The new Child Support Scheme and changes to Family Assistance
Why the Scheme is changing
On 29 December 2003, a governent inquiry into child custody arrangements in the event of family separation made a number of recommendations about the Child Support Scheme, including a major review.
In 2004, the Australian Government formed an independent Ministerial Taskforce to review the Child Support Scheme. The Taskforce reviewed Australian and overseas research on the costs of children, and considered other factors such as households with different income levels, different numbers of children and children of different ages.
The Ministerial Taskforce released a report called In the Best Interests of Children—Reforming the Child Support Scheme. The report found there was a need for a greater emphasis on shared parental responsibility and the importance of both parents remaining actively involved in their children's lives after separation.
The report also recommended replacing the current fixed percentage of income used to work out child support payments with a new way of calculating payments based on their findings about the costs of raising children.
Following this review, the Government announced in February 2006 that it would introduce reforms to the Child Support Scheme to reflect changes in Australian society since the Scheme was established in 1988.
The new Child Support Scheme will aim to better balance the interests of both parents and be more focused on the needs and costs of children. This aims to:
- reduce conflict between parents about parenting arrangements
- encourage shared parental responsibility
- ensure child support is paid in full and on time.