GJNP and Child Support Registrar (Child support second review)

This matter concerned a second-tier review by the General Division of the Tribunal concerning a child support assessment. The parties involved were GJNP (the Father) and the Child Support Registrar, with the Mother also participating in the proceedings. The central dispute revolved around the correct attribution of the percentage of care for the Children between the Father and the Mother, particularly in light of the Children residing predominantly at boarding school.

The Tribunal was required to determine the appropriate percentage of care to be attributed to each parent for child support purposes and the effective date for any revised care determination. This involved assessing the contributions of each parent to the care of the Children, considering their financial needs and day-to-day decision-making responsibilities, and not solely relying on overnight care statistics.

The Tribunal's reasoning acknowledged the authority of *Polec* in care determinations, which dictates that such assessments cannot be exclusively based on overnight care. The facts presented indicated that from 29 January 2018, the Children primarily lived at boarding schools during school terms, returning to their parents for some weekends and school holidays. The Tribunal accepted the Father's calendars of care, as amended, which indicated that the Father provided 285 nights of overnight care and the Mother provided 124 nights of overnight care during the relevant two-year period. However, the Tribunal noted that these percentages were only one factor in the overall assessment. The Tribunal ultimately substituted the previous decision, attributing 73% of care to the Father and 27% to the Mother, effective from 2 October 2018.