The Australian Child Support Reforms: A Case Study of the Use of Microsimulation Modelling in the Policy Development Process

Child support is always a difficult area of public policy, balancing the sometimes competing needs of children, resident and non-resident parents and the state. This article provides a relatively rare insight into some of the processes involved in developing the new Australian Child Support Scheme (CSS), which will commence full operation in July 2008. In particular, this article shows how microsimulation modelling was used by the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support and the government in the policy reform process. The availability of such sophisticated distributional analysis and modelling allowed the development of a comprehensive picture of how the reforms would affect CSS clients, thereby facilitating the adoption of major policy change. This article also provides a blueprint for policy-makers of how modelling can facilitate their policy development processes