It\u2019s supposed to be a safety net, not a loophole. Yet, thousands of Australian parents could be owed thousands of dollars in unpaid child support. Services Australia, tasked with overseeing these payments, has come under fire for failing to enforce the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a Commonwealth Ombudsman report, some parents could be owed as much as $10,000 in unpaid child support due to Services Australia\u2019s mishandling of the process. The report claims that for six years, the department knew it was ignoring parts of child support legislation, but chose to continue with its practices anyway, reports Yahoo Finance.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem arises from the policy not facilitating payments from a parent who has less than 35% of the care duties for their child, despite laws that say otherwise. This discrepancy has left many families struggling financially, and the number of people impacted could reach as high as 16,000. The amount owed varies, with some parents losing up to $10,000 due to the agency’s inaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n