Column: Robin Tucker On Unpaid Child Support
[Opinion column written by MP Robin Tucker]
Enough is enough. What will it take to get the government’s focus on collecting outstanding child support payments?
When I was a Senator in March 2024, I asked the Government three questions:
- What is the total amount of outstanding child support payments due to custodial parents for the year ending 31 December 2023?
- What are the total amounts of outstanding child support payments that have been delinquent for between 1 and 5 years, 10 and 15 years and for greater than 20 years.
- What is the total number of staff, and their positions whose specific job is dedicated to recovering outstanding child support payments?
Embarrassingly, the Government Junior Minister advised that since the courts are using a 30-year-old system that is no longer supported by the technical team of the vendor, she was unable to confirm the amount of outstanding payments for the requested time period.
Because of this, no response could be given to Q1 or Q2. The Junior Minister said that for 2024/25 fiscal year the government had approved $800k to purchase a new case management system so I look forward to hearing of how this important initiative has advanced during upcoming budget debates.
Interestingly, in that same Senate meeting the Government confirmed that between 2019-2023 there were 2,745 cases in default that were heard in the courts, with $16,647,434 collected for the same period.
This information gives some basic insight as to the gravity of the shortfall owed by delinquent parents, and the amounts that must be covered by custodial parents since whether delinquent parents pay or not, the children still need food, shelter, and other necessities. All things that custodial parents must find the money for.
Shockingly, in response to Q3, the Government confirmed that a single enforcement officer handles recovery of delinquent payments.
Given the information about the number of delinquent cases between 2019-2023, if he or she was a lone enforcement officer during that time that person would have had a caseload of at least 2,745 people. How is this right or allowed to happen?
Some parents who are owed child support money are desperately having to borrow money, work multiple jobs and some attain Financial Assistance to keep from ending up on the streets with their children. So, it would be reasonable to expect that the government would do all it can to avoid adding additional burden to an already stretched financial assistance system.
Supporting parents in getting child support payments cannot be a priority for this government since if it was at a minimum, there would be adequate systems in place that maintains appropriate data and that sufficient staff are available to assist with enforcement of the laws already in place. Given that there is only one enforcement officer, based on the details provided delays are unsurprising as a single person cannot do the job efficiently.
What can be done to improve this? Hire additional enforcement officers, enforce the law already established and create additional legislation to discourage delinquencies and incentivize payment.
The OBA calls upon the Government to advance legislative amendments to
- Implement automatic wage garnishments so employers deduct income directly from pay checks. Currently, wage garnishments are not automatic
- Restrict delinquent parent’s ability to licence new vehicles or to renew existing vehicles
- Place liens on property and other assets to recover unpaid child support
- Restrict ability to travel and renew passports
- Suspend driver’s licenses in certain circumstances
- Tie court garnishments to social insurance numbers so garnishments are portable
The Government must demonstrate that they are taking this issue seriously by giving it the attention it needs.
Parents have a hard enough job raising children, and doing so without the support of a financially delinquent parent makes the job even harder.
No more talk and empty promises, it’s past time for this government to get serious about supporting parents especially those who step up to ensure that children have what they need and hold to account those parents who do not at the very least financially contribute to the welfare of the child or children they helped to create.
- Robin Tucker, Shadow Health Minister
Forget it. The Government does not want to crack down on delinquent child support payments. If it wanted to do so, it would have done so decades ago. Blaming technology is a poor excuse.
Joe you are correct. To get men (mostly) to pay for their children is very difficult when they could care less about their offspring. Attaching earning only works for employed persons and some will quit rather than have the deductions taken. Many have casual jobs and can be hard to find to execute a warrant of arrest. Taking driving licenses is pointless if you expect the paying parent to work and be productive. Restriction on travel may work for some but others will go to jail before they give a penny to the caring parent. Nothing has changed in the last 30 years on this topic.
While you Senator are at it, have the Courts make it MANDATORY for the father’s to have unrestricted access to their children.
It is disgusting, deplorable and so unfair that very loving and caring fathers are denied access/visitation because the mother develops an attitude.
Also, the child support is NOT to furnish her stylish lifestyle. I’ve personally seen and experienced paying child support (NEVER late or delinquent) but called every single day to bring lunch for my children at school.
I’ve been to CJS because one of the
children threatened another child as a result of my child being continuously teased and called poor becauseof holes in her clothes…DESPISE me paying $800-$1000 per month at that time almost thirty years ago. Meanwhile, the mother looked like a fashion model every single day.
Even with the children living with their mother, it was ME who attended everything at school and in fact when my son was in P6, no one at the school knew who she was due to being totally absent.
Let’s work on these “mothers”!
When the oba gets back in charge they can lock all those non payers up.
Also list these on the next election platform in bold for all to see.
Implement automatic wage garnishments so employers deduct income directly from pay checks. Currently, wage garnishments are not automatic
Restrict delinquent parent’s ability to licence new vehicles or to renew existing vehicles
Place liens on property and other assets to recover unpaid child support
Restrict ability to travel and renew passports
Suspend driver’s licenses in certain circumstances
Tie court garnishments to social insurance numbers so garnishments are portable