00:00The Ombudsman's report, which involved about four months of work with investigators pouring
00:07through testimony from about 300 parents who'd been dudded, you know, paints a really troubling
00:13picture of a system that is well and truly overdue for reform.
00:17As you mentioned, the report found that parents could avoid paying and manipulate the system
00:23largely without consequences.
00:25The Ombudsman, in pretty blunt language, found that Services Australia, which administers
00:31the scheme, was acting in an unfair and unreasonable manner, both by failing to use the powers that
00:37it does have to enforce payment and also by some outdated legislation, which, to be fair
00:43to Services Australia, really is tying its hands.
00:46And I'll give you one quite perverse example of that.
00:49Right now, Services Australia is required to assume that all child support has been paid
00:55when assessing eligibility for Family Tax Benefit A. So we're getting quite a common
01:00situation where parents, most of the time women, about 85% of the parents who receive this money
01:06are women.
01:08When they...if their partner's income goes up when they file a tax return, the system just
01:12automatically assumes that they would have been paid child support at the higher rate.
01:17We know with $1.9 billion in child support outstanding that often this money isn't received and that
01:23these women are then finding themselves pursued for a debt by Services Australia.
01:28So, in effect, they're being hit twice.
01:30They're not being paid the money for their children and then they're being pursued for a debt,
01:35which, you know, is an incredibly difficult position to be put in.
01:38And so, the Ombudsman's recommended new legislation because right now, you know, the law is requiring
01:44Services Australia to act in that fashion.
01:48And when you think about it, Gemma, these changes are really important because there's over a
01:53million children that rely on child support.
01:56That's about a fifth of all of the children in Australia.
01:59And they need this money, you know, when they're growing up, they're only going to be little
02:03for a while and right now it seems the system is letting almost everyone down.
02:08Connor, what's been the reaction to these findings?
02:11Yes, Gemma, well, the reaction has been there has been a mea culpa from Services Australia.
02:17They told us that they, while, you know, there would be legislation required to fix some of
02:22these problems, that they also recognise that they could be doing a better job now of, you
02:29know, supporting women who are experiencing financial abuse.
02:32And I've said women a few times, but it is sometimes men, too, who are on the receiving
02:37end of this behaviour.
02:39So, Services Australia has also accepted all eight recommendations for change from the
02:44Commonwealth Ombudsman.
02:46We also sought comment from the government and a federal government spokesperson on behalf
02:51of the Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek, and the Minister for Women, Katie Gallagher,
02:56told us that the government knows there's a problem, too.
03:00They recognise that the system is being weaponised and often that it's women on the end of this
03:05financial abuse.
03:06And they've said that they are looking at ways to change this and that there will be
03:11reforms coming.
03:12They haven't quite committed to legislation, but it seems, the implication seems pretty strong
03:18that there will be movement in this space later in the year.
03:21Our national education reporter, Connor Duffy, thank you.
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