Care Percentage
Care percentage is the share of time a parent looks after a child over a care period. The calculation is almost always based on the number of nights the child stays with each parent.
The percentage of care feeds into the child support formula, determining how much of the child’s costs each parent is treated as meeting through care. A care percentage calculator converts nights of care for you.
Key takeaways for parents
Care percentage in the child support formula is almost always based on the number of overnights you have with your child in a year, fortnight or other period.
- A change of one overnight per fortnight may produce no change in child support if both care arrangements fall within the same care band; and
- The same one-night change may produce a large change if it crosses a care-band threshold and alters the cost percentage.
The relationship between care percentage and cost percentage is not smooth because the formula assigns care percentages to bands.
Meaning of care percentage
The percentage of care is used in the child support formula to take into account the amount of time a parent or non-parent carer is responsible for providing care for the child.
A parent’s or non-parent carer’s care percentage is the percentage of care of the child the person is likely to have over the care period. A care period is generally a 12-month period, but may be shorter or longer in some circumstances.
A person’s percentage of care for a child will generally be determined according to the actual care that they have of the child. The actual care may be reflected in care arrangements agreed upon by the parents, including non-parent carers. An agreed care arrangement might take the form of a written agreement, parenting plan or court order in relation to a child’s care.
In limited circumstances where care is disputed, a person’s percentage of care for both child support and FTB purposes may be determined according to a written agreement, parenting plan or court order for an interim period, rather than being based on actual care.
Definition source: Guides to Social Policy Law, Child Support Guide, Percentage of care.
Care bands
Once care percentage is determined, it is placed into a care band. Each band assigns a fixed share of the child’s costs that the parent is treated as meeting through care.
14%–34% (Regular care) → 24% of costs
35%–47% (Shared care) → 25%–49% of costs
48%–52% (Equal care) → 50% of costs
53%–65% (Shared care) → 51%–75% of costs
66%–86% (Primary care) → 76% of costs
87%–100% (Above primary care) → 100% of costs
Care bands are fixed ranges. Moving across a threshold can change the recognised share of costs even if the change in nights is small.
The labels describe the level of care but do not drive the calculation on their own. The outcome is determined by the cost percentage assigned to the band.
How care percentage affects the formula
Care percentage determines how much of the child’s costs a parent is treated as meeting through time spent caring. The formula converts care percentage into a cost percentage, which is then compared to the parent’s share of income.
Comparing income percentage with cost percentage produces the child support percentage, which drives whether a parent pays or receives child support and by how much.
Care percentage is usually calculated from overnights across a 365-day period. For example, 182 nights equals about 49.8% care, not 50%. The system then applies rounding rules when assigning the final percentage used in the formula.
Where the calculated care percentage is below 50%, it is rounded down to the nearest whole percentage. Where it is 50% or above, it is rounded up. The rounding rule affects which care band applies and can change the resulting assessment.
In most cases, nights are the best measure of care. Where night-based counting does not reflect the real arrangement, the Registrar may use hours of care instead and convert those hours into a percentage.
Five nights per fortnight
Alex has care of one child for 5 nights per fortnight, and Priya has care for the other 9 nights.
Services Australia annualises that pattern as 5 × 26 = 130 nights for Alex, and 235 nights for Priya. The annualised pattern gives Alex 35% care and Priya 65% care. Services Australia describes 5 to 9 nights a fortnight as shared care.
At 35% care, Alex’s cost percentage is 25%. In the same case, Priya’s cost percentage is 75%.
Priya: 65% care → 75% cost percentage
Alex’s and Priya’s cost percentages are then compared with each parent’s income percentage to work out who pays child support and at what rate.