Ferguson and Eidson (Child support) - [2025] ARTA 247

Ferguson and Eidson (Child support) [2025] ARTA 247 (9 January 2025)

Applicant/s: Ms Ferguson

Respondent: Child Support Registrar

Other Parties: Mr Eidson

Tribunal Number: 2024/BC028085
Tribunal: Member I Sheck
Place:Melbourne
Date:9 January 2025
Decision:The decision under review is varied so that the departure determination is as follows:
·For the period 25 September 2023 to 31 December 2023, the annual rate of child support is set at $3,934. The payer is Ms Ferguson;
·For the period 1 January 2024 to 4 March 2024, the annual rate of child support is set at $4,226. The payer is Ms Ferguson;
·For the period 5 March 2024 to 13 June 2024, the annual rate of child support payable by either party is set at $0;
·For the period 14 June 2024 to 31 December 2024, the annual rate of child support payable by Mr Eidson to Ms Ferguson is to be reduced by $4,888;
·For the period 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, the annual rate of child support payable by Mr Eidson to Ms Ferguson is to be reduced by $5,220;
·For the period 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026, the annual rate of child support payable by Mr Eidson to Ms Ferguson is to be reduced by $5,671.

CATCHWORDS
CHILD SUPPORT – departure from the administrative assessment – adjusted taxable incomes and care percentages – costs of educating child – congenital condition and learning difficulties – distances between parents’ homes and possible schools – father paying for private schooling – mother’s change in employment, study and start of own business, with fluctuating income – father’s steady increase in income – decision under review varied

Names used in all published decisions are pseudonyms. Any references appearing in square brackets indicate that information has been omitted from this decision and replaced with generic information pursuant to subsection 16(2AB) of the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.

Statement of Reasons

BACKGROUND

Ms Ferguson and Mr Eidson are the separated parents of [the child], born 4 July 2016. The records of Services Australia – Child Support (Child Support) indicate that the child support assessment was registered on 11 December 2019 and Child Support has been responsible for the collection of the liability since then. As at 19 April 2022 the annual rate of child support payable by Mr Eidson under the administrative assessment was $2,449, based on the adjusted taxable incomes of the parties for the 2020-21 year and care percentages of 50% each for Ms Ferguson and Mr Eidson.
Mr Eidson applied to Child Support for a departure from the administrative assessment on 19 April 2022 on the basis that, in the special circumstances of the case, the assessment was unfair due to the costs of educating the child in a particular manner (otherwise referred to as “Change of assessment Reason 3”). On 20 July 2022, Child Support decided to depart from the administrative assessment and made a determination setting the rate of child support payable by Mr Eidson…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Ferguson and Eidson (Child support)

Details

AGLC: Ferguson and Eidson (Child support) [2025] ARTA 247
Case: [2025] ARTA 247
Decision Date: 9 January 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ms Ferguson and Mr Eidson, the separated parents of a child born in 2016, engaged in a dispute over the fair division of child support responsibilities, particularly concerning the costs associated with the child's private schooling. The Tribunal was tasked with determining whether the special circumstances of the case warranted a departure from the administrative assessment of child support, and if so, what adjustments to the child support rates would be fair and equitable. The Tribunal concluded that the costs of the child's private education significantly affected the overall cost of maintaining the child, establishing a ground for departure from the administrative assessment. The Tribunal further determined that it was just and equitable for Ms Ferguson to contribute 50% of the school fees, considering the parents' equal care responsibilities and the child's special needs due to a congenital condition. The Tribunal varied the decision under review, setting specific child support rates that reflect the parents' adjusted taxable incomes and the special circumstances of the case. The rates were adjusted to ensure that the costs of the child's education are fairly shared between the parents, with consideration given to fluctuations in Ms Ferguson's income and her current financial commitments. The Tribunal's decision aimed to balance the financial responsibilities of both parents in a manner that was deemed fair and equitable for all parties involved.

Orders