Commonwealth Numbered Acts

CHILD SUPPORT LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1992 No. 13 of 1992 - SECT 18

18. After section 72 of the Principal Act the following sections are inserted
in Part V: Registrar may collect child support related debts from a third
person

"72A.(1) The Registrar may give written notice to a person:

   (a)  by whom money is due or accruing, or may become due, to a child
        support debtor; or

   (b)  who holds, or may subsequently hold, money for or on account of a
        child support debtor; or

   (c)  who holds, or may subsequently hold money on account of some other
        person for payment to a child support debtor; or

   (d)  who has authority from some other person to pay money to a child
        support debtor; requiring that person to pay to the Registrar:

   (e)  if the amount of money is more than the amount specified in the notice
        as the amount of the debtor's support debt - an amount equal to the
        amount of the support debt; or

   (f)  if the amount of money is equal to or less than the amount of the
        support debt - that amount of money; or

   (g)  if the notice specifies an amount of money that is to be paid out of
        each payment that the notified person becomes liable, from time to
        time, to make to the debtor - that amount until the support debt is
        satisfied.

"(2) A person who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with
a notice under subsection (1) is guilty of an offence. Penalty: $1,000.

"(3) A notice:

   (a)  must specify a day, not being a day before the money becomes due or is
        held, on or before which the money is to be paid; and

   (b)  may be varied by the Registrar specifying a later day for making a
        payment under the notice.

"(4) Subsection 4K(1) of the Crimes Act 1914 does not apply in relation to
anything required to be done under subsection (1).

"(5) If the Registrar gives a notice under subsection (1), the Registrar must
provide a copy of the notice to the child support debtor.

"(6) A notice is taken to be provided under subsection (5) if the Registrar
sends the notice to the last address of the person known to the Registrar.

"(7) A notice is taken to have been given to the Commonwealth, a State or a
Territory if it is served on a prescribed person.

"(8) If a person is convicted of an offence against subsection (1), the court
may, in addition to imposing a penalty on the person, order the person to pay
to the Registrar an amount that is not more than the amount, or sum of the
amounts (as the case may be), that the person refused or failed to pay to the
Registrar.

"(9) A person who makes a payment in compliance with a notice under subsection
(1) is taken to have made the payment under the debtor's authority or the
authority of any other person concerned and is indemnified in respect of that
payment.

"(10) If:

   (a)  the Registrar gives a notice under subsection (1); and

   (b)  before the person to whom the notice is given complies with it,
        payment of the amount due by the debtor is made; the Registrar must
        immediately give the person written notice of that payment.

"(11) For the purposes of this section, where:

   (a)  a person has paid money to a building society in respect of the issue
        of withdrawable shares in the capital of the society; and

   (b)  the building society has not repaid the money; the money is taken to
        be:

   (c)  if the money is repayable on demand - due by the building society to
        the person; and

   (d)  in any other case - money that may become due by the building society
        to the person.

"(12) For the purposes of this section, if, apart from this subsection, money
is not due, or repayable on demand to a person unless a condition is
fulfilled, the money is taken to be due, or repayable on demand (as the case
may be), to the person even though the condition has not been fulfilled.

"(13) In this section:
'building society' means a society registered or incorporated as a building
society, co-operative housing society or other similar society under a law
relating to such societies that is in force in a State or Territory;
'child support debtor' means a person who is liable to pay a child support
debt or a child support related debt;
'child support related debt', in relation to a person, includes:

   (a)  the amount of penalty (if any) imposed under section 67 in respect of
        that debt; and

   (b)  any costs ordered by a court to be paid to the Commonwealth in respect
        of an offence committed by the person against this Act or the
        Child Support  (Assessment) Act 1989 ; and

   (c)  any amount ordered by a court, upon the conviction of a person for an
        offence against this Act or the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989,
        to be paid by the person to the Registrar;
'person' includes a partnership and any Commonwealth, State or Territory
public authority (whether incorporated or unincorporated);
'support debt' means a child support debt or a child support related debt.
Person receiving or controlling money of a debtor who is outside Australia

"72B.(1) If:

   (a)  a child support debtor is not physically present in Australia; and

   (b)  the debtor either:

        (i)    derives income, or profits or gains of a capital nature, from a
               source in Australia; or

        (ii)   is a shareholder, debenture holder or depositor in a company
               deriving income, or profits or gains of a capital nature, from
               a source in Australia; and

   (c)  another person in Australia receives, controls or disposes of, any of
        the debtor's money; the following provisions apply:

   (d)  the other person must, when notified by the Registrar under subsection
        (2), pay the debtor's support debt;

   (e)  the person is authorised and required, when notified by the Registrar
        under subsection (2), to retain from time to time, out of any money
        that comes to him or her on behalf of the debtor, enough to pay the
        debtor's support debt or any amount that may become payable by the
        debtor as a child support debt;

   (f)  the person is personally liable for the debtor's support debt to the
        extent of any amount that he or she retained, or should have retained,
        under paragraph (e);

   (g)  the person is taken to be authorised by the debtor, or any other
        person concerned, to make any payments under this section.

"(2) If the Registrar requires a person referred to in paragraph (1)(c) to do
a thing referred to in paragraph (1)(d) or (e), the Registrar must give that
person written notice of:

   (a)  that requirement; and

   (b)  the amount of the debtor's support debt; and

   (c)  the day by which the person should pay the amount required to be paid.

"(3) If the person who receives, controls or disposes of any of a debtor's
money is:

   (a)  the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority; or

   (b)  a State or a State authority; or

   (c)  a Territory or a Territory authority; paragraph (1)(f) does not apply
        to or in relation to that body.

"(4) For the purposes of this section:

   (a)  a person is taken to have control of a debtor's money if the person is
        liable to pay money to the debtor; and

   (b)  money, other than money that is a natural resource payment or a
        royalty payment within the meaning of Division 3B of Part VI of the
        Income Tax  Assessment Act 1936 , due by the person to the debtor is
        taken to be money that comes to the person on behalf of the debtor.

"(5) Words and expressions used in this section that are defined in:

   (a)  the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936; or

   (b)  in section 72A; have, in this section, the meaning given by that Act
        or that section. Transaction to defeat maintenance liability

"72C.(1) The court may, of its own volition or on application by the
Registrar:

   (a)  set aside an instrument or disposition that has been made; or

   (b)  restrain the making of an instrument or disposition that is proposed
        to be made; by or on behalf of, or by direction or in the interest of,
        a payer of an enforceable maintenance liability.

"(2) If the court is satisfied that the instrument or disposition has been
made or is proposed to be made (as the case may be) to reduce or defeat the
payer's ability:

   (a)  to pay child support; or

   (b)  if there is an enforceable maintenance liability in respect of the
        payer:

        (i)    to pay any child support debt under the enforceable maintenance
               liability; or

        (ii)   to meet the enforceable maintenance liability; the court may
               set aside the instrument or disposition or restrain the making
               of the proposed instrument or disposition as the case requires.

"(3) The court may order:

   (a)  that any money or any real or personal property dealt with by any such
        instrument or disposition may be taken in execution, or charged with
        the payment, of such amounts for costs or child support as the court
        directs; or

   (b)  that the proceeds of a sale must be paid into court to abide by its
        order.

"(4) The court must have regard to the interests of a bona fide purchaser or
other interested person and must make any order it considers proper for the
protection of those persons.

"(5) The court may order:

   (a)  the payer; or

   (b)  if a person has colluded with the payer in the making or proposed
        making of the instrument or disposition - that person; to pay the
        costs incurred by:

   (c)  the payee of the enforceable maintenance liability; or

   (d)  a bona fide purchaser or other person for whose protection an order is
        made under subsection (4); or

   (e)  the Registrar; in relation to the making, or the proposed making, of
        the instrument or disposition or the proceedings under this section.

"(6) In this section, 'disposition' includes a sale and a gift.".