Media Release
29 July 2008
Summit tackles overseas child support debt
The Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig, has today opened in Hobart the first summit of experts from the Child Support Agency looking for new ways of tackling the growing level of child support debt owed by international customers.
“I am very concerned that international debt now stands at $235 million and is the fastest growing proportion of the $1 billion total child support debt,” Senator Ludwig said.
The workshop aims to come up with new strategies to increase international child support collections, including:
- Extended data-matching with other organisations, such as the Australian Taxation Office and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
- Increased data-matching with international child support organisations such as those in New Zealand and the United States.
- Greater use of departure prevention orders.
Minister Ludwig said the $235 million was owed to children both in Australia and overseas.
“Separated parents living overseas now owe around $90 million in payments to their kids back in Australia,” Senator Ludwig said.
“Children in other countries are owed around $114 million from separated parents living in Australia.”
‘”Wherever separated parents live, it’s unacceptable for them to shirk their child support obligations.”
“What’s also alarming is the emergence of the double-defaulter. Almost 2000 parents in Australia are in this category. They have debts to children overseas and also owe $5.6 million in child support to their other kids in Australia.”
“The Rudd Government is committed to doing all it can to ensure children needing our help will receive the support they deserve, wherever they are.”
Most international debt cases involve New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The number of international cases where one parent is in New Zealand is almost half the international caseload.
“In this society of increasing global mobility, parents’ responsibilities to their children do not end simply because they don’t live in the same country,” Senator Ludwig said.
“International cases reflect 24 per cent of the CSA’s total child support debt, but are only 4 per cent of the active caseload.”
“The international caseload is increasing at a greater rate than the domestic caseload, growing by 13 per cent in 2006-07, compared with domestic growth of just one per cent.”
“Today’s meeting is an important initiative designed to strengthen the CSA’s ability to collect International child support debt and builds on the tough new Compliance Strategy I announced last month.”
“The CSA has done a great job in negotiating reciprocal agreements with 97 countries, including New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and nations as diverse as Estonia and Tunisia.” “International collections increased by 35 per cent over the last financial year - the measures that emerge from this workshop will bolster those results.”
“Collecting child support across various jurisdictions is difficult and complex, but this first ever summit makes the aim of reining in international debt a top priority.”
Background figures
The number of cases as at 30 June 2008, where the paying parent resides in Australia and has child support obligations to children overseas.
GMD = International Gross Maintenance Debt, or outstanding international child support.
| Country | No. of cases | Case maintenance arrears | % of GMD |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 7646 | $92,699,965 | 39.45% |
| Canada | 168 | $2,346,388 | 0.99% |
| United Kingdom | 520 | $3,042,099 | 1.29% |
| United States | 496 | $8,154,399 | 3.47% |
| Other | 800 | $7,937,201 | 3.38% |
The number of cases as at 30 June 2008 where the paying parent resides overseas and has child support obligations to children in Australia.
| Country | No. of cases | Case maintenance arrears | % of GMD |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 7612 | $20,365,471 | 8.67% |
| Canada | 406 | $1,978,736 | 0.84% |
| United Kingdom | 3276 | $22,340,613 | 9.51% |
| United States | 2231 | $14,377,851 | 6.12% |
| Other | 7118 | $30,900,906 | 13.15% |
International debt where the paying parent resides in Australia and has child support obligations to children overseas.
| State | No. of cases | Case maintenance arrears | % of overall caseload |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW/ACT | 2968 | $37,049,913 | 30.82% |
| QLD | 3170 | $35,696,516 | 32.92% |
| VIC | 1569 | $18,266,656 | 16.29% |
| WA | 1392 | $16,894,964 | 14.45% |
| SA | 334 | $4,134,892 | 3.47% |
| NT | 98 | $1,112,862 | 1.02% |
| TAS | 91 | $1,011,071 | 0.94% |
| Unknown | 8 | $13,176 | 0.08% |
| Total | 9630 | $114,180,050 | - |
International debt where the paying parent resides overseas and has child support obligations to children in Australia
| State | No. of cases | Case maintenance arrears | % of overall caseload |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW/ACT | 6268 | $26,664,405 | 30.36% |
| QLD | 5755 | $23,069,787 | 27.88% |
| VIC | 4078 | $18,447,141 | 19.75% |
| WA | 2411 | $11,784,677 | 11.68% |
| SA | 938 | $4,654,057 | 4.54% |
| NT | 299 | $1,429,283 | 1.45% |
| TAS | 154 | $893,576 | 0.75% |
| Unknown | 740 | $3,020,652 | 3.58% |
| Total | 20643 | $89,963,578 | - |
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