Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Environment and Water (Senate)) Share this | Hansard source

Our concern, which I don't think the minister has addressed, highlights what happens when debt accrues. For example, the median income of child support recipients in Tasmania is only $22,195 a year. They have extremely low median incomes, whereas child support recipients in the ACT have, on average, $42,000 in median income. You can see that even a small reduction in child support or other payments can have a big impact on a family in terms of their cost of living. We believe it is unfair to place the child support recipient in an even more precarious financial situation because of another person's mistake, which is what we're talking about here.

We recognise that there is also a need for legislative change, but sometimes honest mistakes do happen, which is why we believe it's important that the Child Support Registrar can amend a child support assessment—and this is the effect of the amendments we will put in to follow these ones if we fail in knocking this out—so that it reflects the true financial situation of both parents. An example given to us was of someone who'd had an incorrect tax assessment.

We believe that the bill as currently drafted does not provide adequate protections to ensure that retrospective determinations cannot place a child support recipient and their children in a precarious situation. These are important and sensitive issues. This is why we have amendments before this place which would give the Senate more time to carefully consider the way to make this change. The amendment that we are debating removes schedule 1, part 2—which deals with changes to amended tax assessments—from the bill. Let's be clear: I would like the chamber to support this amendment.

The CHAIR: I'm going to put the question in two parts. The first question is that part 2 of schedule 1 stand as printed. That would mean that those opposing part 2 would vote against this question.