{"id":"F2024L00551","name":"Income Tax Assessment (Requirement for Parents Liable for or Entitled to Child Support to Lodge a Return for the 2024 Year) Instrument 2024","slug":"income-tax-assessment-requirement-for-parents-liable-for-or-entitled-to-child-support-to-lodge-a-ret","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442388,"registerId":"F2024L00551-fast-fetch-1775957402564","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Income Tax Assessment (Requirement for Parents Liable for or Entitled to Child Support to Lodge a Return for the 2024 Year) Instrument 2024","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n ![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nIncome Tax Assessment (Requirement for Parents Liable for or Entitled to Child Support to Lodge a Return for the 2024 Year) Instrument 2024\n\nI, Jacqueline Curtis, Acting Commissioner of Taxation, make the following instrument.\n\nDated 15 May 2024\n\nJacqueline Curtis\n\nActing Commissioner of Taxation\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Requirement to lodge an income tax return\n\n6  When an income tax return must be lodged\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Income Tax Assessment (Requirement for Parents Liable for or Entitled to Child Support to Lodge a Return for the 2024 Year) Instrument 2024.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 161 of the Act.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 6 of the Act, including the following:\n\n(a) approved form;\n\n(b) year of income.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\n2024 year means:\n\n (a) for a person who has a substituted accounting period, that period; or\n\n (b) for any other person, the year of income ended 30 June 2024.\n\nAct means the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936.\n\ncarer entitled to child support has the meaning given in the CSAA.\n\nCSAA means the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989.\n\nliable parent has the meaning given in the CSAA.\n\nnon-parent carer has the meaning given in the CSAA.\n\nSSA means the Social Security Act 1991.\n\nsubstituted accounting period means an accounting period that a person has been granted leave to adopt under section 18 of the ITAA 1936, instead of the year of income ended 30 June 2024.\n\nTAA means the Taxation Administration Act 1953.\n\nVEA means the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.\n\n5  Requirement to lodge an income tax return\n\n (1) Under section 161 of the Act, every person who was for at least one day in the 2024 year either a carer entitled to child support (other than a non-parent carer) or a liable parent is required to give a return for the 2024 year, unless subsection (2) applies.\n\n (2) A person is not required to lodge a return under subsection (1) if:\n\n (a) the total of their following amounts for the 2024 year was less than $28,464:\n\n (i) taxable income (excluding any assessable first home super saver released amount);\n\n (ii) tax free pensions or benefits as defined in section 5 of the CSAA;\n\n (iii) target foreign income as defined in section 5B of the CSAA;\n\n (iv) reportable fringe benefits total;\n\n (v) total net investment loss; and\n\n (vi) reportable superannuation contributions; and\n\n (b) they were in receipt of one or more of the following Australian Government pensions, allowances or payments for the whole of the 2024 year:\n\n (i) jobseeker payment under the SSA;\n\n (ii) austudy payment under the SSA;\n\n (iii) disaster income support allowance for special category visa (subclass 444) holders;\n\n (iv) Disaster Recovery Allowance under the SSA;\n\n (v) farm household allowance under the Farm Household Support Act 2014;\n\n (vi) parenting payment (benefit PP (partnered)) under the SSA;\n\n (vii) special benefit under the SSA;\n\n (viii) youth allowance under the SSA;\n\n (ix) youth disability supplement paid as a component of ABSTUDY living allowance under the ABSTUDY scheme, or a component of youth allowance under the SSA;\n\n (x) ABSTUDY living allowance under the ABSTUDY scheme;\n\n (xi) payments under the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme (otherwise known as ‘MRCA Education Allowance’);\n\n (xii) payments under the Veterans’ Children Education Scheme established under the VEA;\n\n (xiii) payments under a self-employment program including the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme and the Self-Employment Assistance program;\n\n (xiv) allowance under the Training for Employment Program;\n\n (xv) any other taxable Commonwealth education or training payments;\n\n (xvi) age pension under the SSA;\n\n (xvii) age service pension under the VEA;\n\n (xviii) carer payment under the SSA;\n\n (xix) disability support pension under the SSA;\n\n (xx) income support supplement under the VEA;\n\n (xxi) invalidity service pension under the VEA;\n\n (xxii) parenting payment (pension PP (single)) under the SSA;\n\n (xxiii) partner service pension under the VEA; and\n\n (xxiv) veteran payment under the VEA.\n\nNote 1: The return must be in the approved form (see section 161A of the Act).\n\nNote 2: Nothing in this instrument prevents the Commissioner from issuing a notice under sections 162 or 163 of the Act requiring a person to give the Commissioner, in the approved form and within the time required, a return, or a further or fuller return, or any information, statement or document about the person’s financial affairs. It also does not prevent the Commissioner from granting an exemption from lodgment.\n\nNote 3: Any person who does not give a return, or any other information when and as required under a taxation law, commits an offence under section 8C of the TAA. They may also become liable to pay a penalty under Division 286 in Schedule 1 to the TAA.\n\n6  When an income tax return must be lodged\n\n (1) Every person required to lodge a return for the 2024 year must lodge the return by 31 October 2024, unless they have a substituted accounting period.\n\n (2) Every person required to lodge a return for the 2024 year who has a substituted accounting period must lodge the return no later than the last day of the fourth month after the end of their substituted accounting period.\n\nNote: Under section 388-55 in Schedule 1 to the TAA, the Commissioner may defer the time for lodgment of any return to a later date.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument maintains its original narrow purpose. It is an annual instrument issued under section 161 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, specifically targeting the 2024 year. Its scope is deliberately limited to requiring tax returns from child support participants for income assessment purposes, consistent with longstanding ATO practice for this specific administrative function."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple cross-references to external legislation (CSAA, SSA, VEA, TAA, ITAA 1936) requiring readers to consult other Acts for key definitions","Complex exemption formula requiring aggregation of 6 different income components (taxable income, tax-free pensions, foreign income, fringe benefits, investment losses, super contributions)","Extensive list of 24 specific government payments in subsection 5(2)(b), creating a detailed but lengthy eligibility test","Conditional logic with nested requirements: exemption only applies if BOTH income threshold AND continuous government payment conditions are met","Special timing rules for taxpayers with substituted accounting periods (non-standard financial years)"],"plain_english_summary":"This ATO direction requires certain parents involved in the child support system to lodge a 2024 tax return so the ATO can obtain income data to calculate child support. It applies to parents who must pay child support and parents entitled to receive it (not non-parent carers).\n\nYou’re exempt only if both your total income and related amounts were under $28,464 and you received listed government payments for the entire year. Standard lodgment deadline: 31 Oct 2024 (or 4 months after a substituted year-end)."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument applies the Commissioner’s section 161 authority to require returns for the 2024 year; it does not amend the underlying Acts or broaden the class of persons beyond those defined by the Child Support (Assessment) Act and the Income Tax Assessment Act. It sets an administrative lodging requirement, specifies an income‑type exemption threshold ($28,464) and a list of qualifying whole‑year payments, and fixes lodgment deadlines for 2024 without changing substantive tax law."},"complexity_factors":["Reliance on external statutory definitions and instruments (Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, Social Security Act 1991, Taxation Administration Act 1953, Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986) increases cross‑reference complexity.","Aggregation test requires adding six different income‑type items (taxable income, tax free pensions, target foreign income, reportable FBT, net investment loss, reportable super contributions) to apply the $28,464 exemption threshold.","Large prescriptive list of specified Commonwealth payments that must be received for the whole year to qualify for the exemption — timing and receipt‑period condition is administratively specific.","Special timing rules for taxpayers with a substituted accounting period (four months after period end) create two different lodgment deadlines.","Commissioner’s retained discretions (power to issue notices under sections 162/163, to grant exemptions, and TAA deferral power) mean compliance outcomes can vary case‑by‑case.","References to penalties and offences under the TAA introduce potential legal consequences for non‑compliance that interact with administrative enforcement."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument requires every person who was a liable parent or a carer entitled to child support (not a non‑parent carer) for at least one day in 2024 to lodge an Australian income tax return, unless exempt. It creates an exemption where certain combined income-type amounts are below $28,464 and the person received specified Commonwealth payments for the whole year, sets lodgment deadlines (31 Oct 2024 or four months after a substituted accounting period), and preserves the Commissioner’s power to require information or grant exemptions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/income-tax-assessment-requirement-for-parents-liable-for-or-entitled-to-child-support-to-lodge-a-ret","history":"/api/acts/income-tax-assessment-requirement-for-parents-liable-for-or-entitled-to-child-support-to-lodge-a-ret/history","analysis":"/api/acts/income-tax-assessment-requirement-for-parents-liable-for-or-entitled-to-child-support-to-lodge-a-ret/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/income-tax-assessment-requirement-for-parents-liable-for-or-entitled-to-child-support-to-lodge-a-ret/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/income-tax-assessment-requirement-for-parents-liable-for-or-entitled-to-child-support-to-lodge-a-ret/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/income-tax-assessment-requirement-for-parents-liable-for-or-entitled-to-child-support-to-lodge-a-ret/documents"}}