Child Support Expert Panel

The Child Support Expert Panel was set up to review parts of the Child Support Scheme and recommend improvements.

Establishment

The panel was set up following a recommendation in the Third Interim Report of the 2019 Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System(Opens in a new tab/window).

More information 

Learn more about the review of the Child Support Scheme. 

Scope

The panel will:

  • support the department to commission research related to the cost of raising children
  • using this research, conduct a review of the child support formula
  • develop a methodology to review the child support formula when routine expenditure data is published. For example, in the Living Costs in Australia Survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Membership

Members include academics who are experts in child support research, family law and expenditure data.

  • Prof Matthew Gray, Director POLIS, Australian National University
  • Prof Bruce Smyth, Professor of Family Studies, POLIS, Australian National University
  • Prof Janeen Baxter, Director, Institute for Social Science, Life Course Centre, University of Queensland
  • Prof Belinda Fehlberg, Professor of Law, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne
  • Prof Paul Henman, Professor of Social Science, School of Social Science, University of Queensland 
  • Catherine Andersson, Research Director, Australian Institute of Family Studies
  • Prem Aleema, Solicitor in Charge, Child Support Service, Legal Aid NSW
  • Associate Prof Bruce Bradbury, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales

Governance

The panel is an advisory body for the department. The department is responsible for supporting it, and commissioning research related to the cost of raising children.

Contacting the panel

The panel are not taking evidence directly from the community. The department has an established process to share community complaints and feedback with the panel when it relates to their review. If you have concerns or queries you would like to raise with the panel, please contact enquiries@dss.gov.au.

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