Cooke and Cooke (Child support)

The Full Court of the Family Court of Australia considered an appeal by the father, Mr. Cooke, against a decision of a Senior Child Support Registrar. The dispute concerned the percentage of care attributed to each parent for their child, which directly impacts the child support payable. The father sought to have the percentage of care varied, arguing that the likely pattern of care had changed.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Senior Child Support Registrar had erred in refusing to make an interim determination of the percentage of care. This involved considering whether "special circumstances" existed that justified departing from the usual process of making such an interim determination. The Court also had to determine if the Registrar’s decision to affirm the existing percentage of care was correct in light of the evidence presented regarding the child's living arrangements.

The Court reasoned that the Registrar had correctly applied the relevant provisions of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988. It was found that the evidence did not establish the existence of special circumstances that would warrant an interim determination being made. The Registrar’s assessment that the likely pattern of care had not changed sufficiently to justify a variation was upheld. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the Senior Child Support Registrar was affirmed.