A child support subpoena issued by the child support agency or the court poses a risk for the paying parent.
Child Support Subpoena
To what extent can the child support agency and the court subpoena information? Can they force the liable parent or their accountant to provide information? And to what extent can the agency and court go to other countries to get information?
These are some of the questions Simon Bacon of Manby & Scott in Melbourne will answer for you.
Here is what we learned but please listen in as Simon explains all this much better than we ever could.
To listen while you drive, walk or work, just access the episode through a free podcast app on your mobile phone.
Child Support Subpoena
The child support agency or court can ask you as the paying parent or anybody else associated with you for any information they deem necessary.
Section 161 (3) Child Support Assessment Act
It is all about section 161 paragraph 3 of the Child Support Assessment Act of 1989. That paragraph says,
“(3) A person who, without reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to comply with …[a request for information]… is guilty of an offence punishable by imprisonment not exceeding 6 months.”
That gives the agency and the court a lot of leverage.
It is basically a blank cheque. The agency or court can request information from anybody and everybody.
Reciprocating v Non-Reciprocating
29 percent of Australians were born overseas. So there is a roughly 1 in 3 chance that the mother or father in question has strong links to another country.
But to hide assets or income in another country, of course, you don’t need to have even been born there. All you need is an asset account in a non-reciprocating jurisdiction.
So with a reciprocating jurisdiction, the agency and court can request any information they need. So again a blank cheque.
But with a non-reciprocating country that door is closed. Njet.The agency or court can’t go to that country and request information.
Reciprocating Jurisdictions
You find the reciprocating countries easily by googling the list on the Services Australia website. It’s a long list and you find it easily on Google.
Non-Reciprocating Jurisdictions
The music is in non-reciprocating countries. These are the countries where the agency and the court can’t go and ask for data. And that list is a lot more difficult to work out. Since there is no public list.
So we sat down and looked at every country in the world and worked out whether it is reciprocating or not.
This list comes with a disclaimer though – please don’t rely on this, this is not a definite list. Please seek professional advice.
Non-reciprocating countries are the countries where the agency or court can’t go knocking.
- Afghanistan
- Angola
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Belize
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Bulgaria
- Burundi
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Chad
- China
- Comoros
- Congo
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guinea
- Guinea – Bissau
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Madagascar
- Maldives
- Mali
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Mongolia
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Oman
- Palau
- Palestine State
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Qatar
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Korea
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Timor – Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Turkmenistan
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Yemen
Excluded Jurisdictions
And then also just for completeness, the following countries are excluded.
- Brunei Darussalam
- Cook Islands
- Israel
- Niue
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Yukon, in Canada.
So with these non-reciprocating and excluded countries, child support gets more complicated when the payer or payee is residing or has assets or income in any of these countries.
Summary
Thanks to their child support subpoena powers in section 161 (3), the agency and court can request any information they deem necessary and you face jail if you don’t comply. Reciprocating countries are an open book. But non-reciprocating and excluded countries are out. No info.
MORE
PSI in Child Support Assessments
Disclaimer: Tax Talks does not provide financial or tax advice. All information on Tax Talks is of a general nature only and might no longer be up to date or correct. You should seek professional accredited tax and financial advice when considering whether the information is suitable to your or your client’s circumstances.
Last Updated on 20 February 2023
Tax Talks spoke to Simon Bacon - Partner at Manby & Scott - for more details.
