Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Labor has a proud history of improving the lives of Australian children and their families. It was a Labor government that introduced paid parental leave. It was a Labor government that launched the first National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. And it was a Labor government that legislated child support in 1988. Today we introduce the next stage of child support measures, to ensure that all children are given the financial support they deserve. Under the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Child Support Measures) Bill 2023, loopholes will be closed and more than $160 million of unpaid child support will be recovered and returned to single parents and their children who need it. What we know is that right now there are 18,000 parents who are not paying child support. This means, on average, that 18,000 children are missing out on $11,000 which they are each entitled to receive. This $11,000 could be for schoolbooks, new school shoes, the school excursion or to help put food on the table and pay the bills.

As a former teacher in outer Melbourne and Geelong, I know just how challenging it can be for single parents and their children. Child support matters. I saw firsthand how teachers go above and beyond for their students by making sure they have eaten breakfast, have extra help with their homework and return home safely at the end of the day. I continue to hear the stories across my electorate of Corangamite. Breakfast clubs in schools like Leopold Primary School play such an important role in making sure children are looked after. But help like this can only go so far. It's time to fix a system that has not effectively enforced the payment of much-needed child support. This will be non-negotiable under this bill. The Albanese government is determined to help single parents raise their children to the best of their ability, without the anxiety that comes with financial stress. No parent should be forced to choose between paying for petrol for the school pick-up and paying the heating bill.

I'm proud that our government has always been at the forefront of this reform. Just yesterday, our government announced $1.9 billion over five years to extend parenting payments to those with children up to 14 years of age. Around 110,000 children will benefit from this scheme, with parents to take home more than $176 extra per fortnight through this Albanese government initiative. It's another milestone in Labor's history, which at its core is all about improving the lives of family and children. Such reforms remind me of the time when the Hawke government stepped in and introduced the groundbreaking child support scheme to ensure that children affected by family breakdown received adequate and fair financial security. The Albanese government is committed to continuing this work.

Quite simply, the median income of parents who receive child support is not enough. It sits at around $33,000 annually, which is less than half of national average earnings. Our government recognises the financial stress facing many single-parent families, and that's why, in conjunction with this bill, we're introducing cheaper child care and a number of other measures in tonight's budget to help parents get back to work, earn more and pay their bills.

This bill supports reform and ensures that other parents contribute to child support cases. I know that most of these other parents try to do the right thing under the scheme. The data shows that over $33 billion in support payments have been made since the scheme's introduction in 1988. Despite this, child support debt is way too high. From 1 July, the bill will make it easier for Services Australia to collect child support debts, and it will help prevent further debts for low-income families by delivering three key changes.

Firstly, it will strengthen Services Australia's powers to collect debts from parents who have not paid their child support. To do this, the bill will expand the circumstances where debts can be deducted directly from a parent's wage. For example, when a child turns 18 and the case for child support has ended, Services Australia can retrieve any outstanding child support debt. At a time where financial stress is incredibly high for many young people, this reform will make sure they have the financial security to, say, move out of home or pursue a career.

Secondly, it will stop those parents—who are in the minority—who owe child support and exploit the loopholes of the scheme. One such loophole relates to travel bonds. Currently, by providing a bond, parents can get an exemption from payments if they go overseas. The problem is that, once they return, Services Australia can't keep that bond to contribute towards any unpaid support debts. This is not what the scheme is for, and it's not what we want for our nation's children and single-parent families. This bill will make sure that Services Australia can keep that bond and refuse an exemption for parents who have the means to pay support but choose not to. Not many parents cheat the system in this way, but those who do owe on average more than $43,000 each in child support.

Finally, we are addressing the limitations of parental income assessments. Many parents who receive payments make less than $28,000 each year, which means they don't have to lodge a tax return. Without that critical information, Services Australia have to apply a default income assessment for the parent, which in many cases is a wild overestimation of their earnings. This means the guardian parent ends up in a position where they don't receive enough child support. On the flip side, it can also mean the other parent must pay more than they are able to afford. This bill addresses this problem for more than 150,000 parents. This reform will make sure children are better supported by ensuring that parental income assessments better reflect accurate earnings information: parents can advise Services Australia of their actual income at any time, and Services Australia can access information from the Australian Taxation Office.

All in all, with this bill, we take the next step towards a better and fairer child support system. We know it will make a substantial difference to the lives of so many families in my electorate, who come to me and talk about this issue. We have listened and we, the Albanese government, are acting. We also recognise that there is more work to do when it comes to improving child support. That's why our government has committed to this bill and to implementing the recommendations of the report from the Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law System.

Like the Hawke government before us, our government wants to see child support paid in full and on time to make sure that parents have the financial resources they need to meet the costs of supporting a child on an everyday basis. We want to secure a better future for our nation's children; we want to take pressure off parents; we want to make sure we take the burden off teachers, friends and family; and, most importantly, we want this generation of children to look back on these years and know that they were looked after and given every opportunity to reach their potential.

Debate adjourned.

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