FED: Child support advice extended to regional Australia

AAP General News (Australia)
08-31-1999
FED: Child support advice extended to regional Australia

CANBERRA, Aug 31 AAP - Rural and regional Australians will be able to access face-to-face
child support advice with the number of Child Support Agencies (CSAs) to double.

Community Services Minister Larry Anthony said a $1.9 million commonwealth funding boost
meant 20 new CSA outlets would open in Centrelink offices across Australia over the next seven
months with the rollout to be completed by February 2000.

The 20 new outlets would add to the existing 19 CSA offices already operating in mostly
metropolitan areas and would mean an extra 73 jobs, Mr Anthony said.

"This is part of the government's commitment to ensure that we extend services,
particularly in relation to CSA, not just in urban areas or areas which are more accessible to
people, but to all the outposts within regional and rural Australia," he told reporters.

Queensland would gain the most with CSA services to commence in seven regional cities,
including Cairns, Mackay, Bundaberg, Toowoomba and Maroochydore.

Five new offices would open in New South Wales, two in regional Victoria and one in
metropolitan Frankston, two in South Australia and one each in the Northern Territory,
Tasmania and Western Australia.

CSAs advise parents on how child support payments may be structured in the event of a
family breakup, but can also enforce collection in the event of a dispute.

Mr Anthony said it was a difficult area, but one in which the CSA was leading the world
with a compliance rate of 82 per cent and $1.2 billion transferred between parents last year.

"Often they don't get bouquets, the Child Support Agency. It's a tough business, but they
do a very good job," he said.

"The ultimate objective is to ensure that the children who are brought up in those
relationships are not forgotten and that's the underiding principle of the CSA."

Mr Anthony acknowledged there were criticisms of the existing child support laws, but said
the process of finding an equitable outcome for all parents was ongoing.

"There's no magic pudding when it comes to trying to resolve relationship breakdowns," he
said.

AAP rft/mfh

KEYWORD: SUPPORT

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