58% of parents pursuing child maintenance payments must resort to court orders

More than half of parents must pursue child maintenance payments through an "adversarial" court system, while 42% of primary carers are raising children without a financial contribution from the other parent.

With 58% of parents resorting to a court order to agree on child maintenance, a new national survey finds a child’s needs do not determine the amount paid in 91% of cases included in the study.