http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19580074%255E3462,00.html Sunday Tasmanian Child support shame Tasmanian parents owe a staggering $11.3 million in unpaid child support. But they are now on notice from the Child Support Agency: they will be pursued. The agency's new national compliance manager, Angela Tillmanns, said the days when the agency was too busy to pursue defaulters were long gone. "People who have been avoiding their child support obligations can either ring us to sort it out or wait in fear that the next phone call they receive will be from us," Ms Tillmanns said. Last week federal Human Services Minister Joe Hockey announced $143 million in funding for a new Child Support Authority compliance program. The program includes the appointment of 120 special investigators to conduct surveillance on people who have lavish lifestyles yet pay no child support. Ms Tillmanns said the agency would not necessarily be "getting the jackboots out" on all parents. "But where they are deliberately avoiding their responsibilities we will use our full powers to get them to do the right thing by their kids," she said. Ms Tillmanns said the Child Support Agency had 19,960 active cases in Tasmania of which 30 per cent had a debt for unpaid support. "But it is only 1.6 per cent of the total Australian child support debt of $704 million so it appears Tasmanians are trying to do the right thing," she said. "But $11.3 million is still a lot of money which is not going to children." Ms Tillmanns said when parents did not pay child support the costs were picked up by the taxpaying community and the other parent. "But ultimately it is the kids who are still missing out," she said. "They don't get to go on school excursions, their school shoes have to last longer, things like that. "We believe a child's lifestyle shouldn't change after a breakdown in the parental relationship and they should still be sharing in the true wealth of both their parents." Ms Tillmanns said the agency would be setting specific targets for improving child support compliance. "We will be meeting state Child Support Agency managers next week and within a couple of weeks we will have targets for every state," she said. "We are also in the process of recruiting extra staff and establishing a relationship with the courts to expedite increased prosecutions. "And we are working with Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Immigration to improve data matching." Ms Tillmanns said the new compliance program would enable the agency to work through all of its active cases in the next four years. "More than 70 per cent of parents are paying the right amount and are paying on time," she said. "With the new compliance program we will now be actively pursuing the 30 per cent who aren't." ----------------------------------------------------- http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19579888%255E3462,00.html Sunday Tasmanian Bid to beat cheats hailed A Hobart lawyer specialising in child support welcomes a Federal Government decision to undertake surveillance on parents who fail to support their children. Michael Bowman, the child support lawyer for the Hobart Community Legal Centre, said the use of 120 investigators to collect video evidence was a method that needed to be tried. "In the past we could only use a paper trail to get evidence about people who were evading their responsibilities," Mr Bowman said. "We have never had the funds to be able to employ investigators, or gain video evidence, and I applaud the Federal Government for trying something different and very creative to help address the problem of non-compliance with Child Support Agency orders." Mr Bowman, who belongs to a network of 13 lawyers specialising in child support in community legal centres, said the non-compliance problem desperately needed addressing. "This is an issue which comes up all the time for child support lawyers," he said. In his experience there were four reasons why people didn't meet child support commitments. "In some cases the bitterness in the relationship becomes more important than doing the right thing by the kids," Mr Bowman said. "Sometimes the person who is meant to pay child support thinks the money won't be used on the child. "In some cases it is simply the result of greed and self interest, and for some people a new family seems more relevant and important than the old family they have left." Mr Bowman said in all cases it was the children who suffered. "Some families manage to keep the squabble over child support away from the children, some can't, but in all cases it does impact detrimentally on the children," he said. Mr Bowman said child support evasion came in three forms. "There are the people who aren't paying enough child support, the people who are not paying at all and the people who appear to be paying too little based on their lifestyle," he said. Mr Bowman said in all categories self-employed people were the most difficult to pursue. "I've had examples of the liable parent working for his family or friends for cash or in-kind payments," he said. "I've had examples of company structures or family trusts being used to hide income. "I've seen assets being put into the name of new partners and I've seen builders and tradespeople declaring low incomes when there is clear evidence their services are in demand. "The Government is investing $143 million in the new compliance program to recoup $460 million in child support and that has to be a good investment." ----------------------------------------------------- http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,19579891%255E3462,00.html Sunday Tasmanian Targeting the deadbeat dads A Hobart mum is hoping her former husband will be one of the first targeted by a team of Child Support Agency investigators out to get "deadbeat" dads. Last week federal Human Services Minister Joe Hockey announced a $143 million funding boost to catch and prosecute an estimated 40,000 dads who are failing to support their children. As part of the initiative, 120 investigators will conduct surveillance on fathers who don't pay child support but live lavish lifestyles. A Hobart mother of two, who cannot be named, said her former husband should be one of the first targeted. "He is meant to be paying $800 a month, but claims his income has dropped and has had his payments reduced to less than $100 a month," she said. "Even then he hasn't paid me a cent since January. "He told the Child Support Agency his annual income is $23,000 but I would estimate it to be at least $50,000. "He has told me he is with-holding the money to get back at me because I divorced him. "But it's not me he is hurting, it is our children who are missing out because they are funding his lavish lifestyle." The mum said her former husband and his new girlfriend also had plenty of investments and several cars. "Recently he sold one of his cars for $20,000 and told one of our young children he'd had to do it because mummy had taken all of his money," she said. "He doesn't mind turning up at the weekend to enjoy watching the children participate in sport but he doesn't want to have to pay for any of it." The mother said the current system particularly failed people whose partners were self-employed. "Self-employed people are allowed to self-assess their income and when you complain to the Child Support Agency they require proof, which is almost impossible to get," she said. "And even if they believed me there is not much they can do; if he had an employer they could at least garnishee his wages." While the mum welcomed the appointment of the 120 special investigators, she said it was too little, too late. "Something should have been done a long time ago and I think more than 120 investigators are needed," she said.
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