Issues arising from disclosure
Privacy and confidentiality 15.69 A key challenge is to ensure that measures likely to lead to disclosure of family violence contain appropriate privacy safeguards regarding the handling of that personal information. This is particularly important given that concerns about privacy appear to be a central barrier to disclosure of family violence in the context of …
Publications
Read moreExemptions from reasonable maintenance action
What are exemptions?13.7 Exemptions are the key protective strategy for victims of family violence in both child support and family assistance contexts. They enable victims to opt out of the child support scheme where obtaining child support would compromise their safety. It is therefore important that exemptions are readily accessible to victims. 13.8 Victims of …
Publications
Read moreIssues management
Family violence and child support scheme participation 12.4 Appropriate issues management in the child support context should take into account ways in which family violence may affect participation in the child support scheme. As discussed in Chapter 11, a parent who is a victim of family violence may fear continued interaction with the other parent …
Publications
Read moreMatters outside the Inquiry
Avoidance of child support obligations11.13 Some payers may avoid their child support obligations by minimising the income that is factored into the child support assessment.[17] Payers may also avoid child support by paying child support late or irregularly, paying less child support than the assessment, or not paying at all. These issues may be particularly …
Publications
Read moreLegal and policy framework
Objectives of the child support scheme11.31 Associate Professor Bruce Smyth has described the policy ‘backbone’ of the child support scheme as being designed to ensure that:(a) children of separated or divorced parents receive adequate financial support; (b) both parents contribute to the cost of supporting their children according to their respective capacities to do so; …
Publications
Read moreCommon interpretative framework
Definition of family violence11.64 The ALRC considers that the Child Support Guide should be amended to provide a definition of family violence consistent with that recommended for child support legislation and other Commonwealth legislation, as well as certain state and territory legislation.[77] The child support legislation does not currently include a definition of family violence—as …
Publications
Read moreThe operation of income management
Overview10.4 Income management does not affect or otherwise reduce the total amount of welfare payments payable to a recipient; rather, it changes the way in which a person receives their payment. Under income management, a percentage of a person’s welfare payment is quarantined for use in purchasing particular goods and services such as food and …
Publications
Read moreCompulsory income management
10.25 This section of the chapter considers the appropriateness of compulsory IM as a means to improve the safety of victims of family violence. It does so by examining how the assessment of ‘indicators of vulnerability’ in the ‘vulnerable welfare payment recipients measure’ may affect victims of family violence. It also considers how this assessment …
Publications
Read moreVoluntary income management
Social Security (Administration) Act model10.82 The Social Security (Administration) Act includes an option of voluntary IM, under which a person may enter into a written agreement with the Secretary agreeing to be subject to the income management regime throughout the period in force[124] (which must be at least 13 weeks).[125] The agreement remains in force …
Publications
Read moreJSA, DES and IEP providers
8.71 Once a job seeker is placed in a particular stream, the role of JSA and DES providers is to assist individual job seekers to gain sustainable employment including connecting job seekers to skills development and training opportunities. Depending on the stream into which the job seeker is placed, providers may also be required to …
Publications
Read more