CSA Child Support Complaints Forum
How Can I Help?
To help bring change to the child support system, please go to this Child Support YouTube Channel, subscribe, and hit the notification bell.
We're trying to grow the channel to help raise awareness of how to better support Australian children. The more subscribers, the better the chances of politicians noticing. Thanks.
From the Child Support YouTube Channel:
We Respond to the Family Law Inquiry
We Give Evidence to the Family Law Inquiry
Answer to the question on notice: PDF document
Child Support Recommendations
Family Law Inquiry: Interim Report
When parents ignore court orders
When parents don’t lodge tax returns
50:50 shared care
“Extra Care” formula
You can now follow realandrewlancaster on Instagram.
Just scan the QR code with your phone.
You can also search "realandrewlancaster" or click on this link.
Jack
FYI
Twice in the past six weeks Services Australia has been cautioned by the Commonwealth ombudsman over its operations.
The first of these warnings was over its failure to promptly disclose a separate income apportionment program that ran for almost two decades and was used to calculate entitlements without any legal basis. The second was for its attempt to keep hidden an IT glitch in child support assessments that affected almost 47,500 people.
Of those cases, 15,000 were historic and Services Australia decided it did not want to go back in time to advise the people who had been financially affected by the mistake. The ombudsman decided otherwise.
“Services Australia advised us that if a customer were to contact them to question the assessment, it would then review the assessment,” the statement from the ombudsman says.
“In our view, customers were not aware that an error caused by Services Australia’s systems had occurred, so would likely not be aware they could exercise their rights to question an assessment.”
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
This is welcome news, that Services Australia is being required to smarten up their act. It is unsurprising to many that CSA have their own internal rules or habits that they follow, leaving outsiders puzzled about what the heck is going on there.
Ness
Question:
How big does a CSA debt need to be before they take action?
My ex owes just over $63k, the debt has been active for almost 5 years (he was making payments prior to this). He doesnt work (well he works until CSA try and garnish his wages and then quits, no tax return done for 8 years) and his assets are all in his partners name.
CSA tell me they are doing all they can to recover the debt but wont tell me what they are doing to recover it.
Ive asked them to apply a departure order however they cannot confirm if this will occur or not for privacy reasons. Letting someone get into this much debt is ridiculous its pretty much impossible for him to ever pay back and in the mean time im struggling to provide for our 3 kids and work full time. Is there anything i can do?
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
I imagine there must be some form of legal recourse, where a judge makes an order related to the debt and the parent faces a possible jail sentence for not complying.
CSA could probably do more – i.e. beyond the usual debt collection methods. For instance, they could take legal action on your behalf.
You could seek legal advice yourself and/or make a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman about CSA (Services Australia).
Claire Buckenara
Can I just say that where you mention on your website (and multiple times too) that the child support system is unfair to the main “financial earner” as they’re penalised for earning the money for the household then you’re so wrong and so blindly from reality. Take my case for an example. I had a well paying (not as good as my husband) job before we had children. As this job was based in the outback and as there was no hospital I had to leave that job when I had kids and have no way of getting that job back now I’ve been out of the workforce for 5 years (my husband wanted me to stay at home to look after the kids as he has a really well paying job on the mines which is a FIFO role) he is still in that role so I can’t work FIFO or who would take care of the kids. No one. So I not only have a gap in my resume as I’ve looked after the kids I also can’t return to my job I had before kids whilst my husband stays at the same workplace and is being promoted. He would not have been able to meet his kpis thus get promoted etc had it not been for my job (caring for the children full time at home). So the person who earns the most financially is in not worse off or penalised for being the main money earner the person who can no longer work, who’s now has a gap in their resume who works a full time at home looking after the children whilst their husband work away by far is the person more hard done by. Just because they’re not earning physical $$ does NOT mean they’re not contributing financially!
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Well, yes, your case is an example. It’s just one example and not fully representative. And can I say that, while you seemed to have assumed the traditional role of a woman who is financially supported by men, an important bit that you’re missing from that framework is respect.
Key points:
(1) Your particular example is quite extreme. Plenty of women work while married with kids and continue to work afterwards. They also often re-partner with men who support them once again.
(2) I’m not really buying your excuses for being a low income earner.
(3) Have you ever heard of divorce settlements and spousal support? These provisions are how mothers are provided for post-divorce. Did you not receive anything when you separated? By ignoring these things, you’re essentially admitting that you feel child support is an entitlement you receive that is there to support you, the grown adult, not just the children. Men are often paying huge amounts in child support after losing their houses in divorce.
(3) Virtually every aspect of the family court and child support systems are designed to support women who can’t help themselves. If you don’t think that is so, why are men killing themselves in large numbers? You don’t think there might be a problem?
(4) Women virtually always have the option to keep the children and receive all the related benefits. Men don’t and a significant percentage are unfairly denied access to their own kids.
We need a balanced system where the state is less interfering, kids see their dads, and women (or any men in an equivalent situation) are expected to stand on their own two feet. When two people divorce, both are responsible for getting on with their lives. They each have a financial responsibility to their children but they shouldn’t continue to be financially bound to their ex beyond that. It leads to people sitting on low incomes and not supporting their children to the full extent of their ability.
Heath
Hi Andrew.
I’ll try to keep this as simple as possible.
I have been paying child support since me and my ex partner split when my daughter was less than 6 months old (she is now 14).
About 4 1/2 years ago my ex stopped my daughter from fortnightly visits after i told her she asked to move in with me permanently.
I am re-partnered with 3 kids at home. She is also re-partnered with 2 other kids at home.
I am currently in a relatively high paying job, with a successful career. Im paying 100% care, while payments were only reduced by $9 and $7 per fortnight when my youngest kids were born.
The issue i am having is, due to the cost of child support, the current living climate, and being a single income house at the moment, i am having to work more and more overtime, which in turn, increases my taxable income, and my CS payments continually go up each year. It is at the point where it would be unaffordable if the overtime wasn’t available to me.
For the past few years, my daughter hasn’t attended school, as my ex and her partner travelled australia with the kids, and now seem to spend alot of time in a remote part of australia on a farm, living off the land and working for cash so its not a taxable income.
I am all for paying what my child needs, but it is currently a rediculous amount, when i have 3 children at home plus a partner that are all dependants.
So my question is… How can i get CSA to investigate her situation? I thought my payments were for school fee’s, clothing, food etc. But if she’s not doing most of these things, why am i still paying for it?
I’ll be honest, the government need to look into why the suicide rate for single fathers is so high, i am not in that mindset, but i can certainly see how this can tip people over the edge.
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Hi Heath – Unfortunately, I don’t see any avenues to improve the situation. Parents are free to spend normal child support payments however they want. Your ex appears to have chosen to live off your payments rather than earn an income and keep the child near her father. Yes – the system can be very demoralising and I have no doubt that it contributes greatly to poor outcomes for children and alienated parents. The lives of fathers, including their vital role as parents, aren’t given the slightest consideration in the thinking or policies of most of our politicians and bureacrats.
Mel
Hi there,
my partner pays child support for his 12yr old daughter. he was in a high paying job 2 yes ago and was paying the maximum child support to her( he was not allowed to see his daughter due to bitterness towards him from the mother).
after years of being in high paying job and paying child support on time, he quit his job due to multiple back surgeries and stopped working for 3 months. he let child support know but they would not adjust his payments to lower due to he had to provide a separation certificate. he told them he was not going to run around getting it as he just told them. after 3 months he started in another job but the pay was less. he did his tax return and his whole tax return went to Child Support. he has many discussions with child support telling them he was on a lower income and should not be paying the highest rate and to readjust his payments but they have not.
this financial year he has gone to do his tax and only earnt $14,000, has already paid $9,000 in child support and owes $6,000 due to them still charging him the highest rate and has arrears fee $300. they already know what he earns cause they have rangs his new employers and only take out $100 a week instead of the full maximum payment.
we have asked them to not touch his tax return as it is not much and to reduce his payments. we have asked them to take away the $6,000 debt as they already know what his wage was as they have done there own investigations
investigations into what he earns. we know they don’t back date, but just want them to take the debt away as it is unfair and unjust, when they were told he was not working.
is there any way the debt can be cleared
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
This is a real mess and it looks like you partner has been overcharged significantly. Any parent is allowed to submit an estimate of a reduced income during the financial year. There should also be no cost for not being super fast submitting a tax return. And arrears fees can be easily waived.
Has he been polite and cooperative with CSA? They seem to have been harsh in this case.
He may want to consider applying for a change of assessment based on earning capacity. There is a possibility of backdating if you have documentation that he was informing CSA of his circumstances at different stages. It may be that CSA has made administrative mistakes here.
I think you need to write down the facts (with dates) and gather any relevant evidence. You can then apply for a review of any decisions that have been made by CSA or apply for a Change of Assessment.
samantha
how is it fair that my partners child support payments increase because his ex decides to have a baby with her new partner? shouldn’t the payments stay the same & her new partner support her while off on maternity leave?
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Yes – of course a parent’s payment shouldn’t increase when the other parent decides to have more children. But try telling that to the lefty politicians and women’s groups who dominate policies on parenting and child support. They only care about the poor mothers and could care less about everyone else.
Glenn
Hello Andrew
I went through a court case with a lady i was with only for 4 months. She didnt put me ont he birth cert then went through the courts after 14 months with a paternity test to show the child was mine. Now CSA want me to pay 15k in back dated child support at an additional $500 a week. its more than the spare money i have after i pay my bills. Is there anything i can do to pay it off slower. I offered $150 a week extra and they turned it down
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Just pay off what you can for the time being. Show a commitment to paying off the debt. You could try for a formal agreement with CSA some other time. I don’t believe it’s hard for them to go back and forgive any penalties and interest. They may be unimpressed that you didn’t do a paternity test voluntarily and now you have to show a different side.
Amy
Hi Andrew, my husband and I are experiencing first hand the broken system and bias nature of CSA. I’m hoping you can provide some hope and we are really hoping the system is closer to a much needed change. Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
My husband is a great father, supportive, loving, providing, calm and attuned, he goes above and beyond for his kids, a true-family man, between us we have 4 children.
Him and his ex have had a mutual agreement since they separated (until now), where he has paid anywhere between $375-$500 over several years a week based on their gross incomes and sadly shared care that the ex-restricts.
In addition to this, we pay Health care cover for their children (2 bio) and ours (1 bio/1 step) which ex has been given full access to and uses. The mutual agreement also included us taking care of dental expenses/care which we have upheld.
Following separation, he provided her a vehicle, new furniture and other goods that he paid off solely ($20k+) and solely maintained mortgage repayments etc.
First question: Looking at the CSA – are reporting these goods that were provided to her in addition to CS payments and the additional expenses solely paid by him sufficient in claiming additional money, goods were provided to her in a CSA review?
And when providing information for 3 reasons why the ASX needs to be reviewed (e.g., supporting another child, supporting someone else, goods, money etc. provided) why do CS only take into account 1 of these reasons? not all 3?
Secondly, for background purposes, due to welfare concerns, alienation, and 1 child requesting to live with us, it lead to us inviting her to resolve these matters in mediation. This led her to ceasing our mutual agreement and going through CS. We are still covering health cover for the children currently despite this.
We had been using the CSA online calculator and been paying the correct amount based on their 2 children +/- days of care, our child, his step (bio father deceased), and based on her and her partners children and care %. We thought going through CSA would not be an issue.
However, we have come across multiple issues and injustices within the system and CS’s unreasonable expectations. Everyone we speak to are shocked at how CSA’s are calculated – yet it continues.
First issue, CSA do not accept or include step children as dependents despite being in the child’s life for a significant period (in our case 5-6yrs), marriage, financially supporting child, living together, and despite child’s other parent being deceased. How do CS justify this?
CS give you the option of submitting a CSA to apply for step children to be considered provided you provide ‘sufficient evidence’. Which brings me to the next issue.
Part of this evidence in order to ‘prove it’ and get it across the line, includes providing them AND due to their ‘open communication’ policy provide the ex also with copies of highly personal, financial, and sensitive information. Including death, birth, marriage certificates, bank statements and other financial records.
As a government system that is designed to mediate financial support between parents who for any number of reasons cannot do this mutually – how is it, that this is considered ethical or necessary by any means?
In our case, we are dealing with a particular individual who would use the personal information she has just collected to do harm, leaving us in a vulnerable position, where we can’t afford to but can’t afford not to scenario. Additionally, CS enforce this ‘rule’ but there is no accountability on CS if the party they provide our personal information to, due to their ‘open communication’ policy, uses it illegally and/or for harm. CS’s response to our concern regarding this – ‘if you don’t want her having it, then don’t provide it’ – followed by ‘yes if we don’t receive those documents as evidence it will prevent us from considering making any changes to your CSA’.
As a decision-maker, I understand CS need to collect this information, and agree it is necessary for them to make an informed decision, however, shouldn’t this information also be protected by them as a government system, who are making enforcements, and shouldn’t the information collected be solely used for the purpose of CS making an informed OBJECTIVE unbiased decision? This does not require parties personal and private documents to be shared with one another.
There is also biases where ‘paying parties’ personal information and private documents are shared as the ‘paying party’, however, the ‘receiving party’s’ information is not shared. IS there any particular reason to this?
Further to the biases we have experienced, this ex, strategically did not add our other 2 children in the CSA – this of course increased the weekly amount we pay AND created a debt (as her CSA was based on 2 kids not 4). When we called to add our other children, we hoped to resolve this debt by providing them with the correct information – CS response was stoic and did not care at all. They advised they do not backdate to correct the information they received, despite us not been given an opportunity to confirm the information they received from her was true and correct – yet CS backdate 3 months despite parties having a mutual agreement in place. How is this just?
By the time we were notified, we found ourselves with not only an increase due to her strategy, but also a debt, no warning to stop paying her directly. and a warning that we had to pay around $3000-4500 within 4weeks or else CS will go direct to employer and deduct it from his pay or tax return.
Then to make matters further stressful, after speaking to CS for 2hours and thinking we gained some clarity of what our weekly amount would be going forward, this was short-lived receiving approx. 10 letters with differing amounts and increasing debt notices within approx. 2 weeks, with warnings to repay the amount within an unreasonable timeframe.
Another issue with the system we encountered, was while speaking to them, were informed that she had made a CS application years earlier – WHILE still in a relationship – where he had not been notified by them to again confirm whether the information they had received was true. He received no phone call, no email, and no mail regarding this fraudulent application – how is this ethical conduct by CS?
And it appears there are no consequences for making such claims?
Sorry it is a lot! But we are overwhelmed by how many cracks and how unjust the system is. We pay more than what the family institute estimate the cost of raising a child or 2 – yet we are restricted from seeing them strategically for her financial gain. She is also rewarded by reducing her hours of paid work, she has no need to with a new partner who earns enough for her not to, and is further incentivized not to, given she receives a healthy income from us/CS. Please help!
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Too much information. If you have questions, limit the number and keep it simple for me if you can.
I’m not just saying this. You also need to do the same with CSA. Keep it simple if you want results.
To avoid problems, the father should limit financial transations with his ex. Zero direct payments to or from each other is best.
Despite whatever CSA say, you don’t have to give them information. You can still be cooperative but are able to retain info if it adds nothing and you don’t want it shared.
Chris
Hey Andrew,
I recently had a post Tax Return re-assessment from CSA return with an adjustable taxable income $8,500 higher than my actual income, which resulted in a debt owing and a higher amount of ongoing child support, despite both being on similar incomes, with 50/50 shared care (and an extra 2 young kids for me, who are WAY more expensive than the older ones!).
After some digging, I worked out that my salary sacrificing of $3500 into super (which I was aware would be counted in ATI), resulted in the extra $8500 contributed by my employer into my super (which I was not aware would be included in my ATI). It appears as reportable employer superannuation contributions (RESC) on my Income Statement. This extra super is not money my kids will ever see, nor money I have the option to access to support them, but results in an even higher CS liability I need to sacrifice to pay to my ex.
Not only does this put me even further behind financially with regular payments, but creates a disincentive to sacrifice even a small amount into my own future, and make it harder to provide for my family, because the involuntary unseen extra RESC is money that, for some reason, is included in the child support amount.
My ex is somehow better off because my employer is choosing to make extra contributions into my super.
I can understand how my own individual employee contributions should be included, but I don’t understand how the extra employer SC can or should be. Is this not an unfair part of the formula, creating a ‘double whammy’ and providing a disincentive to add to super?
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
You might be able to apply for a Change of Assessment. This will likely require documentation showing that a portion of super contributions was made as part of a policy or practice by your employer.
CSA aims to capture your full income potential in terms of providing financial support. Money that is entirely unavailable to you shouldn’t qualify, as you’ve indicated. The responsibility lies with you to demonstrate that the funneling of this extra money into super is unavoidable, even if you were to attempt to renegotiate your compensation arrangements with your employer.
David Zemann
I completely agree with RL, go through the Change of Assessment.
I am in the Objection stage of my third CoA (thats right, 3rd) since 2017.
Kids mother reports $0, 28k income while owning her own businesses.
First CoA went to objection because the investigator called her once, didnt get through, and left it at that. Luckily the person in the Objections team was a LOT more thorough, investigating bank accounts, businesses, debts. But the biggest thing was he said “she has to be paying for these things, we can’t find out where from yet, but we know thats what is happening, so we’re setting income at $170k, from $0.”
The 2nd CoA even had her providing P&L information showing that all her personal expenses were being routed through her company, and that she was claiming rent of $106k per year on her unit which was $1100 per week. Unfortunately Covid then struck and she moved interstate for 8 months because her marketing company works with tourism as one of its industries. But the investigator did in fact state in her findings that her income was at lest again $170k prior to Covid.
The 3rd CoA was put in on 8 Nov 2022, and I received a decision on 23 June 2023…8 months. And the decision; we couldn’t find any income from her businesses, and we’ll keep her income at $28k. Even though she is paying $1,000 per week in rent, has kids school fees, cost of living. Put the objection in early July and as of 2 days ago it still hasn’t been assigned to anyone. And my kids are now over 18 but I’m still having to fight this mess.
In the meantime, Services Australia has gone into my bank account and taken $9,600 2 days ago to satisfy the debt that this CoA is fighting, which they agreed to place on hold because it all relates to the CoA. God knows if/when I will get that money back, but now, an investment has to be put on hold, family trip has to be cancelled and financially I’m going to out of pocket $10k for probably the next 2-3 years.
And this is the short version of the story…..
This system is so screwed up, and the politicians don’t care ONE BIT. If a political party even came to be that said they would fix up the Child Support/Centrelink mess and had a good plan, they would get my immediate vote.
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Maybe in the 3rd Change of Assessment, the reviewer thought you’d already done well enough, considering your ex was twice assessed at $170k.
From what I gather, the 3rd result is more normal, where the parent isn’t made accountable because their income is unknown. The other parent, in this case, may have been foolish to provide so much information that CSA was twice prepared to assign a high income to her.
Mark Tamblyn
Hello Dr Lancaster, great work you do.
Question on Veterans DVA payments. Does any DVA payments that are tax free be included as income in CS purposes? I was in receipt of a lump sum payment. It does how up in my tax system as a tax free component.
Thanks
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Hi Mark, Not an easy question to answer. It depends on the nature of the DVA payment. Even if not part of your taxable income, payments can be treated as child support income, or even financial resources (which could come into play if the other parent applied for a Change of Assessment).
What I’d suggest is (a) don’t advertise that you’ve received the money (b) don’t make any income estimates to CSA during this financial year and (c) put in an income estimate early in the following financial year if you’re worried about a large lump sum counting. You could hold off doing (c) until after you’ve submitted your tax return and seen how the lump sum was treated by CSA.
The above assumes the lump sum was received this financial year, not last. You can apply the same strategy if it was last year, which means putting in an income estimate to over-ride the effects of the one-off payment. Only necessary if the income is counted by CSA. You may be OK without having to do anything.
DJ
Andrew,
Im in a predicament, my new partner and I did 4 work books “excel” based on the so called “Non agency payments etc.
It has taken CSA 3 weeks to determine and write back no less than 7 letters, staying that my Ex-wife doesn’t agree to almost 38K in payments directly to her and my 2 children 🙁
I spoke at length some 52 minutes today, with CSA, and they’ve requested I, appeal the decision which takes another 28 days. my previous evidence as miles of OSKO payments to Ex-wife and 2 children bank accounts. Copied and pasted into Excel.
The CSA guy relayed back to me, that whilst he wasn’t calling foul but he said some people could generate fake OSKO payments,
Therefore i’ve tonight downloaded 3 years of Bank Statements PFD files to prove they actually came out of bank account , and now have to print them and post them ? why isn’t there a facility to upload in this day and age.
I also called my lawyer today as we are in the middle of Financial disclosure also.
Bit of a shame the Ex – wife didn’t agree to even 50% 🙁 so now im indebted to CSA for 23K as id have accepted 23K to wipe the debt. which I aim to have cleared in less than 4 months.
The system itself is so antique ! , My ex is living in our 3.6M home / 100’s of thousands in Shares and Super etc etc
Im a self employed builder with a taxable income of less than 108K , I have zero assets as its all tied up in 17 years of an Ex marriage, sadly.
I also find the CSA people very very biased towards men sadly
My .02
Kind regards
D
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Thanks for sharing.
Mick
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for everything you do here.
I had a limited financial agreement raised against me which has just been terminated since it was signed 3 years ago.
The child support was meant to revert to the formula but my ex has now quit her job and started her own business. She has told the CSA that she isn’t earning any income and they have accepted this. So, I am now stuck with paying more child support again. The ex probably won’t lodge any tax returns with the ATO given she is the director of her company.
My daughter (who the ex has 100% custody of) is 5 years old.
What can I do to ask CSA to be more fair? I plan on objecting to their assessment of her $0 taxable income.
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
If you are applying for a Change of Assessment because of Reason 8 (Earning Capacity), you essentially need to show that her decision to quit her job was likely motivated, at least in part, by a desire to affect child support. You would need to present relevant evidence. The fact that she has immediately put in a $0 income estimate may be part of that.
Steve
Hi Andrew,
Appreciate you maintaining this website as a great source of information for Australian Dads. I am currently paying child support to a horrible thing that trapped me in a “surprise” pregnancy 6 weeks after meeting her… 3 years later I am engaged to a fantastic women and we just welcomed our first child in March. She returns to work in a couple of months and we are thinking about care arrangements for the baby moving forward.
My question to you is can I reduce my work hours (and thus my income) to care for my new child without CSA trying to continue making me pay based on my old income? Better yet am I allowed to leave the workforce entirely if it’s for the purposes of being the primary parent to my new baby? I read on elsewhere on this site that a payee can leave work to care for a under school aged child but nothing regarding payers.
Thank you ????.
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Any parent with a young child is able to reduce work hours to provide care for them without repercussions. The other parent could initiate a Change of Assessment (Reason 8 – Earning Capacity) but would need to demonstrate that your decision to reduce work hours was significantly motivated by a desire to affect child support. That would be difficult when you have a legitimate, child-focused reason for cutting back on work hours. Ideally, you haven’t written anything, which could be used as evidence, indicating that you are averse to paying child support.
Mick
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for this running this site and continuing to raise the shortcomings of the child support system in Australia. I have always paid child support for my 2 daughters and have no issue with that. But let me run some figures past you as my ex and I have recently finalised tax returns for 22/23 which highlights how inequitable the system can be.
Her income was $76115 so after tax she was left with $59389. She received a further $14896 in FTB payments (including A and B supplements at end of financial year) and $16500 in child support payments. Grand Total of $90785 AFTER TAX.
My income was $104752 which left me with $61646. This is with me having regular care of my girls. The real kicker is that now my income has dropped due to no overtime (which may or may not start again) and I’m paying the same figure and left with less than the minimum wage after paying child support.
And I’m supposed to be able to put a roof over my head,feed and clothe myself, pay the bills and still have $$ left to spend on my girls when they are with me. Crazy crazy system.
Thanks for listening
Mick
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
The formula fails in many scenarios, including yours. Unfortunately, some people will see your financial circumstances as no problem at all. They don’t understand the negatives from forcing people to hand over huge chunks of their earnings without real justification.
RL
For anyone contemplating applying for a change of assessment: do it.
And push through it.
My ex has been running a very successful cash business for years and basically reporting no income at all.
We put together enough info to get the ball rolling and applied.
In the intial assessment, the investigator looked at the information (including the business’s social media which was all linked to her and she was actively posting on, her bank records, etc.), then called her and asked “Is this your business?”.
She said “No” and the investigator basically said “Okay,” and rejected the application.
In doing so she went from claiming “Oh, there’s not enough evidence,” to “Oh, we make our decisions based on common sense, not evidence,” to “Well yes, we have that evidence and common sense says she is running the business, but you know, it’s my decision and you can appeal it,”
So we appealed that decision, and the second investigator came back and said “Oh yeah, she’s definitely running that business,” and made the adjustment.
She initially escalated that to the tribunal, but pretty much the day after all of the evidence arrived (which CSA will send you), she withdrew that appeal.
I decided to request the appeal be re-instated, because I just really wanted to have a very firm record of her actions. The tribunal was able to go further and reinforced the adjustment.
Here’s the important thing I learned absolutely through this process: Many of the female CSA staff are absolutely and viciously sexist. I had one go as far as to tell me my ex was entitled to hide her business income and that she (the CSA staff member) was doing the same.
So you will need to stay stoic and strong to get past those people. But once you do and get to the people who can actually make decisions, they’re good, fair and balanced people (and I say that not being 100% satisfied with the outcome, but acknowledging it as objectively fair).
If you want to raise that COA, do it. Don’t worry too much about evidence, whatever you provide, they will be able to go out and dig up more. And when you encounter sexism, calmly call them out for it and continue.
Andrew Lancaster (admin)
Thanks for sharing. Good to know that winning is possible with a Change of Assessment when someone is hiding income. You may have been lucky because there was a clear lie and a decision-making error, which gave the reviewer almost no choice but to side with you. As you indicated by the story, there is no guarantee of fairness.