Calvert and Calvert (Child support)

This matter concerned an application for a departure determination under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth) brought by the applicant parent, Calvert, against the respondent parent, also Calvert. The dispute centred on whether the child's special needs, specifically the requirement for significant dental surgery, constituted grounds for departing from the usual child support assessment. The application was heard by SM Dordevic.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the costs associated with the child's necessary dental surgery constituted a "special circumstance" that warranted a departure from the standard child support assessment. This required the court to consider the criteria for a departure determination as set out in the relevant legislation, particularly whether the expense was "necessary" and "directly related" to the child's special needs.

SM Dordevic found that the child did indeed have special needs requiring extensive dental surgery, and that the associated costs were necessary and directly related to those needs. The court applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*, focusing on the legislative intent to ensure that children's needs are adequately met. The court determined that the standard assessment did not adequately account for the significant and unavoidable expense of the dental surgery. Consequently, the decision under review was set aside and substituted.