(14k)Media Release
14 December 2009
$81 million in Child Support debt recovered
The Minister for Human Services, Chris Bowen MP, has announced that the Child Support Agency’s (CSA’s) Tax Refund Intercept Process (TRIP) has recovered more than $81 million in outstanding child support payments.
The CSA worked with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to intercept almost 81,000 tax refunds between June and November this year.
“Intercepting tax returns is one of several measures the CSA uses to recover outstanding child support for the benefit of children,” Mr Bowen said.
“This initiative has resulted in $81 million in recouped payments, an increase of more than $8 million dollars compared to the same period last year.”
As part of the TRIP system, the ATO advises the CSA when a mutual customer has a tax refund due. The CSA then legally intercepts the refund and puts it towards outstanding child support.
The CSA generally uses its powers to obtain funds from bank accounts only after discussion and negotiation with customers regarding payment has failed.
Parents with outstanding child support payments should contact the CSA on 131 272 to discuss payment arrangements.
Attachment
| 2008 | 2009 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overdue payment collection | Tax return intercepts | Overdue payment collection | Tax return intercepts | |
| JUL | $9.4m | 12,493 | $17.4m | 17,321 |
| AUG | $23.3m | 27,936 | $25.3m | 27,629 |
| SEP | $16.4m | 16,442 | $17.0m | 16,416 |
| OCT | $12.8m | 12,458 | $11.8m | 10,625 |
| NOV | $11.0m | 10,468 | $9.7m | 8,921 |
| TOTAL | $72.9m | 79,797 | $81.2m | 80,912 |
Media Contact
Laura Stevens — 0432 833 769.
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