If a child or children over 18 can’t support themselves they can still receive financial support for education expenses or if they have a mental or physical disability.
A child support assessment will usually end when a child turns 18 unless the child is still attending secondary school, the payee can ask the Department of Human Services – Child Support to extend the child support assessment until the end of the school year. This application can be made by telephone and must be made before the child turns
A parent or adult child can seek Adult Child Maintenance if financial support is necessary:
1) to enable the child to complete his or her education; or
2) because of a mental or physical disability of the child.
Information must be gathered to clearly set out the child's educational involvement, curriculum, study and contact timetable together with clear details of any part-time work undertaken, the income that results from such work and if no work is undertaken or only limited hours, why the study requirements makes this the case.
Adult Child Maintenance can also be claimed because of a mental or physical disability of a child. It is necessary to show that the mental or physical disability is of a continuing nature and not occurring after the age of 18 and that the child has little or no capacity to earn or derive income.