It is possible to seek payments for children who are over the age of 18 under limited circumstances. This is known as Adult Child Maintenance. Examples of when you might be able to obtain adult child maintenance for a child is if they are engaged in tertiary study or if maintenance is necessary because of a mental or physical disability of the child.
If the adult child is engaged in study, the maintenance must be necessary to enable the child to complete his or her education.
Adult Child Maintenance is not dealt with by Services Australia (Child Support) and orders would need to be sought from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. It is however possible to obtain such Orders by agreement.
The Court would need evidence of the child’s financial circumstances and income in support of an application. It would also consider the contribution that each of the parties should be making to the child.