on this page
From Private Collect to Child Support Collect
You can ask us to collect child support on your behalf. We can collect either:
- up to 3 months of unpaid child support
- up to 9 months of unpaid child support in some circumstances.
To collect unpaid child support from periods earlier than this, you can get legal advice about court action. This will be at your own cost.
If you collect child support privately and aren’t receiving the full amount, call us on the Child support enquiry line. We’ll talk about collecting on your behalf. We’ll also refer you to a Centrelink Service Officer to talk to you about how this may impact your FTB Part A.
From Child Support Collect to Private Collect
If we collect child support for you and you then decide to collect privately, either of the following can happen:
- we continue to collect any overdue amounts for you
- you choose to collect any overdue amounts privately.
If you choose to collect overdue child support yourself, we’ll assume you’ve collected the full amount. This may impact how much FTB we’ll pay you.
Call us on the Families line first to understand the impact on your FTB.
Contact numbers available on this page.
Centrelink families line
Use this line if you need help with family payments, such as Family Tax Benefit, Child Care Subsidy or Parental Leave Pay.
Child Support Enquiry Line
Use this line if you have a question about child support or need to report a change in your circumstances. Let us know if you need an interpreter and we’ll arrange one for free.
There are other ways you may want to contact us.