Child Support could block claims used to harass exes
Some parents use the child support system to keep control over an ex. They apply again and again, or get the other parent's personal details. This bill would give Child Support new powers to stop that. It also adds more ways to collect money owed.
Official name: Child Support and Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Ending Financial Abuse in the Child Support Scheme No. 1) Bill 2026
- Child Support could say no to applications that would cause harm, such as an ex applying again and again when the other parent does not want it.
- Parents would no longer have to hand all their papers to each other when one asks to change the child support amount.
- Child Support could collect more back-pay from times when parents paid each other directly. Linked family payment debts could be paused for 13 weeks.
- Paying parents could also ask Child Support to collect payments, so they do not have to deal directly with the other parent.
- Parents in some overseas countries could apply straight to Services Australia for child support.
Who it affects
- Parents who have lived through family violence: Child Support could block harmful applications and keep your personal details from your ex.
- Parents who receive child support: You could get Child Support to chase back-pay from past private deals. Family Tax Benefit debts caused by that back-pay could be paused.
- Parents who pay child support: You could ask Child Support to collect your payments. It could also collect refunds if your bill is later lowered for a past time.
- Parents who object to a decision: Objections with little chance of winning, or that would change very little, could be thrown out fast.
- Parents living overseas: In countries the Minister names, you could apply directly to Services Australia for child support from a parent in Australia.
Child support used to control
Child support is money one separated parent pays the other to help raise their children. Services Australia runs it. That agency also runs Centrelink and Medicare. The official in charge of child support decisions is called the Child Support Registrar.
For most families it works as it should. But the government's notes on the bill say some parents misuse it. They use it for money abuse or coercive control. Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour used to dominate a partner.
In June 2025 the Commonwealth Ombudsman put out a report. The Ombudsman looks into complaints about government agencies. The report was called Weaponising Child Support: when the system fails families. It and other reviews found an urgent need to stop child support being used to harm people.
The Minister for Social Services, Tanya Plibersek, brought in the bill. Its title says it is the first of these bills, called No. 1.
Blocking harmful applications
Part 1 gives the Registrar new powers to protect people from harm.
Right now, a parent who gets child support can end the case if contact with the other parent is unsafe. But the other parent can keep applying again. The Registrar has to accept an application that is filled in properly.
The bill lets the Registrar say no to an application from the paying parent. This works if the other parent does not want it and would be harmed by it. Both parents are told. Either can object.
The government's notes give an example. Rachel cares for her two children full time. She does not want child support. Her ex, Simon, has applied three times. Each time she ends the case. She believes he does it to show he can still control her life. Under the bill, the Registrar could say no to his fourth try.
The Registrar could also say no to a request to change the amount if it would cause harm. That could be harm to either parent, a child or anyone else. Parents make this kind of request when something special affects the usual formula amount. The harm does not have to be family violence.
Protecting personal details
Say one parent asks to change the amount or objects to a decision. The law now makes the Registrar send all their papers to the other parent. That can include where they work and other personal details.
The bill ends this automatic sharing. The Registrar would decide what facts matter and how to share them. The other parent would still get what they need to reply.
In another example, Linda believes her ex, Tom, hides his true income. She has not asked for a review. She fears he would learn where she works. Under the bill, Services Australia could keep those details private. So she could apply safely.
Sometimes an application is refused before the other parent is told about it. Then only the person who applied would be told. This stops the other parent being dragged into something that goes nowhere.
Throwing out weak objections
Parents can object to a child support decision and ask for it to be looked at again. The bill lets the Registrar quickly throw out an objection with little or no chance of winning. The Registrar could also throw out one that would make only a tiny difference.
A parent whose objection is thrown out this way can still go to the Administrative Review Tribunal. It is the body that looks again at government decisions.
A matching change to the family payment law closes a gap. A parent cannot get around a thrown-out objection about care by asking for a separate review of the same decision.
Collecting old private debts
Parents can choose Private Collect, where they pay each other directly. Or they can choose Agency Collect. That is where Child Support takes the money from the payer and passes it on.
Sometimes a child support amount is changed later for a past time. If the parents were in Private Collect then, Child Support can now only chase debts from the last three months. In rare cases it can go back nine months.
Part 2 lets either parent ask Child Support to collect the extra money or refund from that change. This works even outside those limits. The parent must ask within three months of the change. In rare cases they have nine months.
Say a child support amount goes up by $2,500 for a past year when the parents paid each other directly. The parent who gets child support could ask Child Support to collect the $2,500. Today they would have to chase it themselves.
A parent might owe money from an earlier time in Agency Collect. Child Support could collect that too when the parent goes back to Agency Collect.
Pausing Family Tax Benefit debts
Family Tax Benefit Part A is a payment that helps with the cost of raising children. It goes down as child support goes up.
If child support goes up for a past private time, Centrelink acts as if the parent got that extra money. It does this even if they did not. This can create a surprise Family Tax Benefit debt.
The bill would pause the chasing of that kind of debt for 13 weeks. This gives the parent time to work out what to do. One choice is to ask Child Support to collect the money. If they do, the debt will mostly go away.
Choosing Agency Collect
Right now only the parent who gets child support can switch to Agency Collect. A paying parent who is a victim of family violence must still pay the other parent directly.
The bill lets payers choose Agency Collect too. If a payer chooses it, both parents must agree to go back to Private Collect.
The Registrar would also lose a power it rarely uses. That power lets it move a case to Private Collect without either parent asking.
Applying from overseas
Australia has child support deals with some other countries. A parent living in one of them must usually apply through that country's own child support agency.
Part 3 lets the Minister name countries whose people can apply directly to Services Australia. The rules on who can get child support do not change.
The Registrar could say no to a direct application in one case. That is if the parent already has an overseas child support order for the same child against the same payer.
Start date
The bill becomes law when the Governor-General signs it. The Governor-General stands in for the King. If that happens before 15 June 2027, it starts on 1 July 2027. If it happens later, it starts on a date the government sets. That date must be within six months.
The bill was brought into the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, on 17 September 2026. The debate on its main idea began that day. It has not yet been debated further. It must pass the House and then the Senate, the upper house, to become law.
Its journey through Parliament
| 17 Sep 2026 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 17 Sep 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |
| 14 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |
| 15 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |