What Happens If You Don’t Pay Child Support

Child support is managed by the Department of Human Services (DHS). This department has the authority to enforce child support payments through a variety of methods. The DHS can contact your employer to have them deduct amounts from your pay.

They can intercept tax refunds, as most parents who pay child support also pay tax. The department may use a tax refund to pay your child support debt. The DHS has the power to contact your bank and make deductions directly from your bank account if you refuse to pay child support.

If you receive other payments from the DHS, they may deduct your outstanding child support amount from these. For more serious situations in which a person refuses to pay their child support debts, the DHS can issue a Departure Prohibition Order.

This prevents the paying parent from travelling overseas – they may even be stopped at the airport before boarding a flight – until they have paid child support. The DHS can also take people to court to enforce the payment of child support.

You must contact the Department of Human Services as soon as possible when your circumstances change in a way that may affect your child support payments. If you miss a payment, you can contact the DHS to arrange payments to reduce your debt.

If you and the child’s other parent manage your child support privately, the receiving parent can contact the DHS if you fall behind on child support payments. The DHS can then start managing the collection of child support and be responsible for any unpaid amounts going back three months.