Child Support System in Australia

Running head: CHILD SUPPORT SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA 1
Child Support System in Australia
Name
Institution

CHILD SUPPORT SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA 2
Child Support System in Australia
Analysis of Literature on Child Support System in Australia
Primarily, the child support system in Australia is classified as part of services offered by
the Australian Department of Human Services (DHS). The central aim of the system is to
evaluate, collect, and disburse child support payments to aid separated parents (Cook, McKenzie,
& Knight, 2011). Following the interest that the system has generated across families in
Australia, scholars have conducted numerous searches on information pertaining to system in an
attempt to enlighten the public on what it entails. That said the current paper will conduct an
analysis of the literature child support system in Australia, and outline conclusions derived from
the evaluation.
Since the inception of the system more than 15 years ago, the Australian Child support
laws have attracted criticisms from different groups in the country with the formula used to
calculate child support attracting a larger share of the criticism. Young (2005) affirms that, while
there have been repeated calls for the reformation of the system, the government has managed to
implement the suggested recommendations on other sections of the laws while evading reforms
on the basic formula used to calculate support. The main claim in this report is that the system is
unknowingly forcing men into poverty through the system (Harden, 2002). This is because in
most cases of separation, the mother of the child is left to care for the child hence the father has
to pay support to assist the mother in caring to the child. In fact, a recent survey concluded that
86 percent of the child support recipients are females (O'donnell, Scott, & Stanley, 2008).
However, a closer look into the figures constituting the outstanding amount owed by the
government in regards to child support indicates that a majority of the men are not paying the
required amount to support their children (Smyth, & Henman, 2010). This information, thus,

CHILD SUPPORT SYSTEM IN AUSTRALIA 3
denotes that if indeed men are not progressing financially, then the main impediment to their
progress is not payment of child support as the assertions by the public would like to suggest.
The formula used to calculate child support is determined by the courts, which highlight a
certain percentage that is calculated against the gross income of the parent in question, the
number of nights the child spends at the parent’s house, and income and age referenced costs of
the child (Smyth, & Henman, 2010). According to a report published by a parliamentary inquiry,
nearly 36 percent of child support payment cases require a payer to contribute 500 dollars or less
per annum which is equivalent to 1 dollar a day (Cook, McKenzie, & Knight, 2011). In view of
the changing economic times, the assumption that child support forces men into poverty would
appear to be true. However, the main cause of poverty is not child support as many would like to
insinuate rather changing economic times as well as other factors that are specific to an
individual such as job loss or poor pay.
Aside from the public, child support agency have also had their fair share of complains
regarding payment by the parents. Studies indicate that nearly a quarter of the paying dads do not
make their payments on time and when they do make the payments, they are either partial or
delayed(O’Hanlon, & Stevenson, 2005). Based on data collected in 2012, only 40 percent of the
recipient mothers have reported to having received full payment with the remaining 60
complaining of partial or delayed payment (Cook, & Natalier, 2013). These studies, therefore,
conclude that failure of making payment results in neglects on the child and the child’s
fundamental needs. According to the National Center for Social and Economic Modeling
(NATSEM), one in every five separated or divorced mothers has reported to not been able to
provide adequately for her children especially in regards to schools, leisure activities, and school
clothing (Moloney, Smyth, & Fraser, 2010). On the other hand, one in every fifty fathers makes