A statement from the Secretary: Progression of amendments to correct an anomaly in child support legislation

The Australian Government will prioritise legislative amendments in 2026 to address concerns that child support payments may be required to be made in a small number of cases to a person with less than 35% of the care of a child.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has raised concerns that due to unintended consequences of legislative amendments, a small number of parents with little to no care of their child may be technically eligible for child support under an anomaly in the law.

The Department of Social Services is working with Services Australia to finalise amendments as a priority to fix this.

It is a longstanding principle of the child support scheme that parents with less than 35% care of a child should not be eligible for child support.

We are committed to ensuring the law reflects the longstanding position that parents who provide the majority of care of their child get the support they need.

The government’s intention is to pass legislation with retrospective effect to ensure that no parent is unfairly disadvantaged by this anomaly.

Michael Lye
Secretary