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Child Support Act 1991

Jurisdiction of courts in relation to child support and domestic maintenance - Provisions relating to court orders

118: General powers of court

You could also call this:

“Court's powers to make decisions about child support payments”

When a court uses its powers under this law, it can do many things in addition to making orders. Here’s what the court can do:

You can ask the court to make sure that payments are secured in a way the court decides. This means the court can make sure the money will be paid.

The court can order people to sign documents, show important papers, or do other things to make sure its orders can be carried out properly.

You can ask the court to have payments made to a specific person, a government office, or into the court itself.

The court can make different types of orders. These can be permanent, temporary while waiting for a case to finish, for a set time period, until a child reaches a certain age, or until the court makes another order.

Sometimes, the court can make an order that starts from an earlier date. But this date can’t be before 1 July 1992 or before the day someone asked for their child support to be calculated.

The court can add special terms and conditions to its orders, and it can make orders at any time.

If your application or appeal is dismissed or refused by the Family Court or District Court, you or someone else can still make another application or appeal about the same issue.

If an order has been made or refused, you can ask the court to hear your case again. The court might set some conditions for this.

The court can make rules about how to write orders so that they’re easier to enforce and to collect any money that needs to be paid under them.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM255384.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parenting
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Part 7 Jurisdiction of courts in relation to child support and domestic maintenance
Provisions relating to court orders

118General powers of court

  1. In exercising its powers under this Act, a court may, in addition to making an order under any of the provisions of this Part, do all or any of the following:

  2. order that payment of an amount ordered to be paid be wholly or partly secured as the court specifies:
    1. order that any necessary deed or instrument be executed, and that such documents of title be produced and such other things be done, as are necessary to enable an order to be carried out effectively or to provide security for the due performance of an order:
      1. order that payment be made to a specified person or public authority or into court:
        1. make a permanent order, an order pending the disposal of proceedings, an order for a fixed period, an order until a child attains a specified age, or an order until a further order:
          1. make an order expressed to be retrospective to such day as the court considers appropriate not being a day that precedes the later of—
            1. 1 July 1992; or
              1. the day on which the application for formula assessment to which the order applies was made:
              2. make an order imposing terms and conditions:
                1. make an order at any time.

                  1. Neither the dismissal of an application or appeal under this Act by the Family Court or the District Court, nor the refusal of the Family Court or the District Court to make an order under this Act, shall be a bar to the making of a further application or appeal in the same matter and against the same or any other respondent by the same or any other applicant or appellant.

                  2. Where an order has been made or refused on an application or appeal under this Act, the court may, on the application of the applicant, appellant, or respondent, grant a rehearing of the application or appeal on such conditions as it thinks fit.

                  3. Rules of court may make provision with respect to the making of orders under this Act (whether as to their form or otherwise) for the purpose of facilitating their enforcement and the collection of any financial support payable under them.

                  Compare
                  • Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 s 141 (Aust)
                  Notes
                  • Section 118(2): amended, on , by section 261 of the District Court Act 2016 (2016 No 49).