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Child Support Act 1991

Transitional and savings provisions - Child maintenance liabilities after 1 July 1992 under existing court orders and registered agreements

265: Enforcement of other child maintenance orders and agreements

You could also call this:

“How to make sure old child support agreements are followed”

This part of the law explains how to enforce child maintenance orders and agreements that were made before July 1, 1992. If the Commissioner doesn’t have enough information about these orders or agreements, they can be enforced in two ways:

You can ask the Commissioner in writing to accept the order or agreement for enforcement. If you do this, you need to provide some important information, like the name and address of the person who needs to make payments, how much they need to pay, and when the order ends.

If you don’t ask the Commissioner for help, any unpaid money becomes a debt that the person who owes it must pay to the person who should receive it. This debt can be collected in the same way as if a court had ordered it to be paid.

If you ask the Commissioner to enforce the order or agreement, it will be treated like a voluntary agreement that the Commissioner has accepted. The Commissioner will start collecting payments either on July 1, 1992, or on the day they receive all the necessary information, whichever is later.

The Commissioner will stop collecting payments when the original order or agreement ends or is no longer registered with the court.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM257751.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parenting
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264: Enforcement of Department of Social Welfare administered child maintenance orders and agreements, or

"Making sure old child support payments are collected by the government"

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Part 16 Transitional and savings provisions
Child maintenance liabilities after 1 July 1992 under existing court orders and registered agreements

265Enforcement of other child maintenance orders and agreements

  1. This section applies to every order and agreement to which section 263 applies and in respect of which either—

  2. the Commissioner does not receive from the Director-General of Social Welfare, before 1 July 1992, the following information:
    1. the name and current address of the person entitled to receive payments under the order; and
      1. the names and dates of birth of each child in respect of whom the maintenance is payable; and
        1. the amount payable for each child, the frequency of the payments, and the date on which the order ceases to remain in force; and
          1. such other information as the Commissioner may require in order to be satisfied that the information required to be provided under section 14 has been provided; or
          2. section 264(5)(b) applies.

            1. Any order or agreement to which this section applies may be enforced in one of the following ways:

            2. either party to the order or agreement may apply to the Commissioner in writing for acceptance of that order or agreement for the purposes of enforcement; or
              1. to the extent that paragraph (a) does not apply, all money payable under the order or agreement shall, as soon as it is in arrear and unpaid, constitute a debt by the person against whom the order or agreement was made to the person to whom the money is payable pursuant to the order or agreement, and that money may, without prejudice to any mode of recovery, be enforceable by any person in the same manner as a judgment given in the District Court in civil proceedings.

                1. Notwithstanding section 55, an application for the purposes of subsection (2)(a) shall be deemed to be properly made if it—

                2. provides satisfactory evidence of—
                  1. the name and last known address of the person required to make payments under the order; and
                    1. the amount payable towards the maintenance of the applicant, the frequency of payment, and the date on which the order ceases to remain in force; and
                    2. is signed by either party to the order or agreement; and
                      1. complies with section 55(1)(d) to (g) as if the order or agreement were a voluntary agreement.

                        1. Where any such application is properly made within the meaning of subsection (3),—

                        2. the order or agreement shall be deemed for the purposes of enforcement by the Commissioner, to be a qualifying voluntary agreement that has been accepted by the Commissioner under Part 3; and
                          1. the provisions of sections 58 to 65 shall, with the necessary modifications, apply accordingly,—except that—
                            1. notwithstanding section 59, child support under the order or agreement shall commence to be payable—
                              1. in any case where the application and all the information required to be provided is received by the Commissioner on or before 30 June 1992, on 1 July 1992; or
                                1. in any case where the application and all the information required to be provided is not received by the Commissioner on or before 30 June 1992, on the day on which the application and all the information required to be provided is received by the Commissioner; and
                                2. notwithstanding section 62 of this Act, child support under the order or agreement shall cease to be payable on the date on which the order or agreement ceases to remain in force or ceases to be registered or confirmed under the Family Proceedings Act 1980, as the case may be, in accordance with section 263(2)(b) of this Act.