Which act shifted the collection and enforcement of child support from courts to an administrative system?

• A. Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988
• B. Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989
• C. Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
• D. Status of Children Act 1996 (NSW)

Answer: (A)

The key idea is the move from relying on courts to using a government administrative process to collect and enforce child support. The 1988 Act set up the system where the Commonwealth (through the Child Support Agency) could register child support orders and handle the collection directly, rather than having payments chased through court proceedings. That shift to an administrative method means payments are gathered and enforced by an agency using bureaucratic processes, not by judges in court.

The 1989 Act deals with how the amounts are calculated, which is part of the scheme but does not itself shift collection and enforcement to an administrative body. The Family Law Act provides the broader framework for family law, including courts, rather than the administrative collection system. The NSW Act is a state provision and not the national mechanism.