placed in an account that IS NOT in the debtors sole name ... basically, CSA *can* access bank accounts by way of a garnishee notice, but only if the account is in in the debtors name, or money is being held for the debtor only .... Best seek advice from maybe an accountant who has knowledge in this area..... There may be exemptions for early super withdrawal due to Covid being included in the payers income assessment for that year as well ...
 

AmandaB

Well-Known Member
15 May 2018
16
1
74
Hi Lisajs, my partner had to withdraw due to Covid related circumstances and CSA did not touch the withdrawal. They do have a small CSA debt.

Agree with the above poster, don't leave it in his bank just in case but, because the process appears to be the ATO approve & then super fund release, there doesn't seem to be any intercepting or greediness by CSA.

I did find this post before we applied too, just for more information :


hope this helps
 
  • Like
Reactions: Atticus

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
5,152
720
2,894
If you have a CSA debt I reckon they'll grab the $$ before it even hits your bank account. It has to be released from the super fund via the tax office, that is where they'll grab it.
As is the case with csa / ato if it hits the desk of the clerk on a Friday arvo, you might get lucky and the desk jockey will miss it because he is thinking about the weekend. But that is not something I'd be wanting to bank on
 

Tim W

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
28 April 2014
4,913
820
2,894
Sydney
I recommend that upon receiving the money, it be placed in an account that IS NOT in the debtors sole name ...
Whereas I do not recommend committing a fraud on the Commonwealth....
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
6 February 2019
2,011
294
2,394
Whereas I do not recommend committing a fraud on the Commonwealth....
It's not illegal for this person to take their own super payments & place it into any account they wish, & it's highly unlikely that CSA would pursue a charge of fraud even if they claim it has occurred

The debt to the CSA will remain & will no doubt be settled at some point, but neither of us know the circumstances around how or why this person is financially burdened ATM, or the circumstances around how the CS debt was accrued..

If you want to talk about denying the commonwealth what it is owed, we can talk about how the very wealthy assigns a team of lawyers & accountants to divert money through any manner of apparently legal activities, to reduce taxable income & deny the commonwealth of what it ought to be paid... is that not a dishonest activity causing actual or potential financial loss to the commonwealth .... Isn't that the definition of fraud
 

Tim W

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
28 April 2014
4,913
820
2,894
Sydney
It's not illegal for this person to take their own super payments & place it into any account they wish, & it's highly unlikely that CSA would pursue a charge of fraud even if they claim it has occurred
It can, however, be an offence to attempt to conceal money with the aim of evading a debt to the Commonwealth.
The question is not so much "Can they?".
Rather, the question is more like "In the current circumstances, would they?"
To which I suggest that the answer will be something like...

Unless we're talking six figures plus of debt (that is, enough money to make it worth the cost and effort), then the ATO will probably not immediately seek a Garnishee Order on, say, the trustee to apply (some of) the super money to the debt.
More likely, that adjustment will occur when next the taxpayer files a personal return.
...but neither of us know the circumstances around how or why this person is financially burdened ATM, or the circumstances around how the CS debt was accrued..
Nor are they relevant.
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
6 February 2019
2,011
294
2,394
It can, however, be an offence to attempt to conceal money with the aim of evading a debt to the Commonwealth
There is no evidence of evasion just by placing your own money into an account of your choosing, especially as it has to pass via ATO
Whereas I do not recommend committing a fraud on the Commonwealth....
Anyway, getting back to the point of my response ^^^ I don't recommend fraud either, but that isn't what this is.

@AmandaB who posted here has actaully had experience of receiving an early release that passed through ATO, & was paid to the debtor in spite of money owing to CSA ... Further she has provided a link that includes a direct communication with ATO that states they (ATO) has no been advised that it's reportable to CSA
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
5,152
720
2,894
I still reckon you need to be cautious -OR accept there is a debt and it needs to be paid.
The link provided by AmandaB is to a forum, where an ATO officer stated they didn't know the rules around this one. The link to the "Knowledge Base" doesn't answer the question.... I read on a FB page for 'father's rights' that one punter was stung by ATO for his child support debt when accessing super because of Covid.

Short version - Anyone who has any experience with the Child Support Agency will know that their rules and the way they apply them are not even closely related.
 

Atticus

Well-Known Member
6 February 2019
2,011
294
2,394
@Lisajs .... Apart from the possibility of the early release being flagged at ATO due to the debt, I think your next problem would be how that lump sum factors into this years assessment period & how it will affect monthly CS payments for that year ..... Which is why I recommended in my first post that you run this idea by an accountant who has specific knowledge in this area to be sure