New Zealand Child Support Arrangements

In 2008, Colmar Brunton was commissioned by the Families Commission to undertake research that looks at the experiences of separated parents and the financial and care arrangements for their children. This research was intended to inform further work planned by the Families Commission on this topic and was not intended to be published as a stand-alone report.

However, the Families Commission has made this report available because the findings may be of interest to other organisations and researchers. The findings are best considered alongside the broader work undertaken by the Families Commission in 2009 on the issues that separating parents face when making care, contact and financial arrangements for their children. To protect the identities of separated parents, the quantitative survey was carried out using an anonymous paper-based questionnaire methodology. Due to the limitations of this methodology, this report cannot provide a comprehensive view of all families’ experiences and their child support arrangements.

This work recognises that care, contact and financial arrangements are interconnected, vary according to different circumstances and change over time.

The content of the report and the opinions expressed should not be assumed to reflect the views, opinions or policies of the Families Commission.