Output expense 7
Output expense 7 -
Assessment and collection of child support
Description
This output expense provides services to ensure that parents living apart maintain financial responsibility for their children so the children are better able to participate in society. This includes:
- contributing to the development of the policy framework
- encouraging parents to voluntarily meet their support obligations and, where necessary, taking appropriate enforcement action to ensure compliance with the law
- disbursing payments to custodians and the Crown to offset the benefits paid to those custodians.
Activities undertaken:
- providing information and responding to enquiries so that people are aware of their entitlements and obligations under the law
- assessing liabilities
- banking payments
- disbursing payments to custodians
- managing debt and taking appropriate enforcement action against those who do not comply with the law
- providing an administrative process for reviewing assessments that is inexpensive and readily accessible to custodians and paying parents.
|
Revenue |
Expenses |
Net surplus/(deficit) |
|---|---|---|
|
69,210 |
67,828 |
1,382 |
Output 7.1 Customer information services
Description
This output involves responding to customer enquiries and providing advice and information on child support matters.
|
Budget |
Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | ||
| We will give customers an answer that is correct, complete, clear and appropriately reference that also shows an understanding of their environment. We will maintain performance in this area to at least 88%. |
88% |
73%48 |
| 48 This year we changed the calculation of this performance measure to include weighting by contact type. The change in methodology makes the measurement more accurate, but has caused under-achievement in the results. The performance measure target was set based on the previous methodology which produced higher results. | ||
| Budget | Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeliness | ||
| We will answer at least 70% of all phone calls within 30 seconds, except on days when the total volume of calls exceed 3,500. |
70% |
74.3% |
| For the days when total calls exceed 3,500: | ||
| - the average speed-to-answer will be 3 minutes or less, and |
3 min |
1:59 min |
| - callers will be advised of the potential delay and offered alternative services. | ||
| We will respond to: | ||
| - at least 85% of correspondence within 2 weeks |
85% |
89.6% |
| -100% of correspondence within 6 weeks |
100% |
98.5% |
| of receipt. |
|
Budget |
Actual | |
|---|---|---|
|
Quantity |
||
| We will answer an expected 930,000 to 980,000 customer contacts. | 930,000-980,000 | 896,764 |
Output 7.2 Registration and assessment
Description
This output involves the registration and assessment of new child support customers together with the issuing of annual assessments and reassessments to paying parents.
|
Budget |
Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeliness | ||
| We will issue assessments to at least: | ||
| - 70% of paying parents within 2 weeks |
70% |
72.9% |
| - 95% within 6 weeks |
95% |
92.5% |
| of receipt of the properly made application. |
|
Budget |
Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | ||
| We will process an expected 52,250 to 55,000 applications for child support. |
52,250-55,000 |
55,156 |
Output 7.3 Collection of payments
Description
This output involves collecting and banking child support payments from paying parents.
| Budget | Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity and timeliness | ||
| We will collect at least 80% of child support assessments (excluding cases we manage on behalf of overseas agencies) for the year ending 31 March 2006. |
80% |
74.1% 49 |
| We will ensure that at least 65% of assessed paying parents (excluding cases we manage on behalf of overseas agencies) will pay their whole liability by the due date. |
65% |
61.2%50 |
| 49 This is the best end-of-year result since 2003 and can be attributed to Child Support's commitment and emphasis on improving compliance during 2005–06. | ||
| 50 This is a comparable result to last year and can be attributed to Child Support's commitment and emphasis on improving compliance during 2005–06 | ||
Output 7.4 Disbursements to custodians and the Crown
Description
This output involves the disbursement of child support payments to custodians and the Crown.
| Budget | Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeliness | ||
| We will make at least 95% of identified payments received by the due date (20th of the month) to custodians on or before the 7th day of the following month. |
95% |
97.7% |
| We will disburse the balance, and any previous payments received prior to the 7th day of the following month, by the 20th of that month. |
100% |
98.6% |
Output 7.5 Debt management
Description
This output involves all activities associated with the recovery of overdue child support payments. It includes taking appropriate enforcement action against non-compliers within the child support law.
|
Budget |
Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | ||
| We will reduce the number of paying parents in debt (excluding cases we manage on behalf of overseas agencies) by at least 2%. |
2% decrease |
0.1% increase 51 |
| Quality and timeliness | ||
| We will collect at least 90% of the value of all assessments due (excluding cases we manage on behalf of overseas agencies) from the start of the child support scheme in 1992 through to 31 March 2006. |
90% |
89.3% |
| Quantity and timeliness | ||
| We will limit the growth of total debt (excluding penalties and debt we manage on behalf of overseas agencies) to less than 12%. |
<12% increase |
8.1% increase |
| We will clear at least 55% of paying parent debt cases (excluding cases we manage on behalf of overseas agencies) within 5 months from the end of the month that they are identified as a new arrears case. |
55% |
51.7% 52 |
| 51 Although the number of paying parents in debt continues to grow we have reduced the rate of growth from 3% in 2004-05. Our increased focus on preventing new paying parents falling into debt and clearing high-value debt cases has contributed to this reduction. | ||
| 52 It generally takes longer than five months to clear paying parent debt cases. In 2006-07 we have revised the measure to 12 months and the percentage that we expect to clear has been increased to 70%. | ||
Output 7.6 Child support administrative reviews
Description
This output involves providing an administrative process for reviewing child support assessments that is both inexpensive and readily accessible to custodians and paying parents.
|
Budget |
Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeliness | ||
| We will issue: | ||
| - at least 90% of administrative review decisions within 7 weeks |
90% |
83.5%53 |
| - 100% within 10 weeks |
100% |
97.1% |
| of receipt of the application. | ||
| 53 Child Support was on target to achieve this standard until the last month of the year when performance dipped due to slow progress on cases during our peak months. We are introducing streamlined procedures with the aim of a quicker turnaround of cases for next year. | ||
|
Budget |
Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Quantity | ||
| We will complete an expected 4,600 to 4,850 applications for administrative review of child support assessments. | 4,600-4,850 | 3,48854 |
| 54 Numbers have been falling consistently since 2002 due to an improvement in Child Support processes, including our specialist customer contact stream, which responds to all administrative review requests. Customers are being better informed as to when they should be submitting an administrative review application. We have amended this activity forecast to 3,400 - 3,600 for next year to reflect the shift in demand. | ||
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