Young people have always had a voice, yet they haven’t always been listened to. We’re changing that. CSMC is exploring with teens and young adults, their experiences of growing up in a single mother household. What we hear from these young people will inform our advocacy and awareness campaigns. We ran a survey, and now we are running in-person conversation groups. Our two up-coming conversation groups will be held in Melbourne’s West for young people aged between 15 – 22. Participants will be paid for their time.   The groups will be small, informal, warm and welcoming, and are bein ..read more

Single mothers who have created their families using donor sperm know that donor linking brings with it a multitude of potential issues and considerations. Now, the Victorian Government has announced that the authority that supports families through the process will be dissolved – and donor recipient mums are having none of it. Currently, specialised counselling is a legal requirement for families seeking donor linking, and it is performed by the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA). VARTA counsellors provide expert counselling and advice to mothers who wish to meet thei ..read more

With every new financial year comes changes that impact our family budgets, including tax, superannuation, and new rebates. So what’s changing now? Well, there’s some good(ish) news. Tax cuts The much talked about stage three tax cuts, which passed through Parliament in February, have now come into effect – and if you pay tax, you’ll notice a slight bump in your take-home pay. That’ because the amount your employer is paying in tax on your behalf has been cut and the difference will be going to you instead. From 1 July 2024, the tax cuts will: reduce the 19 per cent tax r ..read more

On 25 June, Andi, CSMC’s policy and advocacy coordinator and Jacqui, coordinator of CSMC support services, spoke at the final session of the People’s Commission into the Housing Crisis. The People’s Commission was convened by Everybody’s Home and was an opportunity for individuals and organisations to contribute to a national conversation about the housing crisis, its impacts and what can be done to fix it.  The session we were in was focused on the policy changes needed to help more Australians get stable, decent homes that they can afford. In April we had written a submission to t ..read more

First of all, let’s take a moment to remember how awful ParentsNext was and how good it was to have it stopped. The end of ParentsNext was a huge victory on a terrible program of mutual obligations, because the government agreed in May 2023 to stop almost all compulsory aspects of the program, to make it voluntary, and to co-design a better version with eligible parents of pre-school children and community advocates. Now, there’s an opportunity to contribute to the new version. Single mother interested in improving pre-employment programs for parents with pre-school aged children. Over the pas ..read more

We’re partnering with Tenants Victoria to learn more about the legal and related service-experience needs of single parents renting in Victoria. What we learn will inform our future service provision, as well as our advocacy. Interviews will be via Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or the phone and will take around one hour. Eligibility criteria are: Single parents (18+) with dependent children Renting in Victoria or have done so in the past 6 months Do not have an active legal case with Tenants Victoria, and In the past five years have had a renting legal problem Legal problem you have experienced mig ..read more

Callout for focus group participants Seeking young people aged 15 – 22 who is growing up or has lived in a single mother household Attendance at 1 of 10 sessions each up to 2.5 hours long – in-person and online participation options available Participants with be financially remunerated for their time Must be available last two weeks of June 2024 Victoria only The research: The Youth Advocacy Project aims to identify any gaps between support available to young people either online or in community and the needs specific to young people growing up, or who have spent time growing up, in a singl ..read more

Anyone who caught the news this week knows all the top stories were about Budgets – first the Victorian Budget was handed down, then the Federal Budget. Every Budget covers a broad range of issues, and every Budget is followed by many interviews with experts and interest groups – it’s like a fiscal tsunami. Both the state and federal Budgets contained items that will benefit some single mother families. We’ve made it easy for you by pulling out the topline items that impact single mothers. Victorian Budget 2024-2025 Given the pandemic-related debt the State now finds itself with, this Budget w ..read more

This week, two pieces of legislation were passed by the Federal Government: The Family Law Amendment Act 2023 and Family Law Amendment (Information Sharing) Act 2023. The changes include new laws about how the Courts will make parenting orders in the best interests of a child. Here’s what the changes are, when they come into effect, and how it will impact single mothers going through the Court system. Family Law Amendment Act 2023 These changes relate to parenting matters and will not affect financial only proceedings. The legislation sets out new laws about: what&nbs ..read more

We’re celebrating International Single Parents day by launching our Wall of Honour to pay tribute to all the amazing single mothers we know and have known! Congratulations to all the mums who have been nominated – you can read the tributes, in alphabetical order, below. There’s a lot of love and inspiration on this wall! Know a single mother who deserves to be on the Single Mother Wall of Honour? It’s not too late to nominate a deserving single mum – check out the details here. The Wall will be here until Mothers Day 2024, and we’ll add tributes as they come in. CSMC Single Mother Wall of Hono ..read more