4Objects

1. The objects of this Act are—

2. to affirm the right of children to be maintained by their parents:
3. to affirm the obligation of parents to maintain their children:
5. to provide that the level of financial support to be provided by parents for their children is to be determined according to their relative capacity to provide financial support and their relative levels of provision of care:
6. to ensure that parents with a like capacity to provide financial support for their children should provide like amounts of financial support:
7. to provide legislatively fixed standards in accordance with which the level of financial support to be provided by parents for their children should be determined:
8. to affirm the right of carers who provide significant care to children to receive financial support in respect of those children from a parent or parents of the children:
9. to enable carers of children to receive support in respect of those children from parents without the need to resort to court proceedings:
10. to ensure that equity exists between parents and, where applicable, carers, in respect of the costs of supporting children:
11. to ensure that obligations to birth and adopted children are not extinguished by obligations to stepchildren:
12. to ensure that the costs to the State of providing an adequate level of financial support for children and their carers is offset by the collection of a fair contribution from liable parents:
13. to provide a system whereby child support and domestic maintenance payments can be collected by the Crown, and paid by the Crown to those entitled to the money.