Some initial thoughts

I've recently needed to have dealings with CSA again after some years of being the prime carer and avoiding their involvement. The assessed support amount is going to cause me considerable financial hardship and is more than double what I believe it was actually costing to meet real and healthy costs for maintaining my son other than where there were significant extra expenses (out of hours care when he was younger).


A number of points have stuck in my mind since the call from CSA
 - There was no mention of any support services, financial or personal. I was called at work and left absolutely gutted by an assessment that is going to leave me financially stretched for years to come seeming with no concern for my well being at all.
 - There are no fairness or context criteria to the assessment, a formula is applied regardless of the relative impacts of the history of sharing of costs, financial commitments and impacts of the decision.
 - Whilst the other parent's partner should not be responsible for the costs of raising my child I should not be responsible for ongoing career choices by someone I'm no longer in a relationship with. I'm having to pay the vast majority of the assessed costs because of work choices by my ex which I've had no say in and which are impacted by my ex's partners income and lifestyle choices.
 - There does not appear to be any independent review process, no one to turn to and have the assessment reviewed other than CSA itself unless I find evidence that they have acted illegally and could afford a legal challenge. having CSA review their own decision looks like a source of additional pain with little likely hood of any improvement.
 - There does not seem to be viable way's that I can make changes to improve my situation, finding way's to increase my income would increase my tax and CSA obligations meaning that I'd have to make a lot extra to get a little back. Extra income could also increase my "capacity to earn" meaning an increased CSA obligation regardless of an ongoing capacity to continue to earn at that rate, not sure of all the rules around that. I'm still pondering options there and I'll have to spend some more time on what options I have to make more income and the trade off in work life balance.
 - The government does not involve itself with other families and demand that they spend a certain proportion of their weekly income on raising a child, the measures are on a level of care not expenditure. I can't see any way that it can be good for a child without special needs or significant extra curricular activities 
to have as much spent on them as the formula's suggest. http://www.csa.gov.au/child_support_formula/child_costs_table_2012.php

I've been more than happy to pay real costs associated with raising my son but I object strongly to the amount's CSA chooses to nominate and the utter lack of balance in the way they deal with such decisions.
There should be fairness criteria in the process which take into account context and leave both parents responsible for their choices, not a system which seems focussed on maximising the transfer of money between parents.