Overview

Stage I of Australia's new Child Support Scheme, implemented in April and June 1988, encourages the courts to award larger child maintenance payments and creates a Child Support Agency with the power in certain cases to ensure the automatic collection of court enforceable maintenance payments through the use of the Australian taxation system. Given the significant scope for the direct financial impact of these changes and the potential indirect effects on child rearing, repartnering, and opportunities for custodial parents to re-enter the workforce, the Institute of Family Studies was commissioned by the Government to conduct a wide-ranging assessment of the effects of the introduction of Stage I. This report, the first of a series of preliminary papers, outlines the major areas of inquiry, describes the sampling base, and presents preliminary findings from the first, limited set of questionnaires. Copies of the questionnaires used in the survey for custodial and non-custodial parents are included in an appendix.

Contents

• List of Tables
• List of Figures
• Introduction
• Background
  • Reform
  • Legislations
• Evaluations
  • Time Frames
  • Target Groups
  • Questionnaires
• Pre-Scheme Pilot Results
  • The Samples
  • Sample Bias
  • Findings
• Conclusions
• References
• Appendix I, Pilot Custodial Parent Questionnaire.
• Appendix 11, Pilot Non-Custodial Parent Questionnaire.