Unsafe to expect or get financial support

A young person may have a Parental Support Gap with a parent because it is unsafe for them to expect or get financial support from that parent. This means asking for or getting financial support from them would put the young person's emotional or physical safety at risk.

This could be due to a history of physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or neglect. This may be from the parent themselves or from someone else in the family home e.g. another immediate family member.

This could also happen when there is no history of abuse or neglect, but someone close to the parent would have an issue with them providing financial support and that would create a risk to the young person's safety.

When a Parental Support Gap exists because it is unsafe for the young person to expect or get financial support from a parent, that parent will not be an applicable parent for the Parental Income Test.

If it is unsafe for the young person to expect or get financial support from a parent because the parent themselves poses a risk to the young person's safety, this is called a safety concern. A safety concern affects the priority order for applicable parents. In this situation, the partner of that parent (a step parent) cannot be an applicable parent.

Example

Geraldine moved away from home when she was 16 years old because her father was physically and emotionally abusive towards her and her younger brother. She only has contact with her father around birthdays and Christmas. If Geraldine had to rely on him for financial support, she would need to have regular contact with him. This would put her emotional safety at risk.

It is not safe for Geraldine to get financial support from her father because of the history of abuse.