Financial abuse: The weaponisation of child support in Australia

Abstract

This report draws on post-separation lived experience to demonstrate the ways that the Australian Child Support Scheme can be used and abused to jeopardise the financial safety of recipient parents and their children. This abuse primarily affects women, who continue to carry the burden of unpaid care work in Australia (and internationally) and are overrepresented as victim-survivors of family violence.<br><br>

In this report, the authors explore the ways that the Child Support Scheme can be used to financially abuse women, and the devastating impacts of this abuse on mothers’ and children’s lives. The findings show that separated mothers endure lasting impacts to their financial security, emotional and mental wellbeing, food security and housing safety through child support-facilitated financial abuse, sometimes long after separation.<br><br> <ul> <li><strong>Financial Abuse Through Child Support</strong>: A significant number of respondents experienced financial abuse facilitated by the Child Support Scheme, with tactics including the deliberate withholding of payments, non-compliance, and minimization of child support liabilities.</li>

<li><strong>Impact on Single Mother Families</strong>: Financial abuse has widespread effects on single mothers' lives, including food insecurity, housing instability, and forgone medical treatments. A high percentage of women reported struggling to provide basics for their families due to the financial control exerted by their ex-partners.</li>

<li><strong>Post-Separation Abuse</strong>: For many women, financial abuse continues or even starts after separation, with ex-partners using the Child Support Scheme as a tool to maintain control.</li>

<li><strong>Legal and Systemic Gaps</strong>: The report identifies critical loopholes in the system that allow for financial abuse to go unaddressed, including difficulties in enforcement and the ability for perpetrators to manipulate the system to avoid financial responsibility.</li>

<li><strong>Need for Reform</strong>: The report calls for urgent reforms to close these loopholes, ensure compliance, and protect the financial safety of women and children, including recommendations for changing how child support is collected and managed.</li> </ul>