A $160m squeeze on the deadbeats

MORE than 18,000 dads and mums who have failed to pay child support will be banned from leaving Australia as the federal government strengthens laws to recover more than $160 million in debts.

A loophole allowing parents to avoid paying their debts once their child turns 18 will also be closed, with authorities given the power to dock pay until the amount is recovered.

And parents who had been overpaid support but held off putting in a tax return to avoid paying back the other parent will also be in the sights of authorities, with the government to invest $7.8 million towards strengthening child support compliance activities.

While Services Australia has had the ability to ban parents from travelling overseas if they had not paid child support, the existing laws meant they could still leave the country if they had made a partial payment.

The legislation changes will strengthen the Departure Prohibition Order system to allow the department to refuse any travel until the full debt is paid.

The measures are expected to recover almost 10 per cent of the total child support debt pool of $1.69 billion, which has been growing since 1988.

Under the changes, Services Australia will be allowed to dock the pay packets of nonpaying parents until a debt is recovered, even if a child has turned 18.

Families and Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said parents were previously able to leave if they provided a down payment on their debt.

The new measures, timed with the opening up of international borders, would enable the department to refuse issuing the exemption if there was reason to believe the parent was likely to fail to pay back the rest of the debt when they returned to Australia.

“Children must be at the centre of our decision-making. We make no apologies for using tough measures to ensure the financial support children are entitled to be paid,” Ms Ruston said. “This is money that is helping to put food on the table and clothes on the backs of thousands of Australian children. Parents who shirk their responsibilities are depriving their children of the financial support that will help them live a better life.”

The changes are expected to impact about 18,250 parents, including 3500 who have been overpaid. Some of the extreme measures that have been taken recently to recover debt include the Australian Federal Police (AFP) stopping a parent attempting to board a plane in November last year before securing the $16,000 owed in unpaid child payments.

In a separate but similar case in October last year, the AFP again intercepted a parent from leaving Australia. They finally paid $180,000 in child support arrears.

Some cases have dragged on for years, including a parent who accumulated a debt of $70,000 over 15 years before pressure from the department saw the unpaid amount settled via a loan in February 2020.

Another $90,000 of a total of $127,000 unpaid child support was collected after the department took legal action, with the amount offered up in mediation in October 2021.

The changes are expected to be introduced into parliament during the winter session and are planned to come into effect from October 1.