Dewing and Dewing (Child support)

This matter concerned an appeal by the father, Mr Dewing, against a departure determination made by the Registrar of the Child Support Agency. The Registrar had determined that the mother, Ms Dewing, was entitled to a departure from the assessment of child support payable by the father, primarily on the basis of the child’s significant orthodontic costs. The appeal was heard by Member S Letch in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Registrar’s decision to depart from the child support assessment was justified under the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988* (Cth). Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether the child’s orthodontic expenses constituted a relevant ground for departure and, if so, whether the departure determination itself was the correct and preferable one in the circumstances.

The Tribunal’s reasoning focused on the interpretation of the grounds for departure under the Act, particularly concerning the financial impact of necessary expenses. Member Letch found that the significant and ongoing costs associated with the child’s orthodontic treatment, which were not adequately covered by the standard assessment, constituted a relevant ground for departure. The Tribunal applied the principles of reasonableness and necessity in assessing whether these costs justified an adjustment to the child support assessment, ultimately concluding that the Registrar’s decision to depart was sound.

The Tribunal set aside the Registrar's departure determination and substituted its own. The substituted determination adjusted the child support assessment to take into account a proportion of the child's orthodontic expenses, reflecting a more equitable distribution of this significant cost between the parents.