We have all been here, the dreaded child support. The government has decided that all parents should be responsible for financially supporting children. Centrelink will have you believe that if you do not apply to the Child Support Agency (CSA) you will not receive any benefit from them or a reduced rate. And this is the point where you know that you will have to apply for child support otherwise you know you will not be able to survive or feed and clothe your children. WRONG. You are entitled to apply for an exemption from applying for child support through centrelink especially if you are escaping domestic violence. Centrelink fail to advise you of this right and they force the issue without recognising the danger that this causes for many mothers and their children.
I was 20 years old sitting in the Centrelink office speaking with one of their workers holding my 10 day old baby begging the woman to not make me apply for child support. I was sobbing explaining that this man had raped me, he had stalked me, he was emotionally abusing me and this was another way he could abuse me further. This woman was heartless and told me I had no choice and she was the one to ring the child support agency while I was in the Centrelink office crying. I had no choice in the matter at all. And so the abused continued through the CSA.
For over 5 years I had to fight for the CSA to get the money which Centrelink took from me as my child's father was supposedly supporting the child. Each month I would ring only to be told they could not find where he was working and that I needed to tell them where he was working and which bank he banked with or whether he owned a car, a house or a boat or which company his super with. Ummm hello what is the job of the CSA if I have to find out this information, isn't that there job???? Then there was the change of assessments which I had to put in yearly as my ex does not put in tax returns and informed the CSA that he works full time but only earns 15 thousand a year. Stupid thing is CSA believe him. I had to prove this was not the case at all and in fact he was earning well over 60 thousand a year. His word was taken on face value and yet me I had to prove everything. Four times I had to apply for change of assessment to get the correct amount of child support and each time the amount was never back dated because otherwise he would have a bigger child support debt. I finally gave up with the child support and out of the blue I got a call from a case worker stating that she would in fact make my ex pay child support regularly and I laughed at her. She was not happy at all. I explained that I had heard it all before and I wouldn't hold my breathe. They then put a hold on my ex's passport and he was no longer allowed to leave the country without paying off his debt with child support. I started receiving regular child support which was shock horror but it never was a regular amount some months it was the base amount and then other months it was the base amount plus payment for the back pay as well.
This is where the problems started. Because my ex was now having to pay child support, he decided that he was going to go for custody of the child as this would mean he would no longer have to pay. He has always maintained that I use the child support money to buy diamonds and take my many boyfriends out to dinner. Truth is I have never brought diamonds and I wish I knew all these boyfriends I am supposedly sleeping with. My ex's thinking that if he has the child 50 per cent of the time he will no longer have to financially support the child and I will have to start paying him. You see I have the CSA and the government to thank for putting my child at risk because of the laws they implemented. I do not want his money at all, I would rather keep my child safe and support the child myself like I had been doing for the first 5 years.
You see my ex loves himself and his money. Nothing will come between him and his money so this is why he is applying to the court for shared custody of the child, to protect his most valued possession. The thing he doesn't realise is that caring for a child is more expensive then paying the base amount of child support per month. The $274 a month that he pays doesn't cover anything at all. He thinks that I will pay him child support, guess what I will purposely earn less then you so I will never hand money over to an abuser.
The thing my ex doesn't realise is that if you are going to attempt to hurt me using my child, then I will hit him where it hurts, in his pocket. I will go for 50 per cent of all expenses and that is a lot more then the $274 he pays now. I will do this through the court right at the last minute and watch him suffer as the judge rules in my favour about this. You see the ex still doesn't pay child support based on his income which has dropped from over 60 thousand down to 35 thousand. I have proof as I have every letter sent to me by the CSACSA and also that his earning capacity is in fact a lot higher based on his previous work and his occupation.
My advise to all mothers out there is DO NOT APPLY FOR CHILD SUPPORT. Go to Centrelink apply for an exemption and fight for the exemption. If I had known about this before now, I know I would not be in the situation I am i now. My child would be safe and I would not be kicking and screaming in the family court.
So thank you once again John Howard for putting my child at risk because of the stupid laws you implemented to attack single mothers and benefit single fathers. Thank you Centrelink for letting me and my child down and thank you CSA for being all about fathers rights and harming mothers and child with the lack of service you offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment