Australia's Men's Rights Advocates
Non-Profit Advocates Promoting Gender Equality for Men and Their Children
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Child Support

Australian Government's assault on Separated Fathers

In July 2008, the media published banner headlines generated from media releases issued by the Australian Government's Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig which includes:

Spies on dads dodging child support - Herald Sun, 23 June 2008,
"Human Services Minister Joe Ludwig announced today that undercover surveillance of parents would commence from July 1, in a bid to collect almost $1 billion in child support debt across Australia. I want child support cheats to be caught out on camera so the courts can see the truth,"

Deadbeat dads fleeing to debt-free haven - The Australian, 30 July 2008,
"Separated parents living overseas now owe around $90 million in payments to their kids back in Australia," Senator Ludwig said.

Chasing down deadbeat dads - Herald Sun, 1 August 2008,
Senator Ludwig also said “More than 20,000 separated parents are denying their children support by fleeing the country.

These mostly deadbeat dads owe a startling $90 million in child support and are guilty of a double betrayal.

Deadbeat dads don't need a visa to enter New Zealand and governments need to work together to identify and track down runaway parents.”

The truth

The one billion dollar debt level is a cumulative total incurred from the commencement of the child Support scheme in 1988/89. Over $500 million debt had accumulated by 1996/97. The Child Support Agency ( CSA ) has already been criticised by the Auditor General for using cumulative totals in their efforts to justify their performance.

Yet the CSA continues to do so, as well as ignoring false debts created using unsustainable or unrealistic income determinations. Neither can the accuracy of assessments be thoroughly checked when address details for 15% of clients cannot be confirmed. If the information were available it would be interesting to know how much of this debt is uncollectable because the payer is unemployed, disabled or deceased or the child’s circumstances have changed, but remain unacknowledged by CSA?

According to published CSA data, 96 per cent of all child support due has been paid.

Read more ..

Gender Discrimination Against Men

Do men get a rough deal?

National Times
January 11, 2011

Seems a bit rich these days to claim there is a ‘‘glass ceiling’’ for female jobs. Load of cobblers, isn't it? I mean, Australia has a female Prime Minister and a female Governor-General.

Has there really been discrimination over the years against mothers who work -- or against women without children?

The National Council of Women thinks so and no surprise there. I recently chatted with Victorian leader Jennie Rawther who pointed out that, among other things, women at the end of World War 1 had to give up their jobs to returning servicemen -- even though their husbands may have been killed in combat. There was no widow’s pension, nor child support.

Sounds tough but Age reader Steve Hills of Rosebud is not impressed. “There is overwhelming evidence that female health, safety and female lives were held as more valuable than men’s lives,” he says. “Men’s lives were routinely regarded as disposable. The view that women alone were discriminated against is an ignorant one.”

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Moms Who Kill

Biological Mothers Murder More of Their Own Children Than Do Biological Fathers

Australian Institute of Criminology statistics show there were 270 child homicide incidents in Australia from July 1989 to June 1999, involving 287 identified offenders and resulting in the deaths of 316 children under 15.

For example, the revised National Homicide Monitoring Program 2006-07 Annual Report states 11 homicides involved a biological mother and 5 involves a biological father.

The Western Australian figures shed light on who is likely to abuse children in families. Mothers are identified as the perpetrator of neglect and abuse in a total of 73% of verified cases.

Biological mothers account for about 35 per cent of all child murders, while biological fathers account for 29 per cent

Read more ..

How Do I Calculate Child Support in Australia?

Australia has the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of child support systems. The relevant legislation which applies to child support issues is the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989.

There are many options available to parents regarding the administration of child support. These include:-

  • Self-Administration – this arrangement remains private and flexible between the parents.
  • The parents can enter into a Child Support Agreement – an Agreement is binding and can only be changed or ended in limited circumstances. These circumstances include an event occurring which has been specified in the Agreement, the parents making another Agreement, or by application to the Court.
  • Administrative Assessment – this is a formula calculation based on each parents’ income and percentage of care of the child(ren). The child support may be collected privately or through the Child Support Agency.
  • Court Order – the amount of child support is determined by the Court.

If you would like to enter into a Child Support Agreement it is best to seek specialist family lawyer advice to ensure you understand the consequences of entering into an Agreement and your obligations created by the Agreement.

The Child Support Formula

There are 8 steps to calculating the basic child support formula:

  1. Calculate each parent’s Child Support income. This is the parent’s adjusted taxable income minus the self-support amount which currently is $21,622.00
  2. Add both parents’ Child Support income together to get a combined Child Support income.
  3. Then divide each parent’s individual Child Support income by the combined Child Support income to get an income percentage.
  4. Work out each parent’s care percentage of the child (using the care and cost table below)
  5. Work out the cost percentage of the child (using the care and cost table below)
  6. Once you have worked out step 4 and step 5 you subtract the cost percentage from the income percentage for each parent. The outcome is called the Child Support percentage. In the event that the result is a negative percentage, that parent is assessed to receive Child Support because their share of the costs of raising the children is more than met by the amount of care they are providing. On the other hand, if it is a positive percentage, that parent is assessed to pay Child Support because they are not meeting their entire share of the costs of the child directly through care. You then move on to steps seven and eight using only the positive Child Support percentage.
  7. The costs for each child is based on the parents’ combined Child Support income using the care and cost table below.
  8. The final Child Support figure payable is achieved by multiplying the positive Child Support percentage by the costs of the child. This final figure is the Child Support amount the paying parent needs to transfer to the other parent.

Note: This is only a guide. If you have different care arrangements for various children, you might have different Child Support percentages for each child.

Click here for our Child Support Calculator

The care and cost table

Child Support care percentage Equal to number of nights a year Equal to number of nights a fortnight Care level Child Support cost percentage
0–13% 0–51 nights 1 night Below regular care Nil
14–34% 52–127 nights 2–4 nights Regular care 24%
35–47% 128–175 nights 5–6 nights Shared care 25%
plus 2% for every percentage point over 35% of care
48–52% 176–189 nights 7 nights Shared care 50%
53–65% 190–237 nights 8–9 nights Shared care 51%
plus 2% for every percentage point over 53% of care
66–86% 238–313 nights 10–12 nights Primary care 76%
87–100% 314–365 nights 13–14 nights Above primary care 100%

Examples of events which may change a Child Support Assessment include:-

  • Your income changes;
  • The child(ren)’s living arrangements change; or
  • The child in the payee’s care turns 18.

Change of Assessment Process

  • To apply to have a child support assessment changed one of the parties must demonstrate that they have special circumstances that fit into one or more of the 10 reasons.
  • The applicant’s supporting information accompanying their maintenance or parenting arrangements application is then sent to other parent for a response.
  • Both parents have an opportunity to present their respective claims.
  • A Senior Case Officer will then make a decision based upon the information presented to them.