When the winter school holidays roll around, it can be tricky to keep the kids busy without blowing the budget. Happily, Victoria is full of free, family-friendly activities that are perfect for colder days - you just need to know where to look. Here's a guide to...
As the new financial year kicks off, a wave of fresh policies and regulations is set to roll out, bringing changes to everything from road rules to wages and superannuation. Here’s a breakdown of what single mums can expect from July 1 2025. Road Rule Reforms A...
Warning: This story contains details of alleged child sex abuse that may distress some readers. It's often said that when you become a mother, you become a mother to all the world's children. It's a sentiment that describes the shared grief and heartbreak we...
You might remember that back in February we shared the news that the Ombudsman had announced it would investigate the Targeted Compliance Framework. The announcement came on the heels of the revelation that every three months, one in three working age...
This month, single mothers on the minimum wage will get a pay rise, and those doing practical placements as part of their studies will soon start to receive compensation. These changes follow long and committed campaigns by CSMC and other advocacy organisations -...
New research shines a light on single mother rental issues It was the question that drove the research for a newly released report by Tenants Victoria in partnership with CSMC: as a group disproportionately experiencing legal issues in relation to renting a home,...
Single-parent renters struggle to assert their rental rights due to being time-poor with significant caring responsibilities, amid tough market conditions, reports new research from Tenants Victoria, the state’s peak body for renters. Tenants Victoria identified...
Australia’s child support system is being used to abuse women and children - and the abuse is being facilitated by the very organisation meant to support them. A scathing new report from the Commonwealth Ombudsman has found that men are 'gaming' flawed Services...
Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV), launching in June 2025, is a new government initiative aimed at streamlining the handling of rental disputes across the state. Developed to ease pressure on the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), RDRV...
Every single mother who finds themselves no longer eligible for a Commonwealth Government Health Care Card knows the sudden increase in the cost of visiting the doctor or buying medication can be a huge blow to the family finances - but did you know another Health...
While a lot of attention in paid to federal budgets, it's worth paying attention to state budgets as well, these financial decision often impacting the things that mean the most to single mother families, such as health, education, housing, and local taxes. On 20...
At the last Census there were more than 30,000 Victorians without a home. Victoria has more people than any other Australian state or territory living in housing stress – that is, on a low income and paying more than 30 per cent of their income on housing - and...
Tracking each other on our devices has become part of the way we live our lives. We share our location to tell friends we're meeting how far away we are; we track our delivery person so we know when to be home to receive our parcel or dinner; we put smart tags on...
When she called CSMC's Support Line, Rani was cold. The heater in her home was broken and although her landlord had promised to fix it, he hadn't, and Rani was scared to keep asking for fear of being evicted. When Lesley called us, she told the Support Worker that...
IN BRIEF: The son of a single mother is re-elected as Prime Minister of Australia for a second term What the Albanese Government did for single mothers in their first term What single mothers are asking of the second term Albanese Government When Anthony Albanese...
CSMC and our members and supporters have long campaigned for an increase in the payment rate of social security. Single mothers across Victoria have told their stories, signed petitions, and emailed their Members of Parliament while behind the scenes, CSMC has...
It’s hard to believe, but at the last Federal Election, addressing family violence was a key campaign issue, with both major parties committing to combat what the now-Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described as a ‘national crisis’. Fast forward three years...
Some of you would have heard of Emily Wolfinger, a fabulous academic and single mother, who writes powerfully about single mothers. Emily has contributed a chapter to the newly released book ‘Gone Feral: Unruly Women and the Undoing of Normative Femininity’, where...
It's an episode of Four Corners every single mother with a child in childcare is unlikely to forget in a hurry. Last week, the ABC current affairs program revealed its investigation had exposed that some centres are cutting corners, hiring unqualified staff and...
Join CSMC and Victoria Legal Aid for a webinar that answers your most commonly asked questions about child support. This webinar will provide legal information on how the system is structured, what you can do when it is not working for you, and where to get more...
The Family Law Amendment Act 2024, set to come into effect from 10 June 2025, is changing the way judges must handle the division of property in cases where there has been family violence. Yet, while the media have often framed the changes in terms of making a...
Imagine that every three months, one in three workers in Australia had their pay suspended. Outrageous, right? All the media and the unions would be on it, the parliament would be abuzz, the Fair Work Commission would grind to a halt because there would be so many...
The details Program dates: Feb 10 - April 4, 2025 Duration: 8 weeks, just 2-3 hours per week Online sessions: Fortnightly individual online coaching. Email, phone and referral support provided where required Women’s Wellbeing Day : (Venue to be announced) A...
The School Saving Bonus will provide $400 in support for Victorian school-aged students to use on 2025 school costs. Here are the answers to the questions we're being asked. How do I access the School Saving Bonus? Parents and carers of students enrolled at a...
This is possibly not your first time trying to rent privately, but if you have not been having much luck, follow these tips from single mothers and see if you can improve your chances.
Share housing is choosing to live in a shared space with others, such as other single mothers who understand the highs and lows of raising children. It’s a way to combine affordability with a sense of community.
These used to be different kinds of housing and despite still having some measures of difference they are largely amalgamated into one list. This is true around Australia.
Homelessness is not just sleeping rough or in your car. It can include facing eviction because you don’t have money for rent, couch surfing, living in a tent or more.
Pretty much everyone who has ever bought a house will tell you they learned a lot. They will also say it's most useful to learn these things before they purchase. Learning about serious mistakes after purchase leads to more challenges.
It's helpful to understand different purchasing methods available and how they work. If you have got this far, you are well on your way and we encourage you to learn more about these approaches.
After buying your home, the settlement process ensures the legal transfer of ownership. You’ll need to prepare for ongoing responsibilities.
Buying a property with trusted family members, friends, or other single mothers can reduce costs and ease the financial burden. A co-ownership agreement legally outlines ownership shares, responsibilities, and exit strategies.
Cohousing Australia champions a collaborative housing model where residents share resources, responsibilities, and communal spaces. It’s designed to foster connection, affordability, and sustainability while maintaining private living quarters.
Rent-to-buy is a flexible housing model designed to help individuals who might struggle to enter the property market through traditional means, such as saving for a large deposit or meeting strict borrowing criteria.
Owning a home as a single mother is a significant achievement, and it’s essential to safeguard it from potential claims by future partners. Understanding your legal rights and taking proactive steps can help protect your property.
Purchasing a home post-separation can be both an emotional and financial challenge. Understanding your rights and options is critical to ensuring a stable future for you and your children.
Explore housing co-ops, a less usual pathway to home ownership in Australia. Member-run, they offer affordable living, government or private funding, and span the country while encouraging active community participation.
A new report has revealed that the Australian child support system isn't working for single mothers - and it actually supports and perpetrates financial abuse. Opening the black box of child support: Shining a light on how financial abuse is perpetrated (Kay Cook,...
Supporting her son, Tom*, through his final year of school had been a roller coaster, and Kris* and Tom were happy when the final exam was finished. Now they could concentrate on enjoying the school Presentation Night, where Tom and his friends would be recognised...
On the twelfth anniversary of Victorian Government's apology to people affected by forced adoption practices and the sixth anniversary of the unveiling of the Taken Not Given sculpture, CSMC's CEO Jenny Davidson attended a event hosted by ARMS and Vanish at the...
Many mothers with kids sitting exams describe the experience as a 'rollercoaster'. There are extreme highs when goals are met and study completed, terrible lows when confidence is dipped or the child is overwhelmed, and everything in between. Sometimes the shift in...
The cost of living crisis is one of the biggest stories around and everyone - the media, government, community organisations, mums at school drop off - is talking about it. Life has become so expensive that many of us are now struggling to meet the basics of life...
Content warning: this article contains discussion of child sexual abuse. The number of reports of child-on-child sexual abuse - that is, abuse perpetrated on a child by another child - has now overtaken the number of reports of adult-child sexual abuse, according...
Australia is a vast land, and sometimes it's easy to look at what's happening elsewhere in the country and wonder if it has anything at all to do with us. Sometimes it doesn't - but sometimes what happens in another state or territory can serve as a warning that it...
By Jenny Davidson, CEO In September, I had the unique opportunity as CSMC’s CEO to travel to Glasgow for the inaugural meeting on the One-Parent Families and Vulnerability Network (O-PFV). This newly minted network brought together one-parent organisations...
Why so many of us are feeling 'squished' and what to do about it For many of us single mums, the 'juggle' used to be managing full-time caring parenting with full-time paid employment. Maintaining two full-time roles took energy, time, and emotional resources. Then...
The support of good friends is priceless for women as some of us are lucky enough to know. Research backs this up. However, research also shows that chronic stress and lack of time to make or maintain friendships, get in the way of both friendships and good health....
After receiving over 1,500 submissions from people affected by the housing crisis and over 100 community organisations, the People’s Commission into the Housing Crisis has now released its final report, ‘Voices of the Crisis’. The People’s Commission was...
On Friday, CSMC spoke to the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs' inquiry into family violence orders. The Federal Government hearings were established to investigate how to provide better access for victim-survivors in the family law system,...
What to do if you receive a Centrelink debt letter When Centrelink balances its ledgers, some single mothers may receive an unexpected and nasty surprise: a letter saying we have incurred a Centrelink debt. Centrelink debts are usually the result of an oversight,...
When Melbourne single mum, Margaret, received her car insurance renewal notice, she was shocked to see it had risen over 10 per cent and was now nudging $1,000. Posting in CSMC's member-only Facebook group, Single Mothers Stronger Together, Margaret shared that...
A few years ago, Ximena Vengoechea was working three jobs. She had a full time job at a tech company, had recently become a new mum, and had just had her first book published. She was busy; she was tired; but she was living the dream, wasn't she? Then the pandemic...
If you've got school-aged kids, chances are they're bugging you for their own bank account and debit card. Their reasoning seems sound: it will teach them to manage their money, and allow them to get a snack from the tuckshop without cash. But many wary parents are...
Young people have always had a voice, yet they haven't always been listened to. We're changing that. CSMC is exploring with teens and young adults, their experiences of growing up in a single mother household. What we hear from these young people will inform our...
Single mothers who have created their families using donor sperm know that donor linking brings with it a multitude of potential issues and considerations. Now, the Victorian Government has announced that the authority that supports families through the process...
With every new financial year comes changes that impact our family budgets, including tax, superannuation, and new rebates. So what's changing now? Well, there's some good(ish) news. Tax cuts The much talked about stage three tax cuts, which passed through...
On 25 June, Andi, CSMC's policy and advocacy coordinator and Jacqui, coordinator of CSMC support services, spoke at the final session of the People’s Commission into the Housing Crisis. The People’s Commission was convened by...
First of all, let’s take a moment to remember how awful ParentsNext was and how good it was to have it stopped. The end of ParentsNext was a huge victory over a punitive mandatory program. The government agreed in May 2023 to stop almost all compulsory aspects of...
We're partnering with Tenants Victoria to learn more about the legal and related service-experience needs of single parents renting in Victoria. What we learn will inform our future service provision, as well as our advocacy. Interviews will be via Microsoft Teams,...
The report from CSMC's national survey of single mothers, released earlier this year, revealed that single mothers are employed at equivalent levels to partnered mothers. Yet every single mother will tell you, when you are the sole financial provider for your...
Callout for focus group participants Seeking young people aged 15 - 22 who are growing up or have lived in a single mother household Attendance at one focus group session around 2 hours long Participants with be paid $50 per hour for their time Must be available to...
Anyone who caught the news this week knows all the top stories were about Budgets - first the Victorian Budget was handed down, then the Federal Budget. Every Budget covers a broad range of issues, and every Budget is followed by many interviews with experts and...
This week, two pieces of legislation were passed by the Federal Government: The Family Law Amendment Act 2023 and Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2023. The changes include new laws about how the Courts will make parenting orders in the...
We celebrated International Single Parents day by launching our Wall of Honour to pay tribute to all the amazing single mothers we know and have known! Congratulations to all the mums who were nominated - you can read the tributes, in alphabetical order, below....
There are a few places left in our Bloom Careers, Work and Wellbeing program for the Northern Metro area - but they are filling fast! Bloom is an eight week online mentoring program to help you define your career, work or training needs in just a few hours per...
At the moment, housing is dominating so many discussions in the media, in Parliament, and around water coolers and school gates across the country. The fact is that CSMC has long advocated for single mother families on housing-related issues, most notably access to...
It's outdated, hopelessly flawed, and it has not kept pace with inflation. Now, the Federal Government is reviewing the child support system, and as many single mothers will attest, there's a lot that needs to be changed. Fixing the broken child support system has...
CSMC's survey of single mothers is the largest of its kind in Australia and has revealed information that politicians, policy makers, and the community need to pay attention to now.
On Sunday 3 March, Brenda Richards, one of CSMC’s founding members and inaugural Treasurer, died at the age of 85. Brenda’s work in the late 1960s campaigning for the rights of ‘unwed mothers’ and their children set the course for a remarkable life of public...
Thursday March 21 is International Single Parents Day, and to celebrate we're creating out own Wall of Honour to pay tribute to all the amazing single mothers we know and have known. It might be a friend, a relative, or even your own mum - but if you want to thank...
How employment has changed for single mothers since Covid.
Not sure what career would suit and fulfil you? Here’s some tips for getting started.
How to balance all the competing priorities in your single mother life.
Where to find information and resources to help you discover the best career choices for you.
By Emily Wolfinger, PhD After decades of advocacy by sole mother groups, on 20 September 2023, the Australian Labor Government finally reversed the Liberal Howard Government’s welfare reforms that required sole mothers to be looking for employment by the time their...
Discover different training and study options and all the things you need to consider.
HILDA (the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia) survey is considered one of Australia’s most valuable social research tools. HILDA first examined the lives of 14,000 Australians in 2001 and releases data yearly, comparing it to the 2001 data and...
When Fatima and her children fled a domestic violence situation in the middle of the night they had only the clothes they were wearing. In the days following, she discovered she was unable to apply for Centrelink payments or even set up a bank account because she...
It was a payment designed to assist women and children fleeing violence, but a new report has revealed that the majority of applications are being rejected, leading to the obvious question: what's the point in introducing a family violence payment only to make it...
It has taken significant resources of all kinds to undertake, analysis and launch this national survey of single mothers - the second we have delivered and the largest in Australia. 1168 single mothers invested their time to complete the survey, share their stories...
A shocking new report has revealed that single mother families are being slugged with higher premiums than those of partnered mother families. It comes at a time when single mothers are already struggling with rising costs of living. The study, conducted by Choice,...
In the 54 years since CSMC was founded, much has changed. Single mothers are now entitled to social security regardless of how they became single mothers; fewer single mothers are forced to relinquish their babies; and laws exist to prevent employment opportunities...
Two weeks ago, Andi, CSMC's Policy and Communications Coordinator, and Michelle and Charisse, two of our passionate single mother members boarded a plane to Canberra. There they joined Terese Edwards, CEO of Single Mother Families Australia, and headed into...
Council of Single Mothers and their children is bringing their FREE careers, work and wellbeing guidance program to Ballarat. Enjoy one on one online sessions with an industry professional with lived experience of single motherhood Identify your skills and...
This is an overview of Centrelink payments to help single mothers start navigating the system. Services Australia through Centrelink, is responsible for administering income support and emergency payments on behalf of the Australian government. Income support...
For single mothers receiving Centrelink payments, returning to paid employment can mean the amount they receive is cut or eliminated altogether. Many single mothers make the decision on how many hours to work in paid employment based on how much of their Centrelink...
Single mother families receiving Centrelink payments will know that as of 20 September 2023, the eligibility age to receive Parenting Payment Single has been raised to up until the youngest child turns 14. It's a great win for single mums, but what does it mean and...
In a few months, Australians will vote in a referendum to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. CSMC is supporting a Yes vote in the referendum - here's why. Where did The...
Council of Single Mothers and their Children is supporting voting Yes in the upcoming referendum to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. CSMC was formed to support single...
Chances are, more than once, you've answered the door to someone offering to replace your lightbulbs or update your heating or cooling systems, as part of a Victorian Government program. Chances are you've also wondered if it's a scam or the real deal. Here's what...
Skyrocketing rents are crippling the finances of many single mother families living in rental properties, chewing up an unsustainable percentage of their incomes and reducing the stock of affordable housing. Renters are calling for government intervention, and...
Years ago, when I first went on a holiday with my baby daughter, my sister-in-law, also a mother, warned: “The thing you have to remember about holidays as a mother, Margie, is that it’s not really a holiday: it’s just transporting the chaos to a different...
Every week, the lines of people queuing to look at rental properties get longer. Things are much worse for those on low incomes or without a great rental history. Even with money and a good rental history, single mothers are going up against two-income families....
Trudy, an accountant with a family run business in Melbourne had long been asking her employer for more flexibility in her working arrangements. A single mother with school aged children, she wanted a later start to drop the kids at school, and the ability to work...
When her local Member of Parliament recommended she contact the Council of Single Mothers and their Children, Sandra says she had never heard of the organisation. “Fifteen years later, when I look back, it feels like CSMC has played such an important role in my...
“Whilst our kids will remember COVID, I will not ask them to pay for it." They were the words spoken by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Budget Night 2023 - and the message was clear. COVID measures have left the state $116 billion in debt, and the Government...
Friday 5 May was a momentous day. Early in the morning, an announcement was made of the end of mandatory participation in ParentsNext, affective immediately, with a new co-designed voluntary program to be ready by July 2024. CSMC and our colleagues have been...
