Child support builds on abuse ‘power play’

DOMESTIC violence victims are being forced to pay their abusers through the child support system.

DV Connect chairwoman Shaan Ross-Smith said child maintenance payments could be used as a form of “power and control” long after victims have fled an abusive relationship.

“It’s a system of power play,” Ms Ross-Smith said.

“They punish the other partner through their children. I know women whose partners have left their jobs so they don’t have to pay (child support).”

Single mother “Kate”, who cannot be named to protect her children’s identity, was left temporarily homeless after child support payments to her ex-husband left her too poor to pay bills.

A magistrate has granted a five-year protection order against Kate’s ex-husband, who has shared care of the children so long as he is of “good behaviour and does not commit domestic violence” against them.

The federal Department of Social Services is refusing to reveal how many Child Support claims involve domestic violence – or even confirm that it collects the data.

“Due to the private nature of child support and the sensitivities around domestic violence we are unable to provide an exact figure regarding how many child support applications made in the last financial year notified the Agency of domestic violence,” a spokeswoman said.

Kate earns an average wage but her ex-husband quit his job – so she must pay him nearly $150 a week in child support.

“I think he gets a kick out of me having to pay,” she said.

“He doesn’t contribute to the school fees and I pay for their uniforms, book packs and laptops.

“When I told Centrelink about that they said I have to negotiate with him to pay (half those costs), even though I have a no-contact protection order.

“Women who have been subjected to abuse should not have to pay their abusers.”

Kate said the Child Support Agency required her to hand over all her banking statements to her ex-partner if she wanted to challenge the payment, but she feared this might identify her location.

When Kate notified Services Australia of her concerns, she was sent a letter referring her to DV helplines.

Services Australia wrote that a parent assessed to pay child support “is required to make payments directly to us”. “We then transfer the payment received to the other parent,” it stated.

Child support is being reviewed by a long-running federal parliamentary inquiry into family law, due to report in October.