Mrs WEST(10.55 a.m.) —One of the greatest problems encountered by me as both a candidate and as an elected representative for Bowman over the past 14 months has been the difficulties constituents have brought to me concerning their dealings with the Child Support Agency. Never have I seen such heartache and anxiety being caused by one government funded agency. Over the past 14 months my office has received a continuous stream of devastated parents both custodial and non-custodial seeking major changes to the current situation they find themselves in as a result of their dealings with both the Family Court and the Child Support Agency.

When you look at the speakers list for this issue, you can see the length and breadth and depth of the issue and how it impacts across Australia in as many electorates as we have represented here in the national capital.

When a relationship is ended through divorce, the parents leave the court one day and life ceases to be the same again. They then enter the nightmarish world of dealing with the Child Support Agency. Over the past 12 months, I believe the agency has made some minor changes to administration. Members have been briefed on the administration and how the bureaucrats deal with cases and clients. I have been briefed by public servants on what they do and how they do it. I still get a constant stream of parents coming through my door suffering from the administrative failures and the consequences of dealing the Child Support Agency.

I can understand the problems the public servants have in this day-to-day running of the agency. They are dealing, day after day, hour by hour, with problems dealing with relationship breakdown. I can understand how the parents feel dealing with an agency day to day when no change seems imminent or is in any way in the future going to improve their situation.

This child support legislation has three main points. The use of election where income has changed will avoid the need for people in receipt of payments to repay any excess monies that they have been paid. Under the current legislation, if someone is overpaid in child support, they have been forced to repay that money. This can cause considerable strain on the finances, usually with two families trying to support another family. Overpayments occur when the payer's income drops and their payments are reassessed. If the reassessment shows they have been paying too much, they are usually refunded the amount. What the new legislation proposes is that the overpayments will be taken into account when future payments are calculated. The new calculations will also better reflect the paying parent's capacity to pay.

The second point is electing for employer withholding not to apply. This section gives the paying parent a choice of how they pay their child support—a more flexible arrangement.   A paying parent may elect to pay the money to the Child Support Registrar rather than have it automatically deducted from their pay. It will be the responsibility of the registrar to determine if the paying parent is reliable enough to do this. This measure will reduce administration costs by providing greater flexibility to both the payer and the registrar. It also removes a great impost on the employer. Another benefit is the privacy aspect. No longer will an employer need to know how much a person is paying in support.

The registrar may reject an application to pay direct if it is considered the payer will not meet their obligations. The payer, as well, may also appeal against this decision. If a payer does default on a payment, the registrar may require that future payments be withheld from the payer's employer. Payers who default will have strictly limited future access to this provision.

Another consideration is the child support liabilities in property and spousal maintenance proceedings. This section will amend the Family Law Act to enable the court to take into account any future child support liabilities when maintenance and property settlements are being reached. This means that, when a couple divorce, the amount in future child support will be used to make a balanced decision on property settlements, even when no formal arrangements have been made. Presently, private child support arrangements between a divorced couple cannot be taken into account. Therefore, any decision made by the court may not adequately reflect the true circumstances of both parties. It will require couples to apply for an assessment so that the court can properly assess the situation.

There is a fourth part to the bill, which again reduces the burden on employers. It reduces from five to seven years the length of time they are required to retain child support records. This brings child support requirements into line with the Income Tax Assessment Act.

In the electorate, most males complain that, while they are willing to pay support, they feel they are paying too much. Currently, the inflexibility of payments, how much they are paying and to whom is a vexatious issue. There is also a feeling that the males, who are in the main non-custodial parents, are discriminated against by the CSA. This has been reflected in telephone conversations and the attitude of some public servants towards these males. Women complain that payments are either not made on time or not made at all—a common problem throughout Australia. The problem of reassessment is also of significant concern. While this bill will not overcome many of the problems facing our constituents, it is a start.

The system we inherited is not working. My congratulations go to the member for Chifley (Mr Price) on the Price report. He did an excellent job. It is now up to the government to put these recommendations into place and I believe we are working toward that end—toward a satisfactory, fair and just assessment of this situation. It is hurting both custodial and non-custodial parents. This issue has a wider impact on the community and it cannot be patched up with quick-fix solutions. There is a need for a total overhaul because there is a disincentive to earn more money by non-custodial parents.

Above all, the major consideration in this legislation needs to be the welfare of the children. That is what this government will be working toward in a fairer assessment of this legislation.