This report explores the themes of the Youth19 open-text survey responses for young people who have ever been involved with Oranga Tamariki or Child Youth and Family Services in New Zealand.

The Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law System was appointed by resolution of the Senate on 18 September 2019 and resolution of the House of Representatives on 19 September 2019. In preparing this third interim report, the committee considered all relevant evidence provided to...

This report provides data from the Youth19 Rangatahi Smart Survey about secondary school students who report they have been involved with Oranga Tamariki or Child Youth and Family Services on the topic of ‘Home and Housing’.

This report compares the Australian and New Zealand family tax credit systems. Findings demonstrate that the Australian system is significantly more generous. This is particularly the case for families receiving income support. The New Zealand system is discriminatory, penalising the children of parents receiving a...

Much has been written about the need for the child support system to be "fair" and that its cornerstone is the "best interest of the child". Examining these principles against the Australian system's current-day operation was the broad objective of this research project.

The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the child support collection arrangements between the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

The report contains 25 recommendations in total. The Committee found that the CSP is generally functioning as intended: evidence to the inquiry indicated that in approximately 75-80 per cent of child support cases, parents are meeting their child support obligations and have established friendly or...

This report presents a cross-national comparison of the short- and medium-term economic effects of divorce. Overview This paper uses longitudinal data to estimate the short- and medium-term economic effects of divorce in the USA, the UK, Switzerland, Korea, Germany and Australia during the first decade...

Summary: Reforms introduced in 2009 to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) have meant that most samesex and opposite-sex de facto couples (in all states and territories except Western Australia) who end their relationships can now have their property and financial matters dealt with in...

This report examines the barriers women face to building their financial independence and long-term security post-separation.

Summary: This audit assessed the effectiveness of the Department of Human Services’ administration of the child support objection review process. To assist in evaluating the department’s performance in terms of the audit objective, the ANAO developed the following high level criteria: the department effectively promoted...

Unreasonable or difficult behaviour should not mean inadequate service from government agencies, argues this report on the Child Support Agency. This report examines the Child Support Agency’s ‘write only’ policy which restricts certain customers to written contact only, as a result of ‘unreasonable behaviour’, which...

This report analyses the effect of receipt of child support payments on the labour supply of resident mothers. This is an important issue, given the role that paid employment plays in increasing the short- and long-term economic wellbeing of separated mothers.

This updated analysis details changes over the first six months’ operation of the new child support formula. A key objective of the child support reforms is to improve compliance with child support obligations. This includes not only ensuring that parents pay their full assessment on...

The receipt of more than $75 per week in child support assisted resident parents living apart to secure better quality housing for themselves and their children. For non-resident parents living apart, the payment of child support appeared to have no measurable effect upon the standard...

This report outlines the population-level impact of changes to the Child Support Scheme that took effect on 1 July 2008, based on the combined outcome of the child support and Family Tax Benefit changes.

Most research into child support is based on the experiences of residential mothers and children. The little we know about post-separation fathering often comes from mothers reports. This is problematic as many child support reforms focus on changing the behaviour of non-resident parents (usually fathers)...

This research describes the relationship between the payment and receipt of child support and housing outcomes. The focus is informed by diversifying family forms and household structures, which have implications for parenting, financial arrangements and the housing needs and outcomes of Parents Apart and their...

Australia's Child Support Scheme, managed by the Child Support Agency, has operated since 1988 to assess, collect and disperse child maintenance money. The objective of this audit was to examine the integrity of electronic records stored on the CSA's database—Cuba—and to report on the effectiveness...

The Attitudes to Child Support Study, conducted by the AIFS early in 2005, was designed to inform the work of the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support. Data were obtained from a general population sample of 1001 people aged between 18 and 64 years and from...