Fine-evading father clears $350k child support debt at airport
A DEADBEAT dad flying overseas for a Christmas holiday coughed up $350k in unpaid child support on the spot after he was caught in an airport sting.
NSW
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A DEADBEAT dad who owed $350,000 in child support repaid the entire bill on the spot when he was stopped from boarding a flight overseas.
The fee-evading father was caught in December as he tried to leave the country and avoid paying years of child support payments owed to his children.
The hefty payment was the single largest amount paid by an absconding parent in the airport sting which prevents Australians on Departure Prohibition Orders (DPOs) from leaving the country.
Anyone who has unpaid tax debts, such as a child support debt, can be placed on a DPO which gives welfare authorities far-reaching powers including travel bans.
In the past seven months, the federal government has recouped $6 million from 700 Australians who’ve defaulted on payments trying to leave the country — double the amount collected in 2010-11.
The joint operation between the Child Support Agency and the Department of Immigration is on track to surpass the $10 million recovered in the 2016-17 financial year from 1800 Australians facing flight bans.
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In another case, a wealthy mining magnate was forced to repay $22,000 — six months of child support payments — before boarding a first-class flight out of Sydney last year.
Despite the government’s best efforts, overdue child support payments owed to ex-partners and their children is a staggering $1.5 billion.
Human Services Minister Michael Keenan said the government was committed to ensuring children from separated families received all the support they were entitled to.
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“This record child support payment is just a portion of the amount collected from the use of Departure Prohibition Orders this financial year, which looks set to surpass the almost $10 million recovered in 2016-17,” he said.
“These results are another example of how this government’s sharing of data across agencies is improving the lives of everyday Australians.”
Mr Keenan also hit out at the former Labor government, accusing it of “complacency” for recovering only $3.3 million in unpaid child support in 2010-11.
Two other cases were also disclosed. In one, authorities were tipped off that a parent with a child support debt of almost $40,000 was due to leave Australia for a short break. Border Force staff at Sydney airport caught the penny-pinching parent, who agreed to pay $30,000 on the spot and clear the remaining debt after the overseas jaunt.
In a separate case, a frequent-flying father who had a $100,000 child support debt for two children was caught at Perth airport and agreed to pay $20,000 on the spot. He paid back the balance of his bill following the trip.