How the current model of child support is failing single mothers

Single mothers may be at greater risk of poverty and financial abuse, with the current system failing to take into account the complexities of non-physical violence. Professor Kay Cook’s report, Opening the Black Box of Child Support, looks at the experiences of 675 different women across Australia, and makes recommendations on how the system can be improved.

Professor Cook’s study made four recommendations for meaningful improvements to the current system, including decoupling child support from family payments, returning the child support scheme to the Australian tax office, introducing a trauma informed approach to engaging with women entering the child support system, and finally having the Commonwealth take responsibility for the 1.7 billion dollars owed in child support.

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