Your child is about to turn 18, or maybe they turned 18 last week, and you are wondering the same thing most paying parents wonder. Do the payments just stop, or are you on the hook for longer?
The short answer is that child support normally ends when your child turns 18. But there are two situations where it keeps going. The first is a short extension to the end of the school year, if your child is still in secondary school. The second is adult child maintenance, which a court can order when your child is finishing their education or has a disability that stops them supporting themselves.
Here is how each one works, who you apply to, and roughly how much a court could order.
Does child support automatically stop at 18?
Under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, a standard child support assessment ends when your child turns 18. That is the default. It does not quietly roll on into their uni years, and it does not extend just because they still live at home.
If your real question is when payments stop for some other reason, a job, a new relationship, a change in care, that is a separate topic, and I have covered it over on when child support stops. This page is about the two exceptions that push support past 18.
The extension to finish secondary school
Here is where a lot of parents get caught out. The extension to the end of the school year is not automatic. You have to apply for it.
If your child turns 18 while they are still in secondary school, you can ask for the assessment to continue to the end of that school year. The school leaving age and an 18th birthday rarely line up, so plenty of students are still in year 12 when they turn 18. But you need to apply to Services Australia while your child is still 17, before their 18th birthday. Leave it too late and the door is mostly shut. Late applications are only accepted in limited circumstances that were beyond your control.
Miss that deadline and it costs you twice. You lose the extension, and your Family Tax Benefit Part A can drop to the base rate. So if your child is 17 and still at school, put this on your calendar now.
Adult child maintenance: who decides, and on what grounds
The second exception is adult child maintenance, and this is the one that gets explained wrong most often.
Adult child maintenance is not something the Child Support Registrar assesses. The Registrar runs the under-18 scheme and nothing more. To get support for a child over 18, you apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia for an order under section 66L of the Family Law Act 1975.
The court can only make that order on one of two grounds:
- the maintenance is necessary to let your child complete their education, or
- your child has a mental or physical disability that stops them supporting themselves.
That word necessary is doing a lot of work, and it is where most claims fall over. More on that next.
How does the court work out the amount?
If a court does look at adult child maintenance, it works through two steps.
First, what does your child actually need? The court looks at their necessary expenses: food, a roof over their head, utilities, transport, study costs, and medical costs. Then it weighs those needs against each parent’s financial capacity to meet them.
The line the court draws is between necessary and desirable. It is not there to fund a lifestyle or top up a comfortable one. It is there to cover genuine need. That is why most adult children do not qualify. A healthy 19-year-old who can work part-time around their study can usually support themselves, and the test is necessity, not convenience.
Two practical points on study costs. HECS-HELP fees are generally not treated as a necessary expense, because they do not fall due while your child is studying, they come later once your child is earning. TAFE and course fees you have to pay now can count.
Here is a rough illustration of how the two steps fit together. This is not a real client, and it is not a formula, just a picture of the shape of it. Say your child is at TAFE full-time, lives at home, and has necessary weekly costs of around $400 once you add up food, their share of the household, transport, and course fees. The court would set that figure against what each parent can realistically afford. If one parent has far more capacity than the other, an order might ask them to cover a portion of that weekly need, not the whole amount, and not a cent past the need itself. Change the facts and the answer changes.
What about apprenticeships and further study?
A common question is whether an apprenticeship counts. It can, but where it counts depends on the path. A school-based apprenticeship your child is doing while still enrolled in secondary school can support the secondary-school extension. A standalone apprenticeship or vocational course started after they finish school is post-school study, so it does not qualify for that extension; it goes to the adult child maintenance path instead, where it counts as education.
But counting as education is not the same as guaranteeing support. It still runs through the same necessity test. An apprentice earning a wage is, in most cases, supporting themselves, which is exactly what the court looks at. University is the same. Being enrolled does not by itself keep support running. The question is always whether your child genuinely needs the help, and whether a parent has the capacity to provide it.
Who do you apply to, and when?
To keep the two paths clear:
- For the secondary-school extension, apply to Services Australia while your child is 17, before their 18th birthday.
- For adult child maintenance, apply to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. This is a court application, supported by an affidavit setting out your child’s needs and each parent’s finances. You can start it while your child is 17 so it takes effect at 18, or after they have turned 18.
Court applications take time to work through, so if you think adult child maintenance is on the cards, it is worth starting early rather than waiting for a deadline to force your hand.
So do you still have to pay child support after 18?
Back to the question you came here with. Usually, no. Support ends at 18 unless one of two things is true. Your child is still finishing secondary school and you have applied for the extension in time, or a court has ordered adult child maintenance because your child is completing their education or cannot support themselves.
If you are staring down a deadline, or you are not sure which side of the line your situation sits on, that is worth a quick conversation with our child support lawyers before anything lapses. Me and my team do this every week. Book a free discovery call on 1300 614 732 and we will talk you through where you stand and what to do next. No pressure, just a clear answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have to pay child support after 18 in Australia?
Usually not. A standard child support assessment ends when your child turns 18. It only continues in two situations: a short extension to the end of the school year if your child is still in secondary school, or a court order for adult child maintenance where your child is completing education or has a disability that prevents them supporting themselves.
Is the secondary-school extension automatic, or do I have to apply for it?
You have to apply. The extension is not automatic. You need to lodge it with Services Australia while your child is still 17, before their 18th birthday. Late applications are only accepted in limited circumstances beyond your control, and missing the deadline can also drop your Family Tax Benefit Part A to the base rate.
Who do I apply to for support past 18, Services Australia or the court?
It depends which path you are on. The secondary-school extension is a Services Australia application. Adult child maintenance is different: it is a court order you apply for through the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, not something the Child Support Registrar assesses.
Does child support continue if my child goes to university?
Not automatically. Being enrolled at university does not keep a standard assessment running past 18. A court can order adult child maintenance to support tertiary study, but only where it is genuinely necessary and a parent has the capacity to pay. Most adult children who can work part-time around study will not meet that test.
How much adult child maintenance will a court order?
There is no set figure. A court works out your child’s necessary expenses, food, housing, utilities, transport, study and medical costs, then weighs them against each parent’s financial capacity. It covers genuine need, not a lifestyle, so an order is often a portion of those weekly costs rather than a fixed sum.
Are HECS-HELP fees covered by adult child maintenance?
Generally not. HECS-HELP fees do not fall due while your child is studying, they are repaid later once your child is earning, so they are usually not treated as a current necessary expense. TAFE and course fees that have to be paid up front are more likely to count.
