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Adjusting to new parenthood is a time of major upheaval and stress.

For single mother Veronica, that stress was compounded when she needed to pursue her former partner Scott over child support – including asking him to take a DNA parentage test.

Lawyers are reporting growing demand for advice about child support. Proving paternity is a key battleground.Credit: Aresna Villanueva

Legal Aid NSW is reporting growing demand from parents seeking help to resolve child support problems, and proving paternity is a key battleground.

In some cases, men were spending time with their children but refusing to acknowledge paternity for child support purposes.

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Veronica separated from Scott during her pregnancy. They had never lived together and he would not formally acknowledge paternity.

The difficulties Veronica faced in proving Scott was the father of her daughter, Niamh, were costing her hundreds of dollars a month in lost government support.

When Niamh was 13 weeks old, Centrelink cut Veronica’s family tax benefit (FTB) payments for her baby by about $150 a fortnight. FTB is a major source of financial support for low to middle income families to raise children.

Centrelink cut the payments because it was not satisfied Veronica had taken reasonable steps to get child support from Scott. If this requirement is not met, it will pay only the base rate of FTB.

The policy rationale is to ensure parents, where possible, take financial responsibility for their children. However, some exemptions are available.

Veronica applied to Services Australia for a child support assessment, but the application was rejected because she did not have acceptable proof of Scott’s paternity.

The pursuit of child support compounds the upheaval and stress that comes with becoming a new parent.Credit: Michele Mossop

Standard forms of proof include being married when the child is born or being named on the birth certificate.