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Australian men who father children overseas could soon be forced to pay child support to mothers living abroad under sweeping Labor reforms aimed at cracking down on parents who dodge their responsibilities.
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek will introduce legislation to parliament on Thursday designed to recover billions in unpaid child support, strengthen protections for victims of domestic violence, and stop former partners from exploiting loopholes in the system.
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Plibersek → see → system
Under the changes, parents living overseas will be able to apply directly to Services Australia for child support from an Australian parent.
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parents → live → parent
If approved, the agency will assess, collect and transfer the payments on their behalf.
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agency → approve → behalf
The reforms form part of what Labor describes as the biggest overhaul of the child support system in decades.
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Labor → form → decades
'There is almost $2bn of unpaid child support in this country,' Plibersek told News Corp.
'
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Plibersek → be → country
There are almost 100,000 parents and carers in the child support system who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing family and domestic violence.
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who → be → violence
'The child support system should never be able to be used to punish, harass and control ex-partners and deny children the support they deserve.'
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they → use → support
Tanya Plibersek (pictured)said the change would recover billions in unpaid child support
ABC's Four Corners reported in 2024 that tens of thousands of Filipino children are believed to have been born to foreign fathers, including Australians and New Zealanders, many of whom have never played a role in the children's lives.
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many → pictured)said → lives
The investigation examined a DNA-tracing initiative led by Australian lawyer Andrew MacLeod, which uses ancestry databases, family tree mapping and public records to identify and locate suspected fathers years after they left the Philippines.
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they → examine → Philippines
The legislation targets parents who avoid their obligations by failing to lodge tax returns, understating their income or refusing to make payments.
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who → target → payments
Services Australia will also gain greater powers to withhold sensitive personal information, including employment details, from former partners where there are safety concerns.
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Australia → gain → partners
The government says the changes will make it harder for abusive ex-partners to weaponise the child support system as a tool of control.
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partners → say → control
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the reforms would put the needs of families first.
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reforms → say → families
'This legislation is about making sure that we design government services around the safety and needs of the people who use them.'
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who → make → them
A key change will see more child support payments collected directly through employers via wage deductions, rather than relying on private arrangements that can be difficult to enforce.
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that → see → arrangements
Single parents will also find it easier to recover unpaid child support debts from July 2027, while parents who deliberately avoid payments by failing to lodge tax returns will face greater scrutiny.
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who → find → scrutiny
Parents living overseas will be able to apply directly to Services Australia for child support (file)
The measures are part of a $186 million package announced in the federal budget.
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measures → live → budget
Plibersek said too many parents were using loopholes in the system to avoid supporting their children, leaving families financially vulnerable.
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parents → say → families
'Abuse of the child support system is an insidious form of family and domestic violence,' she said.
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she → say → violence
'While most parents do the right thing, when parents weaponise the system by deliberately not making payments, not lodging tax returns, or lying about their income or care arrangements, there are real and immediate impacts on children and parents.
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parents → do → children
Until now, some single parents have been forced to choose between receiving family tax benefits and cutting ties with an abusive former partner.
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parents → force → partner
Others have avoided seeking child support altogether out of fear that it could trigger further harassment.
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it → avoid → harassment
'Currently, our system allows all these things to happen,' Plibersek said.
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Plibersek → allow → ?
'That will not be tolerated by this government.
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That → tolerate → government
Government systems must never be allowed to become tools through which that abuse is perpetuated.'
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abuse → allow → which
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