The Protected Earnings Amount (PEA) is the amount of money that is protected and can’t be withheld for child support payments. This is to ensure your employee or contractor has enough income to cover their basic living expenses.
If your employee or contractor earns a low enough income, you may not be able to deduct the full amount that we ask for.
Your employee or contractor’s net pay cannot be less than the PEA. This means the employee or contractor’s pay, after deducting tax and child support, must be at least the PEA.
Find out more about how to deduct child support.
How much PEA is
The current weekly amount you need to leave in your employee or contractor’s pay is $544.88.
We adjust the PEA annually. This amount is for 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026. If you currently deduct child support, you’ll get a letter by December each year to let you know the adjusted PEA amounts for the new calendar year.
If you pay your employee or contractor at a different frequency, the following table shows how that will change the PEA.
| Pay cycle | PEA calculation |
|---|---|
| Weekly | $544.88 |
| Daily | $544.88 ÷ 7 days = $77.84 |
| Fortnightly | $544.88 x 2 weeks = $1,089.76 |
| 4 weekly | $544.88 x 4 weeks = $2,179.52 |
| Monthly | $77.84 x 30.4375 days per month = $2,369.26 |
The weekly PEA is equal to 75% of the maximum fortnightly basic rate of JobSeeker Payment for a person who has a partner and no dependent children.
When you can’t deduct the full amount
If you can’t deduct the full amount of child support, you’ll need to let us know. The way you tell us will depend on whether you pay to us by either the:
- Child Support reporting method
- Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting method.
Child Support reporting method
You’ll need to send us the reduced deduction and explain the variation. You can do this by:
- calling the Child Support general enquiry line
- completing the Child Support deduction form
- using Child Support Business Online Services, if you have access.
Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting method
Report the amount you deducted as a deduction type D in your STP reporting solution.
You don’t have to do anything about the outstanding child support you couldn’t deduct due to the PEA.
If you can’t deduct any child support because your employee or contractor’s pay was too low, you need to report a $0 child support deduction. Don’t leave the reporting type D field blank. If you do, you won’t have reported for that employee and we’ll need to contact you. This will also delay payments for all of your employees.
You’ll need to check with your software provider to find out how to report a $0 deduction for your employee. Some methods include:
- reporting $0 at the deduction reporting label
- entering the same year-to-date amount that you reported in the previous pay period.
If you can’t report through your STP reporting solution, use another reporting method.
When not to use PEA
The PEA doesn’t apply to deductions under section 72A notices.