An initiative by Single Mother Families Australia (SMFA) aimed at advocating for a child support scheme and to prevent the weaponisation of the child support scheme. Our goal is simple: to improve financial security for receiving parents and their children by raising awareness of the gross misconduct of some payers, gathering public support, and influencing policymakers.

The key findings from the survey were presented to Parliament on 8 October 2024, with Professor Kay Cook, Jess Hill, and Rosie Batty as featured speakers.

The current Child Support scheme often leads to financial abuse, leaving many receiving parents in financial insecurity. Issues such as manipulation of income declaration by ex-partners and inadequate financial support contribute to the problem. This campaign seeks to address these issues and push for a fairer scheme for parents and children.

The Research was conducted by Single Mother Families Australia (SMFA) in conjunction with Swinburne University. SMFA put out a call to their network on Facebook and LinkedIn, and received and overwhelming response – with 675 number of responses

Unpaid child support impacts all Australians. When one parent withholds child support or minimises their tax, it can leave single parent households relying on government assistance—funded by taxpayers like you. Currently, $1.7 billion is owed in unpaid child support  through agency collect alone, with the debt owed through private collect being unknown.

With almost 200,000 paying parents failing to lodge a tax return in 5 years funds are reduced for essential services like roads, healthcare, and education.Every child deserves the chance to grow up healthy, educated, and free from the stress of financial instability. By advocating for change, we can break the cycle of poverty and create a society where every child has the tools they need to succeed.

You can view the full paper here or download key stats to share on your social media or with your network here.

In 2023, we worked with Swinburne University to produce Financial Abuse: The Weaponisation of Child Support in Australia 

Fix Child Support is powered by Single Mother Families Australia (SMFA), who are a NFP and have existed since 1973. Our team for this campaign consists of volunteers, including members from single-income families. We receive donations from the community and other organisations. SMFA is a registered charity.

Australia since 1973. Our goal is to eliminate and respond to violence, hardship, and domestic violence for single mums and their children.

We are a non-profit campaign run by volunteers who have put together this campaign, from the research paper to the website and speakers. Your donation will help fund our Meta ads to reach a larger audience and cover travel expenses for our speakers at the event on 8 October 2024. Any additional funds will go back to SMFA to directly help single-income families and children in need. As a registered charity, any donation over $2 is tax-deductible. SMFA is a registered charity.

There are several ways to get involved. We have a whole page dedicated to how you can be involved, but to summarise

• Email key MPs using the template provided on our website.
• Share our social media packs to help spread the word.
• Spread the word by sharing our website with like-minded people.
• Call key MP offices—we’ve provided phone numbers and a suggested script.
• Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates on the initiative.
• Contribute to our Lived Experiences Blog to have your voice heard.

The campaign focuses on several critical issues:

• Preventing the weaponisation of child support 
• Ensuring adequate financial support for single mother families.
• Delinking child support from family payments.
• Streamlining child support collection through the ATO.
• Enforcing child support debts at the state level.

Your information will be used to personalise your experience on our website, generate letters to MPs, and keep you updated about the campaign. We are committed to protecting your privacy and will not share your information with third parties without your consent. For more details, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

You can stay updated by signing up for our newsletter on our website. We will send occasional updates about the campaign’s progress. We respect your privacy and will not spam you.

The Parliament House event will feature prominent speakers, including Professor Kay Cook, Jess Hill, and Rosie Batty, who will present new research and discuss policy impacts based on first-hand accounts from affected women.

This is not a public event, but there are a number of ways you can still be a part of it.

1) “write a letter to your MP”, 2) sign up to our newsletter to stay up-to-date
3) Contact us and share your story.

Yes, the campaign is an ongoing effort. The website will serve as a platform for future campaigns and reforms in the child support space. We will continue to advocate for necessary changes and support single mother families and their children.

We are really sorry to hear this, and with a team of many single mother families ourselves, we understand how hard it can be both emotionally and financially. SMFA has a range of support links on their website, from safety and housing to child support information and income support. Please visit the SMFA website for more resources and assistance.