Family Forum / Parenting / Parenting / July 2008

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23908101-29277,00.html

Child support spies to watch parents
June 23, 2008

PRIVATE investigators will be used by the Child Support Agency (CSA) to spy
on parents who are not meeting their child support payments.

The Federal Government says the new measures would help the CSA collect
outstanding debts of $1 billion from the current financial year.

Human Services Minister Joe Ludwig said a small proportion of parents was
not doing the right thing.

"The size of the debt is growing, it's growing significantly," Senator
Ludwig said.

"It's grown something in the order of 5.6 per cent in the last 12 months or
so. It is concerning, it upsets me that a billion dollars is outstanding in
child support payments."

The CSA will now be able to conduct optical surveillance, through private
investigators in serious cases where parents have provided false or
misleading information in relation to their child.

"What optical surveillance will do is provide visually compelling evidence
that some people are not doing the right thing," Senator Ludwig said.

"We can use that visual evidence for court action. We can also use it to
encourage parents to do the right thing and pay their debt in full.

"It can stretch from video surveillance, it can stretch to just observation,
as well. A whole range of actions can be used."

The CSA, under a memorandum of understanding with Insolvency and Trustee
Service Australia, will be able to seize and sell assets, to collect debts.

Other measures include the compulsory lodgement of tax returns by any parent
earning more than $18,252.

Senator Ludwig could not say whether 60 per cent of custodial parents would
be worse off because of the changes, as suggested by family law specialist
Professor Patrick Parkinson from the University of Sydney.

The new measures come into effect on July 1.