Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Albanese Labor government is committed to a child support scheme that ensures adequate and fair financial support for all children of separated parents.

This bill is a technical amendment to ensure that the child support scheme operates as it is intended.

In the context of 2023 AAT proceedings, Services Australia identified concerns that 2018 amendments to child support and family assistance legislation were not operating as intended due to unclear drafting.

Instead of strengthening interim period provisions, the 2018 amendments unintentionally limited the circumstances where an interim period can apply. Under the legislation as currently enacted, an interim period can only apply at the start of a new child support assessment or family tax benefit claim where the breach of the care arrangement occurs at that point.

In February 2024, the Federal Court confirmed that the 2018 amendments did not operate as intended and observed there is an urgent need for legislative reform to simplify this.

Through this bill, the government is taking action to quickly resolve the legislative uncertainty and restore parliament's intent from the 2018 bill. Passage of this bill is essential to ensure child support legislation clearly outlines where interim periods can apply.

Interim periods are an important and longstanding feature of the child support scheme.

Child support payments and family tax benefit entitlements are based on a parent's percentage of care for a child. Ordinarily, this is based on each parent's actual care of the child.

However, where a written care arrangement is in place for a child—such as a court order—a parent's percentage of care can be based on that written care arrangement for an interim period.

Interim periods are important because they encourage compliance with written care arrangements. Interim periods prevent a parent who is withholding care of a child from financially benefiting through higher child support and FTB payments. They also ensure the other parent is not financially worse off through higher child support obligations and lower FTB payments.

Interim periods encourage participation in family dispute resolution. For an interim period to apply, the person with reduced care must take reasonable steps to have the care arrangement complied with. For example, trying to work with the other parent to reinstate the care arrangement, seeking assistance from a dispute resolution service, starting legal proceedings or notifying the police that the child has been taken without consent.

It can be a lengthy and expensive process for parents to resolve parenting matters through the family law assistance system. Where they have done so, these orders made reflect the court's decision about what is in the best interests of a child. The orders should be followed unless special circumstances exist.

Importantly, existing rules will continue to apply to protect parents and children who are at risk of violence or where there are child welfare concerns. If a care arrangement has changed due to a fear of violence or neglect, Services Australia is able to ensure the child support and FTB payments are based on actual care and an interim period would not apply.

The bill clarifies provisions in child support and family assistance legislation to ensure interim periods are available in a broader range of circumstances, consistent with longstanding policy and practice. While not known as an 'interim period', child support assessments have been able to reflect the contravention of a court order or parenting plan since 1998. Interim periods in their current form have existed since 2010, when child support and family assistance legislation were aligned to have the same care determinations.

The bill includes retrospective provisions to ensure past decisions made since 2018 and in line with the intended policy are legally valid. This is important to minimise the impact on parents and carers who may otherwise be financially disadvantaged by having these decisions disrupted.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.