VIC Child support & private school fees

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Madloc

Member
29 June 2017
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Don't know where to start but the ex is wanting me to pay half the school fees for a private school I detest.
My wife pressured me to enroll 1st born, after first year of schooling I asked now ex wife to change daughter to a different school she refused. When we were together we couldn't afford the school fees then. She has since enrolled our other two children into the same school. I never signed an enrolment form for the subsequent children.
I pay child support on time however now a debt collector is after payment of these fees.
Where do I stand legally on this issue?
Many thanks
 

sammy01

Well-Known Member
27 September 2015
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This is a messy one... so you signed the first form for the first kid... That shows intent... so clearly you intended to send kids to private school. It is then not a stretch to say that you were prepared to do same for the other kids... Not very good so far.. I would encourage you to call child support. You want to try and get your head around their rules first.... That isn't easy....
so here are some links for you to read... Don't guarantee it will make things any clearer CSA is a mystery to me
5.3.1 Non-agency Payments | Child Support Guide
This is also worth a look
2.6.9 Reason 3 - High Costs of Caring for, Educating or Training the Child in the Manner Expected by the Parents | Child Support Guide

So I've read both sections (twice) Do I think you have to pay? U'm I was more certain of my opinion before I started reading their crap than I am now that I have read the rules... sigh.
 

Rob Legat - SBPL

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
16 February 2017
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I'm not a family lawyer, but have some experience in child support issues.

Firstly, are there any parenting orders in place? Specifically, are there any orders about who is to determine the children's schooling? Also, you don't mention whether the child support is private or agency collect.

While there could be an argument for you contributing to the cost of schooling for your eldest because you consented to her going to the school you did revoke that consent, and only agreed in the first place under 'pressure' (how relevant that is depends on the circumstances). CSA's guidelines around expenses outside of the usual payments system basically boil down to (a) where both parties agree to it or (b) where one parent makes an application to CSA and they agree to it.

With (a), at least in my experience, it has to be very clear that the party being asked to contribute overtly agreed to do so. From what you've said, that would not appear to be the case.

With (b), in terms of private schooling, @sammy01 has kindly linked the Child Support Guide part on high costs for educating. Under the section "Is the child being cared for, educated or trained in a manner expected by his or her parents?", it states:

"Where a parent has not agreed to the child attending a private school they will not be liable to contribute to the fees unless there are reasons relating to the child's welfare that mean that the child attend a private school (and the costs would then relate to the child's special needs - See Reason 2 (2.6.8)"

This raises two issues:

(i) If there are special needs, it may be accepted by CSA that you are liable; and
(ii) The Guide says "a" private school, not "a specific" private school. If you've agreed they may attend a private school, but just not that particular one, you may be deemed to have consented to the attendance in the absence of any sort of right to determine which school (see my above comments about parenting orders).

Lastly, with respect to the debt collectors, there's a general way to deal with these sorts of things. ACCC and ASIC jointly publish a Debt Collection Guideline. It's not strictly binding, but it is the benchmark for industry and generally followed. You can get it from the www.accc.gov.au website. Read the section "Quantum of or liability for a debt is disputed" starting on page 27.

When contacted, politely inform the debt collector that you dispute liability for the debt. If they continue to contact you and it's not for one of the appropriate reasons, ask them if they adhere to the ASIC/ACCC Debt Collection Guideline. If they say yes, remind them of the section on disputed debt. If they don't (which would be rare), suggest that they might like to consider it before taking any further action. Either way, restate that you have disputed liability for the debt and no further communication with you should be made unless it is for the purpose of:

- Clarifying the basis of the claim and the consequences of legal action being taken;
- Informing you of the intention to start legal proceedings (or actually serving you with process); or
- Putting a genuine proposal to you for settlement of the debt (if you're willing to entertain that).
 
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