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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Child Support Act 1991

Enforcement provisions

179A: Waiver of right to payment

You could also call this:

“Giving up your right to get child support money”

If you are looking after a child but you’re not their parent, you can tell the government that you don’t want to get child support payments from the child’s parent anymore. This is called waiving your right to payment. However, you can’t do this if you’re getting an unsupported child’s benefit for that child.

When you tell the government you don’t want the payments, you need to say when you want this to start. If you don’t say when, it will start when the government gets your message.

Once you’ve said you don’t want the payments, the child’s parent doesn’t have to pay any more child support. This includes any payments they haven’t paid yet, even if they were due before you said you didn’t want them.

You can change your mind at any time and start getting payments again. You just need to tell the government. You can say when you want to start getting payments again, or it will start when the government gets your message.

If you start getting an unsupported child’s benefit for the child, you’ll automatically start getting child support payments again.

If you decide to start getting payments again, the child’s parent has to start paying child support from that date. They have 30 days to pay after they’re told about your decision.

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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=DLM6439595.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parenting
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Part 11 Enforcement provisions

179AWaiver of right to payment

  1. A payee who is a non-parent receiving carer of a qualifying child (other than a payee who is in receipt of an unsupported child's benefit for that child) may, by notice to the Commissioner, waive their right to receive the child support payments yet to be paid by a liable parent.

  2. The notice takes effect as a waiver on the date specified in the notice; but if no date is specified, it takes effect on the date on which the notice is received by the Commissioner.

  3. On and from the date on which a waiver takes effect, no unpaid child support payments constitute a debt payable by the liable parent to the Crown, whether the payments were due before, on, or after the date on which the waiver takes effect.

  4. A waiver under this section is revocable at any time, by notice to the Commissioner, and the revocation takes effect on the later of the following:

  5. the date specified in the notice:
    1. the date on which the notice is received by the Commissioner.

      1. A waiver under this section is deemed to be revoked if, and on the date that, the payee begins to receive an unsupported child's benefit for the child to whom the waiver relates.

      2. If a waiver is revoked, the liable parent must pay the child support due in relation to the child from the date the revocation takes effect, and must pay it within 30 days after the date on which the notice of revocation is given to the liable parent.

      Notes
      • Section 179A: inserted, on , by section 29 of the Child Support Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 12).
      • Section 179A(1): amended, on , by section 16(1) of the Child Support (Pass On) Acts Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 27).
      • Section 179A(1): amended, on , by section 215(1) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 (2014 No 39).
      • Section 179A(5): amended, on , by section 16(2) of the Child Support (Pass On) Acts Amendment Act 2023 (2023 No 27).
      • Section 179A(5): amended, on , by section 215(2) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 (2014 No 39).