KEY POINTS:
New Zealand parents fleeing to Australia to avoid paying child maintenance is not one way traffic.
Thousands of Australian parents are moving to New Zealand to avoid their child support obligations, according to a report today.
The Herald Sun said that more than 20,000 Australian parents had gone offshore to avoid paying child support, with New Zealand the favourite haven with 7600 heading here.
A further 3276 targeted Britain, with 2231 in the United States.
Human Services Minister Senator Joe Ludwig said the fleeing parents would be tracked down.
"Separated parents living overseas now owe around A$90m ($117.47m) in payments to their kids back in Australia," the newspaper reported.
"Wherever separated parents live, it's unacceptable for them to shirk their child support obligations."
Authorities planned to make greater use of orders banning parents with child support debt from leaving the country, with the Child Support Agency to extend its computer data matching to cover the Department of Immigration and the Tax Office.
The agency would also conduct data matching with child support organisations overseas, especially in New Zealand, where Australians did not need a visa to enter the country.
New Zealanders skiving off across the Tasman make up almost half the international caseload for Australian authorities collecting debts for the children they have left behind.
- NZPA
