I need to vent about Child Support. Not about the cost in supporting children. Not about people who pay, or receive Child Support. What I want to vent about is the lack of care, respect, and bully tactics, Child Support Australia Staff use on the paying parents. When they first contact a parent just after the seperation.
The year was 2003, when my relationship failed with my ex-partner. I was trying to get to grips with what had happened, trying to find a place to live. Trying to control my emotions. Then one day in February 2004 along came Child Support Australia. You owe us child support for the last few months. I not received any letters, or phone calls from CSA. I was totally taken back as my ex-partner and I had made a private agreement, which at the time I was a few weeks behind, due to ongoing costs of access with my daughter, and trying to find and set up a home for myself to live in. Things were tough at that time. I didn't know where I was, or what would become of me, my family live in another country. Sure I had friends, but sometimes you need your family as well.
Child Support Australia kept on hounding me daily till the first payment was made. In between the first contact from Child Support Australia and the first payment, I had been threatened, abused, treated like I had committed a crime, told I put the baby there, she had nothing to do with it, so cough up. ( I always thought it two to make a baby ), harrased like being stalked by vulture on steriods. The person on the end of the phone from Child Support Australia, didn't care that I had nothing and my ex-partner took everything, didn't care that my emotions were running high, didn't care that her threats, abuse, harrasment etc. Forced me into a corner, where I thought it would never end. They pushed me to a point, of even trying to commit suicide. You guessed it the attempt failed, I am still here to tell my story.
Child Support Australia never told me my rights, what I could claim, what to do if i disagreed with their decessions. They drove my despair to total depression. It has taken me five years plus, to even talk to Child support Australia. It has taken my Wife (Tess) to guide me through Child Support Australia's red tape. I have explained to Child Supoort Australia, how I feel about them. I have made suggestions to Child support Australia, that even the paying parent hurts when relationships fail. They need to tread lightly with both sides, and show some respect to both sides. I see some changes in the case managers nowadays, and I can talk to them with a more relaxed conversation. But do I respect them ... NO .... Do I trust them ... NO ... Will I forgive them for the way they treat paying parents ... NO.
I just hope with the new changes Child Support Australia have made to the system. I hope they have made the same changes to there Staff.
