- Extra scrutiny for parents avoiding child support payments
- AAP
- 19/02/2007 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: admin ( 59 articles in 2007 )
CANBERRA - Parents who minimise their income to cheat their way out of paying child support payments will come under increased scrutiny.
The Child Support Agency has employed an extra 120 financial investigators so it can investigate 2,400 separated parents across Australia each year, four times the previous amount.
General Manager Matt Miller says the agency is focusing on parents who live in 'affluent suburbs' but have reported low incomes to pay the minimum child support, which is about $6 a week.
"These parents are not only cheating the child support system - they're cheating their children," Mr Miller said in a statement today.
The move comes after increased concerns that parents are hiding their income illegally, working for cash-in-hand payments or minimising their income through salary sacrificing for tax purposes.
But parents paying child support are not the only ones under investigation. Those on the receiving end will also be scrutinised.
Mr Miller said the agency had already uncovered a number of cheats through data matches from a variety of sources, including bank statements and tax records.
Already this financial year an extra $3.6 million had been uncovered by the agency and the additional funding from the federal government is expected to deliver $460 million more for children.
The Child Support Agency has employed an extra 120 financial investigators so it can investigate 2,400 separated parents across Australia each year, four times the previous amount.
General Manager Matt Miller says the agency is focusing on parents who live in 'affluent suburbs' but have reported low incomes to pay the minimum child support, which is about $6 a week.
"These parents are not only cheating the child support system - they're cheating their children," Mr Miller said in a statement today.
The move comes after increased concerns that parents are hiding their income illegally, working for cash-in-hand payments or minimising their income through salary sacrificing for tax purposes.
But parents paying child support are not the only ones under investigation. Those on the receiving end will also be scrutinised.
Mr Miller said the agency had already uncovered a number of cheats through data matches from a variety of sources, including bank statements and tax records.
Already this financial year an extra $3.6 million had been uncovered by the agency and the additional funding from the federal government is expected to deliver $460 million more for children.
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