I am pregnant, does my former partner have to help with the costs of my pregnancy?

Section 67B of the Family Law Act provides that the father of a child who is not married to the child’s mother is liable to make contributions towards the maintenance of the mother before and after the birth of the child during the “childbirth maintenance period”.

The childbirth maintenance period begins two months before the child is born. The period starts earlier if the mother works in paid employment and is advised by a medical professional to stop work. The period ends three months after the child is born.

In a case called Millar & Johnston [2015] FCCA 543, the court determined that the childbirth maintenance period was 22 weeks. The court made orders that the father contribute to the mother’s following expenses for those 22 weeks:

  • Rent

  • Food

  • Mobile phone and internet

  • Electricity

  • Car registration

  • Car insurance

  • Petrol

  • Clothing

  • Prenatal and antenatal vitamins

  • Reasonable out of pocket medical expenses

When making an order for childbearing maintenance and deciding what contribution the father should make, the court will take into account:

  • The income, earning capacity, property and financial resources of the mother and father.

  • The commitment of the mother or father that are necessary to support themselves or any other person.

  • Any special circumstances which if not taken into account would result in injustice or undue hardship.

If a mother wishes to make an application for childbirth maintenance, she must do no later than 12 months after the birth of the child. If this time limit has passed, the mother can ask the court for leave to bring an application out of time.

This is an often-overlooked section of the Family Law Act. If you think you may be eligible for childbirth maintenance, or liable to pay childbirth maintenance contact our Family Law team to discuss.

Family LawGabrielle HowleyO'Farrell Robertson McMahonmaintenance, separation