List of Recommendations

Recommendation 1

4.9

The committee recommends the Australian Government provides adequate resources to Services Australia to allow it to enhance its Child Support Scheme services, particularly to assist those clients who have a disability and/or low levels of English proficiency. The committee recommends these enhancements include, but are not limited to:

simplifying the language used in correspondence;

providing explanations of key concepts and technical terms;

improving telephone wait times;

improving information sharing with Centrelink; and

improving the interpreter service by ensuring that, upon agreement by the client, interpreters can access documentation being referred to during discussions.

Recommendation 2

4.15

The committee recommends the Australian Government fully implements recommendations 1 and 18 made by the House of Representatives' Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs in 2015 in its report, From Conflict to Cooperation: Inquiry into the Child Support Program, by 31 December 2021.

Recommendation 3

4.20

The committee recommends the Australian Government reconvenes regular meetings of the Child Support National Stakeholder Engagement Group, or an equivalent forum, to ensure that all relevant stakeholders can have their voices heard. In doing so, the committee recommends that:

the group reconvenes before the end of 2021;

the group meets at least twice every year;

the group publishes meeting minutes to promote accountability and transparency;

the relevant departments provide ongoing updates to the group against action items and issues raised at prior meetings; and

the relevant departments provide regular updates to their minister(s) on issues raised by the group and progress made in resolving those issues.

Recommendation 4

4.25

The committee recommends the Australian Government undertakes a twelve month pilot program of co-locating Child Support Scheme officers, as Court Liaison Officers, in a number of Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia registries. Further, the committee also recommends that, subject to a positive evaluation of the pilot, the program be expanded to all Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia registries and locations.

Recommendation 5

4.29

The committee recommends the Australian Government engages with interested stakeholders to assess their data needs. Further, following such an engagement, the committee recommends the Australian Government publishes, to the extent possible, these requested datasets on an ongoing basis and in an anonymised way.

Recommendation 6

4.34

The committee recommends the Australian Government regularly assesses the compliance rates of Private Collect arrangements and publishes the resulting information.

Recommendation 7

4.42

The committee recommends the Australian Government reconsiders the feasibility of conducting a trial of a limited financial guarantee for either vulnerable families or a randomised sample of Child Support Scheme clients.

Recommendation 8

4.43

The committee recommends the Productivity Commission undertakes an inquiry into the Child Support Scheme to review compliance with assessments of child support made by the Child Support Registrar.

Recommendation 9

4.46

The committee recommends the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 be amended to allow the Child Support Registrar to accept applications for administrative assessments of child support using accredited DNA evidence, without requiring a declaration under section 106A.

Recommendation 10

4.47

The committee recommends the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 be amended to allow the Child Support Registrar to end administrative assessments using accredited DNA evidence.

Recommendation 11

4.51

The committee recommends that section 4 of the Family Law Act 1975 be amended to recognise persistent underpayment and/or non-payment of child support as relevant factors in determining the existence of abuse.

Recommendation 12

4.52

The committee recommends that staff within Services Australia undertake enhanced training to ensure they can effectively identify child support cases where domestic or family violence may exist, and that they are equipped with the skills and knowledge to provide timely advice and assistance.

Recommendation 13

4.56

The committee recommends the Australian Government considers the benefits of introducing lump sum child support payments into the child support legislation. The committee envisages such provisions would be equivalent to those within the Family Law Act 1975 which allow for lump sum payment orders.

Recommendation 14

4.59

The committee recommends that the Australian Government convenes a Ministerial Taskforce, together with an Expert Working Group including a representative of both custodial and non-custodial parents, to examine any of the issues raised regarding the Child Support Scheme which the taskforce considers to have merit.

Recommendation 15

4.66

The committee recommends that Services Australia updates and enhances its public information relating to the three-year additional income exemption, with a view to making the information more prominent and accessible. Further, the committee recommends the exemption be clearly brought to a payee's attention at the earliest opportunity, preferably from the first communication by Services Australia.

Recommendation 16

4.77

The committee recommends that the Australian Government considers whether child support assessments should be automatically changed to reflect amended court orders.

Recommendation 17

4.78

The committee recommends that the Australian Government reviews the interim-care provisions so that they better support compliance with family law orders and do not operate to undermine the court's decision in relation to the best interests of the children, including requiring a parent or party who has varied interim parenting orders or contact time to approach the court to seek a variation of interim orders prior to seeking any variation or amendment to the child support assessment.

Recommendation 18

4.84

The committee recommends the Australian Government urgently updates the Costs of the Children Table to reflect the current costs of raising children in Australia. This would include a thorough assessment of whether the costs of raising children in Australia are a function of parental income and whether other factors, such as geographical location, should also be considered.

Recommendation 19

4.86

The committee recommends the Costs of the Children Table be amended to better reflect the costs of raising four or more children.

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