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Child Support Act 1991

Collection of financial support - Sufficient reason for declining to enter into or make payment agreement

135AA: Non-compliance without reasonable cause with previous payment agreements

You could also call this:

“You might not get a new payment plan if you didn't follow old ones without a good reason”

If you owe child support, you might ask the Commissioner to make a special payment agreement with you. However, the Commissioner can say no to this if you didn’t follow previous payment agreements without a good reason.

The Commissioner can refuse to make a new agreement with you if they know two things:

  1. You didn’t follow one or more payment agreements you made before.
  2. You didn’t have a good reason for not following those agreements.

Even if the Commissioner knows these things, they can still change their mind if they get new information that shows you did have a good reason, or that you did follow the agreements.

The Commissioner can also say no to making an agreement with you for other reasons.

If the Commissioner decides not to make an agreement with you, you can’t argue against this decision using Part 6 of the Child Support Act.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM6763197.

Topics:
Family and relationships > Children and parenting
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Part 8 Collection of financial support
Sufficient reason for declining to enter into or make payment agreement

135AANon-compliance without reasonable cause with previous payment agreements

  1. The Commissioner may decline to enter into a payment agreement with a liable person solely for the reason that the Commissioner is satisfied on the basis of information available to the Commissioner of both of the following matters:

  2. that the liable person has not complied with 1 or more earlier payment agreements; and
    1. that no reasonable cause existed for the liable person's non-compliance with all or any of those agreements.

      1. This section does not prevent the Commissioner from—

      2. declining to enter into the agreement for any other reason; or
        1. ceasing, because of further information available to the Commissioner, to be satisfied of either or both of those matters.

          1. For the purposes of section 96 (which identifies matters with respect to which Part 6 does not confer any right of objection), the Commissioner's decision whether to enter into or make a payment agreement is a matter left by this section to the discretion of the Commissioner.

          Notes
          • Section 135AA: inserted, on , by section 41 of the Child Support Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 12).