Petition Summary
We call upon the Australian Government and Services Australia to urgently review and reform Child Support Program procedures to ensure that:

Federal Court parenting orders are respected and upheld,
Domestic violence and coercive control risks are properly assessed,
Administrative decisions do not enable financial abuse, and
Survivors of family violence are protected — not retraumatised — by the system.
 
Why This Reform Is Critical
Domestic violence survivors commonly face disproportionate financial harm.

When Child Support administrative decisions:

contradict Federal Court orders,
ignore safety disclosures,
disregard coercion and manipulation,
financially empower perpetrators, and
financially punish protective parents,
then the system is not neutral.

It becomes an extension of coercive control — whether intentional or not.

Australia cannot tolerate the administrative facilitation of abuse.
Systems designed to protect families must not be used to harm them.

 
Court Orders Are Not Optional
Federal Court parenting orders are legal instruments.

They exist to:

protect children from harm,
restrict unsafe parental conduct,
and provide structure for high-risk family situations.
Child Support must not bypass, disregard, or override these judicial orders.

Administrative convenience does not justify:

ignoring legal obligations,
suppressing evidence, or
enabling unsafe outcomes.
 
Procedural Failures Harm Survivors
Survivors report Child Support:

failing to acknowledge evidence,
ignoring objections,
making unilateral decisions,
disregarding disclosures of coercion and threats,
refusing procedural fairness,
and imposing financial outcomes that retraumatise victims.
These failures perpetuate the cycle of control and create economic vulnerability.

This is unacceptable in a nation committed to ending domestic and family violence.

 
What This Petition Calls For
We request the Minister for Government Services and the Minister for Women to:

🔹 1. Require Child Support to comply with Federal Court orders
No administrative determination should contradict judicial rulings.

🔹 2. Implement mandatory DV/coercive control assessment processes
Administrative decision-makers must recognise:

coercion,
manipulation,
threats,
control,
and unsafe family dynamics.

🔹 3. Apply trauma-informed procedures in high-risk cases
Where safety has been raised, there must be:

documented analysis,
internal escalation,
and independent review.

🔹 4. Strengthen procedural fairness obligations
Child Support must:

acknowledge evidence,
respond to objections,
document reasoning,
and provide transparency.

🔹 5. Provide specialist training for staff dealing with DV-related cases
Decision-makers must understand:

coercive control,
financial abuse,
trauma impact,
child safety risk.

🔹 6. Establish an independent complaint and review pathway
Survivors must have access to:

appeal rights,
administrative review,
systemic accountability.
 
Who This Reform Protects
Children
Survivors of DV
Single parents
Financially disadvantaged parents
Parents disadvantaged by coercion
This reform protects Australian families and restores public confidence in the Child Support system.

 
Why We Need Your Signature
Your signature supports:

safety
lawful administration
justice
families
survivors
children
You are signing to ensure that:

Federal Court orders are respected,
DV survivors are protected,
coercive control is not financially rewarded,
harm is not delivered through government systems.
 
Final Statement
Child Support processes must never be used — intentionally or unintentionally — to enable coercive control, override court orders, or retraumatise DV survivors.

Reform is not optional.
Reform is necessary.
Reform is urgent.

 
Please sign and share.
Together, we can drive meaningful systemic change.
Together, we can protect survivors.
Together, we can make the system safe.