| News index | Agency admits to guessing incomes
By CHRISTINE RETSCHLAG Social issues reporter
THE Child Support Agency has conceded it calculates maintenance payments based on fictitious incomes if it believes parents are shirking their responsibilities. The agency yesterday defended the practice, saying it was sometimes appropriate to assess maintenance on earning potential rather than actual income. In one instance, the agency determined that an unem ployed Townsville man, Glenn Hall, was required to make payments based on an income of $25,000. The decision that Mr Hall should pay $370 a month in child support was made despite the fact that he was on social security benefits, which meant he was not liable for any payments. "There is no doubt that, as a sheer matter of fact, Mr Hall is currently unemployed but he has not been able to convince me that that is a legitimate state of affairs," a review of Mr Hall's case, dated last March when the agency was administered by the Australian Tax Office, stated. "I have little doubt that, should he be minded to do so, Mr Hall would be quite capable of working for a good wage." The $25,000 assessment, for the 1997-98 financial year, was made when Mr Hall was receiving about $7500 in unemployment benefits. Mr Hall, who was employed in the army as a dental nurse, has claimed an orthopaedic surgeon supported his decision to leave because of a damaged knee, which is hindering further job prospects. The agency's state manager, Angela Tillmanns, yesterday denied it concocted "fictitious" incomes but conceded it assessed people on earning capacity rather than real income in "rare cases". "What does happen, in some cases, people say, 'I am going to resign to avoid paying child support'. If that is not the case in this particular instance, we are more than willing to look at this particular decision and look at it quite sympathetically," she said. |