Agacy and Ihara (Child support)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by the mother, Agacy, for a departure determination concerning child support payable by the father, Ihara. The dispute centred on whether certain costs incurred by the father, specifically international flights and other expenses related to communicating with or spending time with the children, should be taken into account in the child support assessment. The mother sought to have these costs recognised as departure from the usual assessment.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the father had established that the costs of international flights and other expenses associated with spending time with the children were necessary and reasonable, and if so, whether these costs should be recognised as a departure from the child support assessment. The Tribunal also had to consider the financial circumstances of both parents, including the father's earning capacity and the mother's part-time work arrangements due to childcare responsibilities.

Member T Hamilton-Noy reasoned that the father had failed to provide sufficient documentary evidence to substantiate the claimed costs of international flights and other expenses. The Tribunal noted that the father's expenses were largely met by his current spouse, and that the small, ad hoc money transfers made by the father were primarily for his own self-support. Furthermore, the Tribunal found no significant change in circumstances since an earlier AAT decision that had affirmed the existing child support assessment. The mother's earning capacity was considered to be incrementally increasing, but still constrained by her childcare responsibilities.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, meaning the existing child support assessment remained unchanged. The father's application for a departure determination was dismissed due to insufficient evidence and a lack of demonstrated change in circumstances warranting a departure from the standard assessment.