Gaffney and Oakes (Child support)

The case of *Gaffney and Oakes* concerned a dispute regarding the percentage of care attributed to each parent for child support purposes. The applicant, Ms. Gaffney, sought to have the child support assessment reviewed, arguing that the pattern of care had changed since the last assessment. The respondent, Mr. Oakes, contested this assertion. The matter came before the Child Support Special Powers Unit.

The central legal issue before the Unit was to determine the likely pattern of care for the child over the next 12 months, considering the changes that had occurred. This involved assessing whether the applicant had demonstrated a significant and ongoing change in the care arrangements that would justify altering the existing percentage of care calculation for child support.

The Unit considered the evidence presented by both parties regarding the actual care arrangements and the proposed future arrangements. It applied the principles of the *Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988*, specifically focusing on the provisions relating to the determination of the percentage of care and the circumstances under which a review of an assessment could be granted due to a change in the pattern of care. The Unit found that the evidence did not establish a sufficient change in the pattern of care to warrant an alteration of the existing assessment.

The decision under review was affirmed.