Thread: Another ACA story, Child support

Best tip is to not let the CSA get involved. I have a private arrangement with my ex where i pay a certain amount automatically into her account each week which is probably, even by her own admission more than half the cost of food clothes and shelter for a seven year old. Any extras that he needs we go halves on and it works pretty good.

Do Not Let The Government Get Involved In Your Personal Life

I didnt get a choice, for her to get Centrelink benifits, she had to register with CSA but the system we have now is a private arrangement but it still doesnt stop them from acusing me of all sorts of things that have no substance.

I know they suck but I have no choice.

It's hard to think of a truly fair way to work out child support.

If Dad (usually) is truly rolling in it, is 1/2 the average cost of raising a child truly fair? If Dad has a head injury and lives in supported accommodation, is 1/2 the average cost fair?

In my case, my ex-wife pays me maintenance. Despite the fact that, in theory, she could earn a six-figure income given her qualifications, the kids get about $600 a month, when she pays at all. Is this fair? What if I say she has health problems that prevent her working full-time? Crippling debts? Interestingly, neither of those have factored in the assessment.

Nothing is straightforward in life...

They have an enormous staff turnover in the Child Support Agency. Being abused daily by both payer and payee does get on their humps a bit. Lots of stress leave and stress related compo. claims. When the ATO was recruiting staff for the GST, the CSA was gutted as the staff voted with their biros and applied for the new vacancies. In one CSA section, 100% of staff applied for GST jobs. At the DSS we used to cop earfuls from Sole Parent Pensioners (SPP's), a class who generally were not staff favourites, who did not receive their Child Support portion of their fortnightly payment. DSS did the paying on behalf of the CSA but only played five-eighth and passed on what CSA collected. Nevertheless, the clients would grab the 'phone, call DSS, and abuse someone for the shortage of funds. No doubt they then followed up with a call to the CSA and abused someone else.

Yes half of the "average cost of raising a child" is a damn site fairer then the current system.

I don't care what the ex. earns, it should be based on what it costs to raise a child not on a percentage of your income. You've split, you should no longer be financially enjoined in any way except to cover the costs of raising a child - which shouldn't be hugely different no matter where you live.

I have paid varying amounts of child support over the years, all voluntarily. When we had the private agreement my ex. gouged me for $1200 a month for a few years, only for me to find that all of it was going towards rent in a huge place in a well-to-do suburb and my child was living in hand-me-down clothes.

You should have heard the screaming when I went back to CSA collect and it dropped down to $700 a month, all of a sudden she couldn't make her rent. By that stage I didn't care, she never let me see my daughter anyway and I have only spoken to my daughter a handful of times over the past year (not through lack of wanting etc.). It got to the point I just couldn't deal with my ex. anymore, she was sending me in a spiralling depression.

My daughter turns 12 on Wednesday next week and I doubt I will even get to speak to her.

Don't talk to me about fairness in child support, there is none.

You raise a couple of good points there.

The amount paid should be relevant to the actual costs of raising a child. Feeding your kids a healthy diet is the cheapest option. They do not need junk food or the latest clothes from City Beach. They need Love and attention and outdoor activities with a bit of discipilne in the right doses.

Any extras e.g. private schooling or whayever should be by negotiation.

It should be a rule that maintenance payments are dependant on reasonable access to your child.

By paying half of what it actually costs to raise a child, not a % of income fathers or even mothers could be left with enough of an income to survive and maybe even enough for them to spoil their kids with extras once in a while instead of just strugging to survive. I have seen many friends lives destroyed by the CSA while the mother (usually) lives fairly well off with the ex paying for all the extras as well including house, cars, holidays. What a load of bull, if you seperate costs should be 50-50 for the component of raising the children not for the ex to live.

I honestly dont give a rats about those imbasil's at CSA, I have been guilty of abusing my so called case worker who turned out to also be my Ex's where he was telling me to do 1 thing to try to get a better balance and then going back to her telling her that I would probably try this next and this is how you can counteract this.

He copt it from both sides as me and my Ex have a reasonable relationship, buisness like at least, we are able to speak about these things and he was trying to play us off eachother.

The way it is now punishes either parent who works hard, there would always be the option of private agreement for extra things like private school and excursions but 1/2 and 1/2 is the only way you could get the dead beat centerlink Mums and the dead beat dodger dads into work and show their kids that you can have a life that doesnt involve centrelink.

I hear all the time that it is too simple and wouldnt work because of Joe Blow that is sick and cant work, well if he cant work then he doesnt pay until he can but if he never works well too bad he never pays, his life is going to be crap anyway, his Ex wife will probably be happy enough knowing that and he will never be rolling in it and will probably struggle to have enough money to even see his kids let alone give them anything.

It is fair anyway you look at it, if the custodial parent wants better things, bigger house or better car, they should have to work for it just the same as the other, I would hate to be in the position again where I have to knock back a pay rise because it would actually give me a lower take home pay than I had the year before because of child support and tax bracket.

The system sux for both parents, the non custodial more and dads even when they have custody still get screwed by CSA in other ways, they dont get as much as they would if they were female and centrelink have alot of trouble believing that a bloke has custody, this happened to a guy I used to work with, now his kids are grown up and have families of their own and CSA are still chasing him for child support when his Ex never had custody of the kids.