Child Support & Child Care
The child-support scheme can provide financial certainty and strengthen resilience in the children's primary household. In Australia, the clear majority (83%) of one-parent families with children or dependent students are headed by a single mother. Child Support has the potential to assist in more secure housing, provide the basics for children and reduce hardship.
It is a unique and vital public policy formed in 1988 when child poverty captured Australia's attention and concern. It was well-known that there were low levels of child support paid by non-custodial parents (26%) and that mothers encountered barriers, difficulties and costs when updating and/or enforcing child support through the courts.
The Department of Social Services (DSS) is responsible for administering child support legislation. It works to develop and improve child support policy to enable more effective delivery of the scheme. Services Australia delivers the CSS and provides services to parents and carers.
See our Child Support Briefing: SMFA So Many Ways to Lose, Child Support Brief 31/03/25 and campaign website Fix Child Support and research Opening the black box of Child Support: Shining A Light on Financial Abuse, 8/11/24; SMFA Media Release; Full report: Opening the Black Box of Child Support.
Please visit 'Our Voice ' to access our submissions, media coverage, and national surveys as we strive for a more efficient and fairer system. Click Here: