Facts about Sole parents
The current rates of payment for sole parents (effective 20/9/2003)
Myth: Sole parents would rather be on the pension than get into paid work.
Myth:
Women on the sole parent payment are often in de-facto relationships
with men.
Myth:
Children of sole parents are more likely to commit crime, or become
juvenile offenders.
Around 18% of Australian
families are headed by sole parents.
The majority of sole parent families are formed by the breakdown of
marriages (70%) rather than births outside marriage (excluding defacto
relationships)
Families headed by a sole parent are a diverse group - socially,
culturally, and economically.
42% of children will spend at least some part of their childhood in a
single parent family.
The average duration of a sole parent who receives a parenting payment
(single) is 3.3 years.
13% of sole parent families are headed by men. Women head 87% of all sole
parent families.
Of all those receiving a parenting payment 77% were lone parents who were
in receipt of some form of welfare payment.
More than 62% of parenting payment single recipients are aged over 35, and
34% are aged between 25 - 34 years.
The
current rates of payment for sole parents (effective 20/9/2003):
Current rates of payment are
available from the Centrelink Website Here
Parenting Payment Single $452.80pf
Pharmaceutical Allowance $5.80pf
Rent assistance Maximum (1 or 2 kids) $110.88pf
Rent assistance Maximum (3 or more kids) $125.30pf
Family Tax Benefit Part A (child under 13) $130.48pf
Family Tax Benefit Part A (child 13-15) $165.48p
Family Tax Benefit Part B (child under 5) $112.00pf
Family Tax Benefit Part B (child 6-15) $78.12pf
Large Family Supplement (4 or more kids) $8.96pf
PPS is affected by income and assets. FTB Part A is reduced according to the percentage of care,.. it is income tested against wages at 30c in the dollar, and it is reduced by 50c in the dollar against child support income.
(thanks to solomothers for updated information! )
(Sources: ABS Census 1996; ABS Labour Force Status and other
Characteristics of Families, Australia, April 1997 http://www.abs.gov.au/;
Profiles of SPP recipients 1998, DSS http://www.dfcs.gov.au
Myths about
single parents
Around 20% of Australian families are headed by a sole parent. Families
headed by a sole parent are a diverse group - socially, culturally, and
economically. Men's rights activists and social conservatives promote a
numbers of myths about single parents and their families. What's the real
story?
Myth:
Sole parents would rather be on the pension than get into paid work.
Fact: Surveys show that most sole parents want to work but have
difficulties finding work that fits with their family responsibilities.
They also face work barriers such as affordable quality childcare, family
friendly work agreements and work places, effective tax rates, and higher
education debt repayments. Sole parents also have to battle with the
emotional and physical stress juggling family responsibilities and work.
They must factor the cost of working (clothes, transport, childcare)
against the loss of benefits which taper off very quickly.
The average duration of a sole parent who receives a parenting payment
(single) is 3.3 years.
Sole parents are the most active in seeking employment of all welfare
recipients. 51% are already in the workforce in some capacity (either
full-time, part-time or casual). 62% of those work full-time. Over 70% of
those with adolescent children and 35% of those with children under school
age are in paid work or education.
Myth:
Women on the sole parent payment are often in de-facto relationships
with men.
Fact: Centrelink constantly reviews sole parents. The rules on de-facto
relationships are now so tough that women are at risk of losing their
payments even if they have a male boarder. In addition to the routine
reviews, a large percentage are randomly reviewed each year.
Myth:
Children of sole parents are more likely to commit crime, or become
juvenile offenders.
Fact: Children of sole parents are likely to be worse off financially, but
emotionally they are better off than children of two parent families, or
children in shared care arrangements, where there are high levels of
conflict. In terms of school and other performance, they rate with their
peers from similar income levels. Most kids don't get into strife.
Crime is the result of complex changes in economic, social and cultural
factors such as unemployment, dysfunctional families, child abuse, poor
education, community breakdown, economic inequality and substance abuse. If
crime prevention is to succeed it should focus on broad social outcomes,
for example reducing social exclusion. Compelling evidence suggests that
those who feel excluded from participation in community life are more
likely to offend against that community. Addressing this sense of exclusion
can reduce the risk of offending.
Crime prevention is guided by strategic intentions and approaches but is
ultimately defined by results. The hard strategic framework involves
policies to prevent crime, improve safety and reduce disorder while
recognising that there is no one single, definable cause of crime.
Myth:
Single mothers are teenage girls having baby after baby to different
fathers to live on welfare.
Fact: "The vast majority of births outside of marriage are to women aged 20
or more. Teenagers make up only a small proportion of all single recipients
of Parenting Payment (PP): at June 1998 less than 3 per cent were teenage
women. In fact, the majority of the single recipients of PP are over the
age of 30 (average 33.5 years at June 1998).
"The living circumstances of lone parents who have a new child more than
nine months after a grant of PP are automatically reviewed to ensure they
are not living in a marriage-like relationship. Less than 2% were subject
to a review.
"Lone parent households are, on average actually likely to contain fewer
children than couple families. Of lone parent families the ABS estimates
that 50 per cent have one child, 34 per cent have two children, 11 per cent
have three children and 5 per cent have four or more at June 1998.
What
else do we know about single parents?
The majority of sole parent families are formed by the breakdown of
marriages (70%) rather than births outside marriage (excluding defacto
relationships). Almost 18% of single parents are widows.
Between 65% and 70% of separations are initiated by women. In about 25% of
cases, women say that emotional or physical violence or drug and alcohol
abuse was the primary reason for the relationship breakdown.
Women head 86% of all sole parent families. This is usually a continuation
of parenting roles structured prior to separation.
Single parents
and welfare.
Of all those receiving a parenting payment 77% were lone parents who were
in receipt of some form of welfare payment.
The average duration of a sole parent who receives a parenting payment
(single) is 3.3 years. Sole parent are the most active in seeking
employment of all welfare recipients.
More than 62% of parenting payment single recipients are aged over 35, and
34% are aged between 25 - 34 years.
As at 1/7/03 a sole parent is eligible for a maximum rate of $440.30 per
fortnight.
A sole parent may also be entitled to:
Family Tax Benefit (Part A) for a child under 13 ($130.48 per fortnight).
If the child is 16-17 years old, this is reduced to $42.00 per fortnight;
and
Family Tax Benefit (Part B) for a child under 5 ($112.00 per fortnight), or
if the child is 5-15 and a full-time student, $78.12 per fortnight).
More Information can be found at the following websites
The Australian Bureau of statistics ABS,
The Child Support Agency CSA,
Centrelink Centrelink,
The Department of Family and community services DFACS
the Australian Council of Social Services ACOSS
Sole Parents
Union (SPU) Advocating for sole parents and their
children, 1999. For further information please
contact us at PO Box 347 Maroubra NSW 2035 or by email [email protected].