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Child Support Act 1991

Jurisdiction of courts in relation to child support and domestic maintenance - General provisions relating to jurisdiction

97: Jurisdiction of courts

You could also call this:

“Which courts can decide about child support and when they can do it”

Under the Child Support Act 1991, certain courts in New Zealand can make decisions about child support. These courts are the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the District Court, and the Family Court. However, these courts can only make decisions in two situations:

  1. If you, or anyone else involved in the case, lives in New Zealand or calls New Zealand home.

  2. If the child the case is about lives in New Zealand or calls New Zealand home.

This means that for these courts to be able to make decisions about your child support case, either you, the other person involved, or your child needs to have a connection to New Zealand by living there.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM255318.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parenting Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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96ZG: Application of certain provisions in Part 6A to proceedings under this Part, or

"Rules for changes to child support calculations and hearings"

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98: Minimum liability in respect of child support, or

"The lowest amount of money a parent must pay for child support"

Part 7 Jurisdiction of courts in relation to child support and domestic maintenance
General provisions relating to jurisdiction

97Jurisdiction of courts

  1. The Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the District Court, and the Family Court shall have jurisdiction in proceedings under this Act only where—

  2. any party to the proceeding resides or is domiciled in New Zealand; or
    1. any child to whom the proceeding relates resides or is domiciled in New Zealand.

      Compare
      • 1980 No 94 s 4
      Notes
      • Section 97: amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).
      • Section 97: amended, on , by section 47 of the Supreme Court Act 2003 (2003 No 53).