BPW is a member of the national Working with Women Alliance which recently released a policy brief about ending weaponisation of the child support system. This has emerged as a recurrent mechanism for perpetration of financial abuse, with cascading consequences for single mothers and their children. This policy brief, released to coincide with Economic Abuse Awareness Day in Australia on 26 November 2025,
outlines systemic flaws in Australia's child support framework and proposes targeted reforms that prioritise women's safety and economic security. The recommendations set out in the report reflect the immediate need to ensure women are paid the child support they are entitled to.
The Working with Women Alliance recommends changes aimed at
- Upholding and enacting the current child support rules and policies.
- Delinking child support from social security.
- Making agency collect the default agreement.
- Establishing guaranteed child payments.
By aligning with the National plan to end violence against women and children 2022–2032, it emphasises coordination between Services Australia, taxation offices and family violence networks. In doing so, child support is positioned not as a punitive tool vulnerable to manipulation but as a child-focused entitlement that can underpin financial stability.
