Below Regular Care
Below regular care is the lowest care band in the child support system. It applies to a parent who has the child for very little time, or not at all, over the year.
At this care level, the formula treats the parent as contributing none of the child’s costs through care, so their contribution has to be made purely through child support payments.
Definition
The child support formula uses 5 different terms to describe care. Below regular care is the term used when a parent has a percentage of care between 0 and less than 14% (0 to 51 nights) in a child support care period.
A parent with less than 14% care for a child is not recognised as meeting any COTC through care.
Definition source: Guides to Social Policy Law, Child Support Guide, Version 4.97, released 20 March 2026, 1.1.B.20 Below regular care.
Role in the formula
In the calculation of child support, the below regular care level captures the situation where a parent provides minimal direct care. The formula assigns that parent a cost percentage of 0%. This means none of the child’s costs are attributed to that parent through care.
Once the cost percentage is 0%, the parent’s child support percentage is simply their income percentage. There is no care offset reducing the rate. The result is the maximum payable share under the basic formula, subject to income constraints and any special rate rules.
This is the opposite of above primary care. One parent is recognised as meeting all or almost all of the child’s costs through care. The other parent, being below regular care, is treated as contributing through payments only.
What it means if you have below regular care
If you have below regular care, the formula does not recognise you as covering any of the child’s costs by having the child with you. Your liability is worked out from your income share alone. That usually produces the highest rate payable under the formula for your income level.
If your income is low, that does not always reduce the assessment to nil. The minimum annual rate or fixed annual rate can still apply, depending on your circumstances. That creates a non-zero baseline contribution even where ordinary formula outcomes would otherwise be very low.
What it means if the other parent has below regular care
If the other parent has below regular care, you have above primary care. The formula treats you as meeting 100% of the child’s costs through care, while the other parent is treated as contributing through payments only.
The amount you receive is the share of the child’s costs not covered by your income percentage.
The other parent’s liability is worked out from their income without any reduction for care. If their income is low, the minimum annual rate or fixed annual rate may still apply.