If parents or non-parent carers can agree on child support but would like us to manage it for them, they can register a voluntary agreement with us. We collect and pass the money from the liable parent to the receiving carer. Both the receiving carer and liable parent must be New Zealand citizens or ordinarily resident in New Zealand to register a voluntary agreement.
If you'd like help with agreeing on an amount, you can use our child support liability and entitlement calculator to work out what you could pay or receive under a formula assessment.
How voluntary agreements work
The liable parent and the receiving carer must agree on an amount. The minimum is $10 a week.
When you've agreed on an amount, you register the agreement with us. If accepted, we send both people a notice with the amount you agreed.
Liable parents earning salary, wages or schedular payments will have child support payments deducted by their employer. We’ll let the employer know how much to deduct and when. If the liable parent is getting a benefit or student allowance, we will ask Work and Income or Studylink to deduct child support payments.
If the liable parent needs to organise payments, they can set up an automatic payment or direct debit.
Payments are due by the 20th of the month and as long as we receive payment we pay the receiving carer on the 23rd of the month. If the liable parent misses a payment, we'll follow it up.
Switching to another type of child support arrangement
If your voluntary agreement is not working out, you can switch to a private agreement or apply for a formula assessment at any time. Either the liable parent or receiving carer can apply for a formula assessment.
When a voluntary agreement ends
A voluntary agreement ends when:
- a child the agreement covers no longer qualifies for child support, for example - when they turn 18 and are not enrolled at and attending school
- the receiving carer cancels the agreement
- the agreement expires
- either person applies for a formula assessment.
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