Child Support (Registration and Collection) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2) 2001 No. 205
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 2001 No. 205
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Community Services
Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988
Child Support (Registration and Collection) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2)
The two purposes of the Regulations (which are made under section 125 of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (the Act)) are to amend the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Regulations 1988 (the Registration and Collection Regulations) to:
• prescribe persons who must be provided with documents and information relevant to enforcing orders that prohibit certain persons from leaving Australia; and
• Make two consequential amendments to reflect the fact that the Child Support Registrar is no longer the Commissioner of Taxation.
Departure prohibition orders
Schedule 6 to the Child Support Legislation Amendment Act 2001 (the Amendment Act) recently inserted into the Act provisions for a system of child support departure prohibition orders. This system provides that, in certain cases of a person liable to pay child support having persistently failed to pay his or her child support debts, the person may be prevented from leaving Australia unless either all debts are discharged or satisfactory arrangements are made to discharge them. The system closely mirrors the existing system of taxation departure prohibition orders in place under the Taxation Administration Act 1953.
If a departure prohibition order is issued in respect of a person, the Child Support Registrar must, under subsection 72G(5), give a copy of the order, and information likely to enable identification of the person for relevant purposes, to other appropriate people. This is so that those other people may assist in enforcing the departure prohibition order by preventing the person from leaving Australia. Those people must fall within the range of people prescribed by the Regulations.
The Regulations prescribe for this purpose: the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs Service, the Commissioner of Police of the Australian Federal Police and the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. These are the same as the people already prescribed for the purpose of the equivalent taxation departure prohibition order provision.
Child Support Registrar
The child support function has been part of the Family and Community Services portfolio, rather than the Treasury portfolio, for more than two years. However, this move has only recently been reflected legislatively, by Schedule 5 to the Amendment Act. Because of this legislative change, the Child Support Registrar is no longer the Commissioner of Taxation but the General Manager of the Child Support Agency. Therefore, two existing references in the Registration and Collection Regulations to information held by the Registrar "(whether as Registrar or Commissioner)" are no longer appropriate. Accordingly, these references to the former dual role of the Registrar/Commissioner are omitted by the Regulations.
The Regulations commenced on gazettal.
Overview
The Child Support (Registration and Collection) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2), enacted in 2001, were introduced under the authority of the Minister for Community Services to amend the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Regulations 1988. The primary purpose of these Regulations is to align the child support system with recent legislative changes that separated the child support function from the Treasury portfolio and established the Child Support Registrar as the General Manager of the Child Support Agency, rather than the Commissioner of Taxation. These amendments aim to ensure that the child support system operates effectively and efficiently within its new legislative framework. The Regulations also address the need to prescribe specific individuals who must be provided with documents and information related to enforcing departure prohibition orders, which prevent individuals from leaving Australia if they have persistently failed to pay their child support debts. This measure ensures that the enforcement of departure prohibition orders is coordinated and effective.
Scope and Application
The Child Support (Registration and Collection) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2) apply to the enforcement of child support departure prohibition orders under the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. These regulations amend the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Regulations 1988 to ensure the relevant authorities are notified when a person liable for child support is subject to a departure prohibition order, preventing them from leaving Australia until their child support debts are resolved. The prescribed persons who must be provided with documents and information concerning these orders include the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs Service, the Commissioner of Police of the Australian Federal Police, and the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Additionally, the regulations reflect the legislative change that the Child Support Registrar is now the General Manager of the Child Support Agency rather than the Commissioner of Taxation, thereby making consequential amendments to the relevant references within the Registration and Collection Regulations. The regulations have a national reach, applying across Australia, and came into effect immediately upon their gazettal.
Key Provisions
The main provisions of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 2) (the Regulations) are primarily concerned with updating the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Regulations 1988 (the Registration and Collection Regulations) to reflect recent legislative changes. The Regulations serve to update the list of persons who must be provided with documents and information related to enforcing departure prohibition orders for individuals who persistently fail to pay their child support debts. According to subsection 72G(5) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (the Act), if a departure prohibition order is issued, the Child Support Registrar must provide a copy of the order and relevant identifying information to specific individuals who can assist in enforcing the order by preventing the person from leaving Australia. The Regulations prescribe that these individuals include the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs Service, the Commissioner of Police of the Australian Federal Police, and the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The Regulations impose obligations on the Child Support Registrar to ensure that any person subject to a departure prohibition order is prevented from leaving Australia unless all child support debts are discharged or satisfactory arrangements are made to discharge them. This obligation is mirrored by the requirement to provide the specified documents and information to the prescribed persons, ensuring they can effectively enforce the order. Additionally, the Regulations necessitate the removal of references to the former dual role of the Registrar as the Commissioner of Taxation, aligning with the legislative change that now assigns the Child Support Registrar as the General Manager of the Child Support Agency.
Under the Act, breaches of the provisions related to departure prohibition orders could potentially lead to civil or criminal consequences, although specific penalties are not detailed in the explanatory statement. However, it is reasonable to infer that penalties could mirror those applicable to breaches of similar provisions in other legislation, such as the Taxation Administration Act 1953. Non-compliance with the requirement to provide information to prescribed persons or failure to enforce departure prohibition orders could result in legal action, fines, or other sanctions as prescribed by relevant laws. These penalties underscore the seriousness of ensuring that child support obligations are met and that orders preventing travel are enforced.