The demands on our services are increasing, and as a small team, it can be difficult to keep up. We’re looking for a volunteer single mother to help out. We are seeking an Admin Volunteer to help us, particularly if you: Are highly computer literate (MS word, Salesforce/database, Excel, Teams) Have 6 hours a week to commit (more is fine too), for at least 12 months. Are willing to come into Melbourne CBD to work in-office between 9.30 and 5pm Tuesday to Thursday. The work will include: Answering the phone and entering messages and other data into our database. General admin work (e.g ..read more

For several years, lawyers and the Family Court were very present in my life. I became a single mother over ten years ago when my house was raided by the police and my husband (now ex) went to jail for convictions relating to child abuse material offences. I had no idea about his activity online and was horrified at what he’d been involved with. My ex-husband was placed on the sex offenders register for life and although he could see our four kids, access was supervised due to a child protection order. My ex-husband advised he wanted to halve all assets and have joint custody of the kids witho ..read more

No matter what their individual circumstances, all single mothers want one thing: the freedom and support to be the mothers they want to be and to provide their children with the best start in life. Yet, the experience of single mothers is often one of being told who to be, what to do, and what’s best for their kids. For Aboriginal single mothers it’s so much worse. Being an Aboriginal single mother means living with an increased risk in poverty, discrimination, violence, and poor educational and health outcomes. For years, government, society and the media – people with no experience or unde ..read more

Last year, CSMC member, Ania*, spent an anxious three months trying to get through to Centrelink. She had managed to secure some part time work that she could do from home while parenting her children, and she wanted to notify Centrelink as soon as possible. “I needed to know how much my Parenting Payment Single would decrease so I could plan for it,” she says. With a three month old baby and a 21 month old toddler, Ania was forced to hang up while on hold with Centrelink waiting for her call to be answered three times. Each time her anxiety increased. “The worst scenario running through my he ..read more

Two weeks ago, The Australian Attorney-General announced his intension to change the Family Law Act to centre on the best interests of the children. He has released an ‘exposure draft’ of the changes he wants made to the existing legislation and asked for comments.   Background  The previous government commissioned six reviews into the Family Law Act and its operations in six years and yet made few changes and ignored recommendations from the most extensive review. The new Attorney General has taken notice of the Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry (the most extensive) and other ..read more

Saver Plus is Australia’s largest and longest running matched savings and financial education program. It’s delivered by community organisations across Australia and since it began in 2003, has worked with thousands of single mums. If you’re eligible for the program, you’ll be paired with a savings coach and you will make regular deposits towards an agreed goal over a 10-month period. You will be provided with online workshops to learn tips, tricks and information to grow your budgeting and savings skills. Once you reach your agreed goal, ANZ matches those savings dollar-for-dollar up to $500 ..read more

There are a number of issues that CSMC is always working on. ParentsNext, a fair deal for people on JobSeeker and in Workforce Australia Employment Services (the old JobActive), and the growing rate of poverty among single mothers and their children, are three of them. Housing, child support and family law are other key issues. This summer, there is some action on all three of the first ones. ParentsNext ParentsNext is being considered by a new committee, in the first sign that the Albanese government might make changes. On Tuesday we had six strong advocates speaking at the public meeting in ..read more

Christmas can be an expensive time of year, but it’s also the season where businesses and government get into the spirit by putting on free events and entertainment for families. Here’s where you’ll find fun, free activities for the family this Christmas. Local Councils: Most local Councils run free Christmas events for the families in their communities. These can include carols in the park, market events, and even appearances from Santa. Homes that light up the night: Lots of families get a big kick out stringing lights on their homes and decorating their yards with inflatable reindeer – and ..read more

For single mothers receiving Centrelink payments, returning to paid employment can mean the amount they receive is cut or eliminated altogether. Many single mothers make the decision on how many hours to work in paid employment based on how much of their Centrelink payment they will lose.   It’s a balancing act, so to make your decisions about the type of employment you want and the amount of hours you wish to work easier, here’s some information about how much you can earn before your payments start to get cut, and how much they will decrease.   If you receive Parenting payment ..read more

It’s no secret that COVID-19 has changed so many ways in which we live – and there’s no place where transformation has been so acute than employment. New flexibility and supports have many single mothers thinking about getting back into the workforce, changing career, or undertaking study or an apprenticeship. If that’s you, you’ll need to how the new employment landscape can work in your favour. Since the pandemic, there’s been a real shift in how jobs are able to be performed, with greater flexibility and working from home arrangements – but that’s not the whole story. Extended free kinderg ..read more