Employer will have the option to include Child support garnishees and Child support deductions in your STP report. This aims to reduce the need to give separate remittance advices to the Child support registrar.

Whilst this is optional and not all STP-enabled solutions will offer this functionality DataPay will have this functionality for all employers to utilise.

STP Child Support Reporting Considerations

• STP report will display unchanged YTD amounts where a Child Support obligation ceases. As per the design and operation of STP, a YTD amount that has been reported may continue to be reported in each pay event for the remainder of the financial year.

• When a Child Support deduction notice (issued under section 45 of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 is in force, an employer must notify Child Support when they are unable to deduct pursuant to the notice. This occurs when either the employee was paid less than the Protected Earnings Amount or was not paid in the pay period. Where the YTD is unchanged from one pay period to the next, Child Support will derive a value of $0, in effect reporting a zero for the pay period. However where an employee is not paid there is no requirement to lodge STP reporting. DataPay will not automatically pickup unpaid employees, employers must meet that obligation by reporting directly to Child Support using a different Child Support reporting channel.

• Where an Employer chooses to report Child Support via STP reporting and the dates are misaligned with Child Support’s expectations, Child Support may make contact to ensure accuracy of dates reported.

• When a Child Support deduction notice has been newly issued and the employer has not yet deducted, employer has an obligation to notify Child Support that they were unable to deduct for the pay period. Employer must meet their obligation by reporting directly to Child Support using a different Child Support reporting channel. This is handled outside STP reporting.

• When a Child Support notice is in force across the end of a financial year, and the employer has not yet deducted within the new financial year. Employer must meet their obligation by reporting directly to Child Support using a different Child Support reporting channel. This is handled outside STP reporting.

Child Support Deductions

Business Definition

Child support deduction is a deduction from the employee’s pay made under a notice that is issued under section 45 of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. It requires an employer to deduct a fixed dollar amount each pay period and is subject to a protected earnings amount. You should report these amounts in your STP report as deduction type D.

DataPay Setup

A component will be reported under Child support deduction if it is set up to output the Child Support attribute:

Open

Employers are still required to report when child support deductions is $0.

By changing the amount of the child support deduction to $0, making a payment to the employee and submitting and STP report. This will notify that there has been no changes to previous YTD amounts. However if the employee is not paid by the employer in the pay period then we recommend contacting Child Support directly to advise of $0 deduction.

Child Support Garnishees

Business Definition

Child support garnishee is a deduction from the employee’s pay made under a notice that is issued under section 72A of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. It requires an employer to deduct a percentage of the employee’s income, a lump sum, or a fixed amount each pay. You should report these amounts in your STP report as deduction type G.

DataPay Setup

A component will be reported under Child support garnishee deduction if it is set up to output the Child Support attribute :

Open

Zero our Protected Earnings Amount and nominate as a Garnishee by select Yes ;