The Morning Show

New child support scheme

Both parents’ incomes taken into account
The costs of raising children will be better accounted for
An amount for self-support will be excluded from both parents’ incomes
Better recognition of shared care
Children from first and second families treated in a similar way
Changes to the income used to work out payments
Families will receive a minimum child support payment
Help with re-establishing yourself after you separate
More flexible agreements for child support

http://csa.gov.au/schemereforms/introduction.aspx

6 Comments

1. boardsandthings - Apr 15 10:45pm

Hi...I am worried about this as my ex owns his own business ...runs it at a loss...(gets alot of cash jobs)..he has told me before....because I am trying my hardest to work..(I have 2 jobs) this will mean yet again he does not have to pay much child support..most of my daughters 12 years he has paid the minimum amount while his ex wife gets all his tax and we get nothing...its not the money we want but a fair deal would be appreciated....

2. mebananasmoothie - Apr 16 10:25am

Hopefully this new scheme will solve some problems. My partner has 2 kids to a previous relationship and pays a stupid amount of child support. I have an 11 week old and may be forced back to worksoon. His ex-wife works only 8 h/w and both her kids are at school. We are paying for her nice lifestyle

3. jessnorberry - May 06 04:01pm

i too hope this will solve problems as i know of a young single mum with 2 kids 1 that go 2 day care & the youngest 1 spends alot of time with her dad & she dosnt live alone chooses not 2 work & lives a party lifestyle while the father of the oldest daughter pays a ridicuulos amount of child support

4. sherie_harvey - May 15 09:56am

I am a single mum, i have a 3 yr old and i would really like to go back to work but it cost too much to put my daughter in crache and it will cost roughly $250 a week for crache, leaving me with $250 left on an average wage. Its not right!

5. sherie_harvey - May 15 10:03am

Also what happens to the parents that were both working before the baby born and then only one parent continues working. Is the government going to look at what the family earns after the baby born or before? i know pleople that are doing it hard now the baby here and only 1 of them is working.

6. strongh0ld - May 16 01:10am

response to boardsandthings - maybe your ex is doing something illegal and hiding income but us honest business owners who are committed to doing what's right for their familes are being shafted by the new child support system. I have been reassessed [purely because the gov't wanted to adjust my ex-wife's paid support down and my support up, not because my ex-wife wanted it] and my child support went up 3 times. i hardly see my family yet I am struggling under the financial weight of what i am a