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Child Support

The Child Support Scheme was introduced in 1988 to strike a fairer balance between public and private forms of support (for children) in order to alleviate the poverty of sole parent families.

According to the Child Support Agency the aims of the Scheme are that:

  • Parents share in the cost of supporting their children according to the capacity to pay;

  • adequate support is available for all children of separated parents;

  • Commonwealth expenditure is limited to what is necessary to ensure that those children's needs are met;

  • Neither parent is discouraged from participating in the workforce and;

  • The overall arrangements are simple, flexible, efficient and respect personal privacy.

Prior to the introduction of the Scheme, child support could only be obtained by the parents reaching an agreement, or by seeking an order from a Court.

From 2006 – 2008 the Child Support Scheme underwent some massive changes not least of which reduced child support payments for 59% of children. More information on the changes can be found here.

More information, resources and research about child support can be found under publications and links.