Child support
Issue: Deferred application dates
Clauses 182 to 191
Submission
(Matter raised by officials)
Officials recommend that the child support remedial items in clauses 182 to 191 come into force on 1 April 2015.
Comment
The application dates for the child support reforms in the Child Support Amendment Act 2013 were deferred by one year as part of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Foreign Superannuation, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014. Part one of the Child Support Amendment Act will now apply from 1 April 2015. The child support remedial items in this bill relate to changes in Part one of the Child Support Amendment Act and should likewise be deferred.
Recommendation
That the submission be accepted.
Issue: Payment waiver when non-parent receiving carer is in receipt of a social security benefit
Clause 191
Submission
(Matter raised by officials)
Clause 191 of the bill amends section 179A of the Child Support Act 1991 (as inserted by clause 29 of the Child Support Amendment Act 2013) to recognise that some non-parent carers can qualify to receive a sole parent support benefit payment instead of the unsupported child benefit.
The amendment will mean that a non-parent receiving carer will not be able to waive their right to receive child support if they receive the unsupported child benefit (UCB) or a sole parent support payment. Likewise, if they start to receive either of these two payments any existing waiver is revoked.
Officials recommend that a non-parent receiving carer should be excluded from being able to waive their right to receive child support payments if they are getting the UCB for a child or if they are receiving any other social security benefit (other than the UCB). In such circumstances, non-parent receiving carers should not be able to waive their right to receive child support as the money collected is being retained by the Crown to offset the costs of the benefit payments.
Comment
It has been identified that a non-parent receiving carer could be getting a social security benefit – for example, sole parent support or jobseeker support – in relation to a dependent child and they have another qualifying child in their care who is not included in their benefit. They apply for child support for the qualifying child and any payment is retained by the Crown to offset the benefit costs in accordance with section 142 (Payment of formula assessment child support to custodians who are social security beneficiaries) of the Child Support Act 1991. Under current wording they may be able to waive their right to receive child support under section 179A, which is inconsistent with the Crown payment recovery rules. Section 142 requires the Crown to withhold payment when a receiving carer is in receipt of a social security benefit – it does not specify that the benefit is in relation to the qualifying child.
In terms of the proposed amendment to section 179A(5), if a “payee” (non-parent receiving carer) begins to receive the UCB for the child to whom the waiver relates, or any other social security benefit, then a waiver under section 179A which is in place is deemed to be revoked.
Such an approach is consistent with the Crown payment recovery principles under section 142 of the Child Support Act 1991.
Recommendation
That the submission be accepted.