Deadbeat parents try to fly the coop

TRAVEL bans on Australia's worst parents more than doubled last financial year following their failure to pay child support.

Child abuse

TRAVEL bans on Australia's worst mums and dads more than doubled last financial year as penny-pinching parents had their wings clipped for failing to pay child support.

A total of 192 parents from broken families were served departure prohibition orders after repeated failed attempts to make them pay debts of up to tens of thousands of dollars, The Daily Telegraph reported.

After only 80 new cases the previous year and 121 new orders in 2008-09, family law experts have linked the rise to the soaring costs of living, economic uncertainty and increasingly bitter custody disputes.

With Victoria and NSW leading the country on 51 new orders each last year, a rare few parents subject to bans still tried to fly overseas while owing money and were instead detained by authorities at airports.

Human Services Minister Brendan O'Connor said yesterday that while most parents did the right thing, the DPOs ensured children in separated families were looked after.

"In a sad minority of cases where parents incur significant debts, the Government has no choice other than to take action to ensure the money goes where it is intended to - bringing up their child," he said.

The number of parents on the DPO register - most of whom are men - has risen slightly to about 860 from 840 this time last year as some parents paid their debts off.

In one case, a parent had a travel ban revoked after paying a $50,000 debt stretching back to 2007.

But the Child Support Agency has been recovering less overall from the scheme.

Only $3.3 million was recovered in the 2010-11 financial year after $3.4 million the previous and more than $5 million in 2008-09.

Armstrong Legal family law division head Peter Magee explained global economic uncertainty might be behind the increase in more serious cases, where bans were imposed on repeat offenders.

He said this was particularly the case among wealthy separated parents relying on overseas income who were now struggling.

"I have been involved in cases where someone has entered into a child support agreement during prosperous times but then times change and the $25,000 a month the mother wanted is no longer possible," he said.

Dads for Kids spokesman Warwick Marsh said anticipation of a review of shared parenting laws might have influenced courts to become more active against fathers.

"It is strange because divorces have been going down but it is sad that the worst cases are going up," he said.

A quarter, or 187,000, of the 722,430 parents required to pay former partners child support failed to fulfil their obligations in 2010-11.