Weaponising Child Support

Why did we investigate?

Through complaints to our Office and from reading reports by universities, the government and the Parliament, we became aware that financial abuse in the Child Support program is a major problem in Australia. This behaviour is commonly referred to as the ‘weaponisation of Child Support’.

Child Support can be weaponised in various ways including by not making payments or lodging tax returns, lying about income or care arrangements, or being violent or abusive to the affected parent to prevent them from seeking help.

Who and what we investigated

We investigated Services Australia, the government agency that administers Child Support. We focused on the Child Support program and part of the Centrelink program that deals with Family Tax Benefit Part A payments.

What we found

In Australia, around 1.1 million children are supported by the Child Support program. Our investigation revealed that, as at 31 December 2024, $1.9 billion in Child Support debt is owed. Currently, 153,694 paying parents have a Child Support debt.

The investigation found that Services Australia’s actions in addressing the widespread issue of Child Support weaponisation were either unfair or unreasonable.

We formed the view that Services Australia lacked the appropriate policies, strategies and training to be able to proactively identify and respond to cases of financial abuse through Child Support.

What we recommended

In our investigation report, we made 8 recommendations aimed at improving Services Australia's capabilities to provide better help to families being affected by Child Support weaponisation.

Services Australia accepted all 8 of our recommendations. The Department of Social Services, which is the policy owner of the Child Support program, accepted 7 recommendations and noted one.