Child Support Policy in Australia and the United Kingdom: Changing Priorities But A Similar Tough Deal for Children?

Abstract

This article examines shifts in child support law and policy in Australia and the UK since the establishment of child support schemes in both jurisdictions from the late 1980s. Our analysis suggests that while original policy goals in Australia and the UK were broadly similar, they also diverged in important respects. Further, legislative and operational elements of the respective schemes as originally enacted have played a key role in influencing subsequent shifts in the substance and policy of the regimes. Yet the practical implications of currently diverging law and policy approaches are likely to be similar, in that most fathers will pay less child support in the future.