Office of Support Enforcement (OSE)
Justice & Public Safety
Overview
The Office of Support Enforcement (OSE) promotes a dependable flow of support payments. The OSE is responsible for monitoring and enforcing support orders and agreements that are filed with the Court.
Eligibility
Anyone who receives (called the beneficiary) or is required to pay (called the payer) family support under a support order or agreement may file it with the OSE.
If the Beneficiary lives outside of New Brunswick, they should contact the support enforcement program in that area.
Description
If the support order is made under the Family Services Act, it is automatically filed with the OSE.
Support orders made under the Divorce Act may be filed with the OSE by filing a "Notice to File a Support Order form". Please check with the OSE office in your area if you have any questions about a support order made outside of New Brunswick.
When a support order or agreement is filed with the OSE, staff will be responsible for:
-receiving payments from the Payer (the person paying the support);
-keeping records of all of the payments that are made;
-forwarding payments to the Beneficiary (the person receiving the support);
-taking steps to ensure the Payer makes the required payments.
When necessary, federal and provincial laws give the OSE the authority to use a number of different methods to collect overdue support payments. For example:
-The OSE can initiate a Payment Order on an income source. This is commonly known as garnishment. Some examples of income that can be garnished include: wages, pensions, income tax refunds, GST credits, workers' compensation benefits, etc.
-The OSE can bring the case to Court for a Judge or Court Administrator to decide on additional enforcement action. This is called an enforcement hearing.
-The OSE can ask the federal government to suspend, refuse to issue, or refuse to renew the Payer's passport and/or federal aviation or marine licence if the Payer owes more than $3,000 in support.
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Forms
Some forms may require the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Please fill, print and send form(s) to the mailing address provided on the form or in the Service Contact section.