Child Support Agency to outsource enforcement of Child Support Payments
Also criminal provisions for Employers to collect Child Support
Outline
The Child Support (Registration and Collection) Amendment Bill 2011 (the Bill)[1]purposes are to:
- Broaden the powers of the Child Support Registrar to delegate powers to perform his or her duties under the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 to persons outside the Department to enable more efficient service delivery; and
- To amend a number of criminal penalty provisions to ensure that the offences contained therein can be successfully prosecuted, protecting the integrity of the Child Support Scheme.
The Bill amends the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.
According to Ms PLIBERSEK (Minister for Human Services and Minister for Social Inclusion) in her second reading of the bill on the 23rd March 2011 the amendements were made with the aim of improving child support collection from the minority of parents who default on their child support payments. By using the expertise of skilled external providers for specific collection activities the government aims to improve the collection of child support.
Ms Plibersek said ” The outsourcing of collection activities is expected to lead to an increase in the successful identification and collection of outstanding child support debt.
Additionally, the outsourcing of collection activities allows Child Support Program staff to concentrate on other compliance activities and better serve other Child Support customers.
The second group of amendments are to certain criminal provisions under the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. These provisions relate to the obligations of an employer when they are required to withhold money from an employee.
Employer withholding is a process whereby an employer withholds amounts from a paying parent’s wages or salary, only as required by the Child Support Program, to be paid to CSA in satisfaction of a child support liability.”[2]
The bill was introduced to the Senate and read on the 14/06/11, followed by a second reading and moved also on the 14/06/11.
