{"id":"child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019","name":"Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019","slug":"child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30183,"registerId":"wa-child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nChild Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019\n\nWestern Australia\n\nChild Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n3. Terms used 2\n\nPart 2 — Adoption and referral\n\n4. Adoption of the Commonwealth Child Support laws as in force immediately before commencement day 3\n\n5. Referral of maintenance of exnuptial children 3\n\n6. Termination of adoption and reference 4\n\nPart 3 — *Family Court Act 1997* amended\n\n7. Act amended 5\n\n8. Section 5 amended 5\n\nPart 4 — Repeal\n\n9. *Child Support (Adoption of Laws) Act 1990* repealed 6\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 7\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\n![]()Western Australia\n\nChild Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019\n\nAn Act —\n\n- to adopt, for the purposes of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, certain laws of the Commonwealth insofar as those laws relate to the maintenance of exnuptial children; and\n- to refer the matter of the maintenance of exnuptial children to the Parliament of the Commonwealth for the purposes of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth to the extent that the Commonwealth’s legislative power does not otherwise extend to Western Australia; and\n- to amend the *Family Court Act 1997* and repeal the *Child Support (Adoption of Laws) Act 1990*; and\n- for related purposes.\n\n\nThe Parliament of Western Australia enacts as follows:\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis is the *Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019*.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act comes into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n##### 3. Terms used\n\nIn this Act —\n\nadoption means the adoption under section 4(1);\n\ncommencement day means the day on which this Act comes into operation under section 2;\n\nCommonwealth Child Support laws means —\n\n(a) the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Commonwealth); and\n\n(b) the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Commonwealth); and\n\n(c) any Commonwealth enactment that —\n\n(i) amends or otherwise affects the operation of the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Commonwealth) or the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Commonwealth); and\n\n(ii) has not come into operation before commencement day;\n\nCommonwealth enactment means a provision of a law of the Commonwealth;\n\nreference means the reference under section 5(1).\n\n## Part 2 — Adoption and referral\n\n##### 4. Adoption of the Commonwealth Child Support laws as in force immediately before commencement day\n\n(1) The Commonwealth Child Support laws, in the form in which they exist at the end of the day before commencement day, are adopted within the meaning of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth insofar as they relate to the maintenance of exnuptial children.\n\n(2) Despite subsection (1), the adoption has effect for, and for no longer than, the period —\n\n(a) beginning on commencement day; and\n\n(b) ending on the day fixed under section 6 as the day on which the adoption is to terminate.\n\n##### 5. Referral of maintenance of exnuptial children\n\n(1) The matter of the maintenance of exnuptial children is referred to the Parliament of the Commonwealth.\n\n(2) To avoid doubt, the matter referred includes the matter of amending, or otherwise affecting the operation of, the Commonwealth Child Support laws.\n\n(3) To avoid doubt, the matter referred does not include any matter addressed in the *Family Law Act 1975* (Commonwealth) Part VII, including conferring jurisdiction on any of the following courts under that Part —\n\n(a) the Family Court of Australia created under the *Family Law Act 1975* (Commonwealth) section 21;\n\n(b) the Federal Circuit Court of Australia continued in existence under the *Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999* (Commonwealth) section 8;\n\n(c) the Family Court of Western Australia.\n\n(4) The reference has effect only if and to the extent that the matter is not included in the legislative powers of the Parliament of the Commonwealth (otherwise than by a reference for the purposes of section 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth).\n\n(5) Despite any other provision of this section, the reference has effect for, and for no longer than, the period —\n\n(a) beginning on the commencement day; and\n\n(b) ending on the day fixed under section 6 as the day on which the reference under this Act is to terminate.\n\n##### 6. Termination of adoption and reference\n\n(1) The Governor may, at any time, by proclamation, fix a day (the termination day) as the day on which the adoption and the reference are to terminate.\n\n(2) The termination day must be no earlier than the first day after the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which the proclamation is published in the *Gazette*.\n\n(3) The Governor may, by proclamation (a revoking proclamation), revoke a proclamation made under subsection (1).\n\n(4) A revoking proclamation has effect only if published before the termination day.\n\n(5) If a revoking proclamation has effect the revoked proclamation is taken never to have been made for the purposes of sections 4(2) and 5(5).\n\n(6) A revoking proclamation does not prevent the making of a further proclamation under subsection (1).\n\n(7) A proclamation cannot be made under subsection (1) or (3) unless a draft of the proclamation has first been approved by a resolution passed by both Houses of the Parliament of the State.\n\n## Part 3 — *Family Court Act 1997* amended\n\n##### 7. Act amended\n\nThis Part amends the *Family Court Act 1997*.\n\n##### 8. Section 5 amended\n\n(1) In section 5(1) delete the definitions of:\n\n***Child Support (Assessment) Act***\n\n***Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act***\n\n(2) In section 5(1) insert in alphabetical order:\n\nChild Support (Assessment) Act means the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* (Commonwealth);\n\nNote for this definition:\n\nSee the *Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019*.\n\nChild Support (Registration and Collection) Act means the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Commonwealth);\n\nNote for this definition:\n\nSee the *Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019*.\n\n## Part 4 — Repeal\n\n##### 9. *Child Support (Adoption of Laws) Act 1990* repealed\n\nThe *Child Support (Adoption of Laws) Act 1990* is repealed.\n\n![]()\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019*. The following table contains information about that Act.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019* | 7 of 2019 | 15 May 2019 | 15 May 2019 (see s. 2) |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nadoption 3\n\ncommencement day 3\n\nCommonwealth Child Support laws 3\n\nCommonwealth enactment 3\n\nreference 3\n\nrevoking proclamation 6(3)\n\ntermination day 6(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"Entire Document","severity":"high","reasoning":"It is logically impossible to analyse legislation for flaws when no legislation has been provided. The document submitted is a dead hyperlink error message from the Western Australian Parliamentary Counsel's Office website, not the Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019 itself. Any purported analysis of the Act's provisions would be fabricated.","confidence":1,"description":"The legislation provided for analysis does not contain any actual legislative text. The submission consists entirely of a 404-style error page, navigation failure notices, and an Acknowledgement of Country — none of which constitute legislative provisions."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"Document Title vs. Content","severity":"high","reasoning":"A document that identifies itself as an Act of Parliament but contains no operative legislative text is self-contradicting at the most fundamental level — the label and the substance are entirely inconsistent.","confidence":1,"description":"The document is titled 'Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019' but contains zero provisions, definitions, schedules, or operative clauses. The title promises legislative content that is entirely absent."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"high","section_a":"Document Title: 'Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019'","section_b":"Body Content: '...this page is no longer available on this website'","confidence":1,"description":"The document title asserts the existence and availability of a specific Act, while the body of the document explicitly states the page — and by extension the content — is unavailable. These two propositions cannot simultaneously be true within the same document."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: referring power over exnuptial child support to the Commonwealth and adopting the relevant federal laws. The amendment to the Family Court Act and repeal of the 1990 Act are directly consequential to this core purpose. No scope creep is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 defined terms in the interpretation section (section 3)","Straightforward structure with clear Parts (Preliminary, Adoption and referral, Amendment, Repeal)","Minimal cross-referencing—primarily internal references to the Constitution's section 51(xxxvii) and the two Commonwealth Acts being adopted","Simple conditional logic: the referral only operates to the extent the Commonwealth doesn't already have power (section 5(4))","Single amendment to another Act (Family Court Act 1997) involving only definition updates","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions beyond the 12-month termination notice requirement","Short length (9 sections total)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Western Australian law is a **referral of power** to the federal government. It allows the Commonwealth (federal) Parliament to make and enforce child support laws for children born outside of marriage (\"exnuptial children\") in Western Australia.\n\n**Why this matters:**\n\nUnder Australia's Constitution, the federal government has limited powers. It can only make laws on topics the Constitution specifically gives it. Child support for children of married parents falls under federal power, but child support for children of unmarried parents traditionally fell under state law. This created a messy patchwork where different rules applied depending on whether parents were married or not.\n\nThis law fixes that by:\n\n*   **Adopting** existing federal child support laws (the *Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989* and *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*) and applying them to exnuptial children in WA.\n*   **Referring** the power to make future child support laws for exnuptial children to the federal Parliament, so the same rules apply to all children regardless of their parents' marital status.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **Parents** in Western Australia with children born outside marriage who need child support arrangements.\n*   The **Child Support Agency** (federal government), which can now administer child support for these children using the same system as for children of married parents.\n*   The **Family Court of Western Australia**, which gets updated definitions to reflect that the federal laws now apply.\n\n**Key features:**\n\n*   **Temporary but renewable:** The referral lasts until the WA Governor issues a proclamation to end it (with at least 12 months' notice), but that proclamation can be revoked by Parliament.\n*   **Clean-up:** It repeals the old *Child Support (Adoption of Laws) Act 1990* and updates the *Family Court Act 1997* to remove outdated definitions.\n*   **Carve-out:** The referral specifically excludes family law matters like parenting orders and property settlements—those stay with the existing courts under the *Family Law Act 1975*.\n\nIn short, this is a **cooperative federalism** measure that simplifies child support by letting one national system handle all children, not just those whose parents were married."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed — the legislative text was not retrievable from the provided source. The page has been removed from the WA Parliament website due to a system upgrade."},"complexity_factors":["Insufficient source material — only an error page was provided, not actual legislative text","Constitutional referral-of-powers legislation can be technically complex, but this cannot be confirmed from the available content","Title suggests intergovernmental (Commonwealth/State) subject matter, which typically adds jurisdictional complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"The Child Support (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2019 is a Western Australian law concerned with recognising or referring Commonwealth authority over child support matters. It affects separated or divorced parents and caregivers by shaping which government (state or Commonwealth) makes and enforces child support rules and arrangements. The Act matters because it determines which legal regime governs calculation and recovery of child support, but the full text should be consulted for specifics."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This Act replaces the former State adoption regime by re‑adopting Commonwealth child support laws (s 4), formally referring the maintenance of exnuptial children to the Commonwealth (s 5), and repealing the 1990 Adoption Act (s 9). It narrows the State’s residual role by excluding matters governed by Family Law Act Part VII (s 5(3)) and creates a controlled termination process requiring parliamentary approval and a minimum notice period (s 6). The net effect is a transfer of legislative competence over the specified child‑support matters to the Commonwealth for the period the adoption/reference remains in force."},"complexity_factors":["Adoption of entire Commonwealth Child Support laws as they exist immediately before commencement (s 4) — legal continuity but requires tracking Commonwealth amendments.","Express referral to Commonwealth Parliament of the matter of maintenance of exnuptial children, including power to amend those laws (s 5(1)–(2)).","Explicit exclusion of matters dealt with in Family Law Act 1975 Part VII (s 5(3)) — creates a defined boundary between State referral and federal family‑law jurisdiction.","Time‑limited effect and executive termination mechanism: adoption/reference operate from commencement until a Governor’s proclamation fixes a termination day, with a minimum 12‑month notice and requirement that a draft proclamation be approved by both State Houses (s 4(2), s 6(1)–(2), s 6(7)).","Repeal of prior State adoption Act (s 9) and consequential amendments to State family court definitions (s 8) — statutory housekeeping with cross‑reference implications.","Dependency on Commonwealth statutory text and future Commonwealth enactments (definition of Commonwealth Child Support laws in s 3) — ongoing reliance on external legislation introduces interjurisdictional complexity."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act adopts certain Commonwealth child support statutes for Western Australia and formally refers the matter of maintenance of exnuptial children to the Commonwealth Parliament, while allowing the State to end that adoption and referral by proclamation after a prescribed notice period. It also updates State family‑court definitions and repeals the earlier 1990 adoption Act — mechanically placing child‑support rulemaking and administration under Commonwealth law for the period the adoption/reference operates."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019","history":"/api/acts/child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/child-support-commonwealth-powers-act-2019/documents"}}