Yorky1969

I am planning to emigrate in the next 12-18 months and have an existing CSA commitment until 2017 for a daughter that wont be emigtating with me. Is anyone else in the same predicament that can share there experiences? Do the Australian CSA take over my case or do I stay with the UK branch? Is the system different in Australia which can change the amounts I pay now etc?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks!

Centurion

The UK CSA is who you will remain dealing with. Australia has nothing to do with the legal or financial arrangements between you and they.

Yorky1969

Thanks Centurian. Do you know this from personal experience?

Steve2438

Hi Yorky

Once in Australia or anywhere else in the world you have no financal commitment..you wont be earning a UK wage so you dont have to pay the CSA at all.

Steve

ossigeno

No financial committment but moral committment perhaps.

arkon

Moralaty is down to the individual circumstances. If the system was fair then you have a moral obligation. If not, well....

Steve2438

I agree,the system is CRAP...a mate of mine killed himself after over paying the CSA for years..when the mistake was found they told him to see his ex for the money...WTF

Yorky1969

Thanks all for your feedback.

I dont want to freak anybody out, but my understanding is that I still have to pay CSA for my daughter in the UK, see the following links:

http://www.csa.gov.uk/en/setup/paren...ing-abroad.asp [/URL]

http://www.csa.gov.au/InternationalP.../uk.aspx#payer

I dont have a problem in paying at all. I just want to make sure I dont get shafted and find myself unable to "live the dream" cos I'm sending all my cash to the ex wife!

To have a half decent standard of living in the UK, I had to set up a limited company as I was struggling on PAYE. Does setting up a limited company in Oz exist and can I set one up for the same reasons if I have to?

If I stay on the UK system, only my earnings are taken into account. If my case switches to the Australian system, then my ex wife can get her hands on my wifes wages too! Arghhhh....will I ever escape the ex wife!!! more

Before I can even think about emigration, I need to understand what my CSA committments will be.

And yes Steve, your right....the system is unfair in the extreme....they have been making my life my life a misery for the last 5 years and I dont want this to wreck my new life down under.

I'm currently looking into the legal situation with a migration agent, but if anyone has had any CSA experiences when moving to Oz, good or bad, I'd love to hear about them.

Thanks

La Vida loca

You wont have any obligation to pay except morally.

The UK CSA wont do a thing, we had this problem with sons biological father, who gave up on him.

Id come up with a personal arrangement, as the CSA caused nothing but a hinderence and is typical of a useless UK system.

ozhappy981

This has been discussed extensively before. Sorry, too lazy to find the old threads for you.

The legal position is: The UK CSA cannot pursue you, because under UK law you are only legally obliged to pay if both you and the child live in the UK. (This means your case does not "switch to the Australian system" - your post sort of implied that's what you think.)

However, if you stop making the payments that the UK CSA has stipulated, your ex-wife can apply to the Aus CSA to assess you for making payments - and they wll then use their rules to calculate what you have to pay (http://www.csa.gov.au/InternationalP.../uk.aspx#payer ). Obviously, your ex-wife needs to find this out first...

Therefore: Look into the calculation methods of both UK and Aus CSA. If the UK CSA is more favourable, carry on making their payments.

ossigeno

You can set up a Pty Ltd company which is similar to a UK Ltd or other people may operate as a trading trust. It would depend upon what type of work you do as to if clients would accept this arrangement. In IT contracting it is the norm to use a Pty Ltd or the services of a managment company who structure your income through a Pty Ltd.

NikiL

If the ex goes to court and gets a REMO agreement, then, and only then can she go through Australian CSA. Aus CSA will only backdate to the date of receipt of the REMO agreement, not to the date of arrival/starting work.

Believe it or not, you cannot apply to Aus CSA yourself to set up an arrangement because the child is outside Australian jurisdiction.

Jan4kids

So true Arkon, so true......

Yorky1969

Thanks everybody for your feedback.

I think my first step will be to see if my ex will except a one off lump sum and see how things go.

paddyo

Yorky.
I have carried on my existing payments to my ex for my daughters. I was lucky in that we both agreed an amount and it was ratified by the CSA but that was as far as their involvement went, the divorce courts were then satisfied that the children were being financially cared for by the absent parent. We have kept the same amount for the past 10 years and since being out here all I do is transfer some funds over every month to cover the amount. We were mature and put the children first, no arguing, no bickering and everyone is happy. From a personal point of view I would be wary about offering a lump sum as you cannot guarentee who it will truly go to, the ex or the kids. Also it may not be recognised by the CSA and may cause issues at a later point. Just keep doing what you already are for the duration of your term and you will be fine, if the ex kicks off then just keep that little 'no legal obligation whilst not in country' reference to hand and hopefully some sensibility will kick in. Just make sure that you do your bit for your daughter until 2017 and don't reduce yourself to anyone elses standards.