Our National Child Support Disgrace

Australia consistently ranks as one of the
world’s wealthiest nations in the world yet, despite this, thousands of our children
are living in poverty or disadvantaged circumstances due in part to a poorly
designed and ineffective child support system.

Currently, Australian parents owe more than $1.6 billion
in child support payments. This is a national disgrace and impacts every sole parent
trying to meet their children’s nutritional and developmental needs, wellbeing
and security without the financial assistance to which they are legally entitled.

‘Child support needs to operate in the best in of the child, and
this means that payments are paid on time and in full,’ says Terese Edwards, CEO of the National Council of Single Mothers
and their Children.

Single mothers are disproportionately affected
by unpaid child support. Without this payment, they frequently struggle to feed
and clothe their children and meet their family’s basic needs.

The Centre for Excellence in Child and
Family Welfare and the Councils for Single Mothers and their Children together
call for urgent changes to improve the enforceability of child support assessments.

We recommend that the next Federal Government
ensure that Australians with an
enforceable child support liability are required to lodge an annual tax return in
line with prescribed dates. Failure to do so should be dealt with accordingly.
Currently there are over 200,000 child support payers who breach this
requirement, committing both tax and child support avoidance or minimisation.

“While the costs of living are increasing, child support payments
remain stagnant and significant numbers of parents are allowed to default on
their payments. This is markedly increasing the material disadvantage
experienced by Australian children increasing the likelihood of ongoing
disadvantage. We must invest in resolving this issue for the current and future
economic and social benefit of the country as a whole.” says Deb Tsorbaris, CEO of the Centre for Excellence in Child and
Family Welfare.

We also urge the parties to commit to a trial
of government guaranteed child support as recommended by the 2015 Parliamentary Inquiry into the Child Support
Program. Women who have escaped family violence and had
to relinquish any claim to child support to reduce the risk of contact with a
violent partner through the child support system could be the ideal pilot group
for this trial.

“Trialing guaranteed child support with this key group is an
opportunity to assess its broader feasibility. Additionally it recognises that
perpetrators of family violence are being allowed to avoid their
responsibilities to financially support their children through the inadequate
response of the child support system,” says Jenny
Davidson, CEO of the Council for Single Mothers and their Children.

The Centre for Excellence in Child and
Family Welfare and the Councils for Single Mothers and their Children look
forward to party commitments to these statements and to working with the next Federal
government to reform Australia’s child support system to protect children from
poverty and disadvantage.

Media Inquiries:  

Deb Tsorbaris, CEO Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare deb.tsorbaris@cfecfw.asn.au

Terese Edwards, CEO National Council of Single Mothers and their Children terese@ncsmc.org.au

Jenny Davidson, CEO Council of Single Mothers and their Children ceo@csmc.org.au