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Preface

The 1997 Family Characteristics Survey examined exchanges between children and parents who live apart, most often as a consequence of marriage or relationship breakdown.

While administrative records of child support arrangements are maintained by the Child Support Agency, this was the first time that the ABS conducted a national survey of child support and visiting arrangements. Information includes frequency and duration of contact between children and their parents who live elsewhere, type and amount of child support received and the contribution of child support to income.

The survey provides detailed information on the structure of families with children aged 0-17. Families may move through a cycle of formation, change and re-formation. Beginning as an intact couple family they may, in part, become a one-parent family following marriage breakdown. If the lone parent re-partners, the resulting family is classified as a step family. When children are born to the new couple relationship a blended family is formed.

The summary of findings will also present detailed tables on family composition and marital status, including a life-stage classification of families by age of youngest child or age of spouse (in the case of couple families without children). Life-stage information helps to identify the nature of caring activities in families and so is particularly useful for analysing employment statistics.


Introduction

Family issues

MAIN FINDINGS

• Out of Australia's 4.6 million children aged under eighteen, 1.1 million children live with only one of their natural parents, usually as a result of relationship or marriage breakdown.
• 18 per cent of children were in one-parent families and 8 per cent were in step or blended families.
• The vast majority of children, who had a natural parent living elsewhere, were in the sole care of the parent with whom they lived, while 3 per cent of children had parents who shared care more evenly between them.
• Younger children were likely to visit the parent they did not live with more frequently than older children.
• 42 per cent of families (199,200 one-parent families and 53,700 step and blended families) received cash child support from the other parent .
• A further 16 per cent of families received support such as clothing, pocket money and assistance with school fees.
• 41 per cent of families received no child support from the other parent.
• Around one-third of all families receiving cash child support received, on average, $100 or less per month per child.
• For one-parent families, the median income for families receiving child support was $18,200, while for those not receiving child support it was $16,900.
• For step and blended couple families, the median income for families receiving child support was $45,140, while for those not receiving child support it was $37,440.

	Persons		Families		Households
	1992	1997	1992	1997	1992	1997
Household type	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000	'000
Family Households
One family	14 897.9	15 115.1	4 616.1	4 859.9	4 616.9	4 859.9
Multi-family	439.7	416.6	159.1	149.7	77.5	73.7
Total	15 337.6	15 531.7	4 775.2	5 009.6	4 694.4	4 933.7
Non-family households
Lone persons	1 386.9	1 730.2	. .	. .	1 386.9	1 730.2
Group	558.9	887.5	. .	. .	240.6	390.5
Total	1 945.8	2 617.7	. .	. .	1 627.5	2 120.7
All Households	17 283.3	18 149.4	4 775.1	5 009.6	6 321.9	7 054.3